Snowfall brings cheer to tourists in Sonamarg

Sonamarg, Dec 1: The season's first heavy spell of snowfall this year has brought cheer to hundreds of tourists visiting the Sonamarg health resort.

Sonamarg received the season’s first heavy snowfall on Friday which brought cheers on the faces of hundreds of tourists visiting this resort.

Sonamarg received 6 to 7 inches of snow since Friday, draping the health resort in a white blanket.

Hundreds of tourists including children were seen enjoying the snowfall at Sonamarg, despite the snowfall dipping the temperature.

“We are enjoying the snowfall. We feel lucky that we witnessed it this time,” a tourist from Mumbai said.

“We were here for a couple of days and were not expecting snow this time. However, early snowfall has brought so much joy to us,” another tourist from Bangalore said.

Meanwhile, hoteliers and people associated with the tourism industry at Sonamarg were expecting good business after the snowfall.

“Tourists always love snow and we expect that the number of tourists will increase in the coming days after the snow, which will have a good impact on our business,” Mudasir Ahmad, a hotelier said. "Everyone associated with tourism is upbeat after the snowfall and hopefully the tourist footfall will increase in the coming days,” Shahzad Ahmad, another hotelier said.

He said that there was not much tourist footfall at Sonamarg right now but expects the tourists to flock to the health resort now.

The administration is gearing up to keep Sonamarg open during the winter this year and promote it as a winter tourist destination.

However, the hoteliers and traders have urged the administration to ensure all arrangements including water and electricity besides a proper plan for road clearance so that tourists and people do not face any inconvenience during winter.

"This is what J&K looks like right now! Here are some visuals of the fresh snowfall from the Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam and Dodhpathri! Booked your tickets yet?" Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department posted on X.