Woollens out, surprise for tourists as snow blankets Kashmir’s upper reaches

The woollens are out earlier than usual as Kashmir has seen a sudden onset of winter chill after rains and snow lashed its plains and mountains.

While the night temperature at the tourist health resort of Gulmarg has dipped below the freezing point, the valley plains have seen temperatures drop 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Tourists are thrilled by the unexpected snow at Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg resorts. “I am lucky,” said Vaishali, a tourist from Nepal, as she enjoyed the snowfall at Kongdoori in Gulmarg. “I could not have imagined I would see snow in October.”

While the rains lashed most parts of the Kashmir valley, a white blanket of snow covered the higher reaches, including tourist resorts like Pahalgam in south Kashmir, Sonamarg on Srinagar-Leh road, Daksum