Manali/Shimla:
Himachal Pradesh is living a postcard moment this winter. From Shimla to Manali, Dalhousie to Dharamshala–McLeodganj, the hills are buried under two to three feet of fresh snow, turning the state into a surreal white playground.
For thousands of tourists, this is not a crisis but a once-in-a-lifetime adventure—voluntarily embraced, eagerly chased, and proudly endured.
Ask the stranded tourists, and many will tell you they came prepared for this kind of thrill: spending hours in cars on snowy roads, camping at roadside homestays, sipping tea at highway dhabas, far away from the comfort—and boredom—of city life. Hotels, homestays, eateries and roadside stalls are overflowing, doing brisk business. Hoteliers say they have never seen such a sudden winter windfall.
Yet, this celebration of snow and adventure has been painted as “misery” by sections of the national media and self-styled influencers, who are busy churning out cut-and-paste reels and dramatic visuals to harvest virality, views and TRPs. What is being sensationalised as chaos is, for many tourists, a chosen experience—snow in its raw, untamed form.
Roads Choked, Not Spirits
Shimla’s Mall Road, Ridge, Cart Road, Dhalli–Shoghi–Taradevi stretch and the Shimla bypass are saturated with traffic as tourists jostle for a glimpse—and a touch—of snow. Even if it means being stranded for hours, visitors are willing to wait, soaking in what they call the “magic and spiritual uplift” of snowfall.
Manali presents an even starker picture. The town is jam-packed for over 15 km along both banks of the Beas River. Traffic snarls are stretching endlessly, largely due to drivers unskilled in navigating snowy, slushy roads. Many tourists arrived unplanned and unprepared as walk-ins, inevitably getting stuck. In such a massive inflow, no amount of policing can restore order.
Public Works Department (PWD) and NHAI have failed to clear roads adequately for safe two-way movement. The problem is compounded by heavy buses and trucks stranded in slush—vehicles simply not equipped for icy conditions—adding to the gridlock.
Amid the chaos, humanity has stood out. Local residents have stepped in, serving stranded tourists tea, snacks and food on roadsides, a quiet reminder of Himachal’s hospitality.
Administration Reacts, But Too Late
In Manali, thousands of tourists returning from January 26 holidays were forced to spend the night trapped in their cars amid snow and jams. The administration later distributed food supplies, while the health department conducted check-ups for stranded people. Several roads remain blocked, and daily life has been disrupted across snowbound areas.
But these were reactive measures—far from enough.
The snowfall has brutally exposed Himachal’s ill-prepared disaster management apparatus. The state government should have proactively opened school buildings, government premises and community halls to accommodate stranded tourists who couldn’t find rooms. Arrangements for food, bonfires and heating were conspicuously missing, even as Manali and parts of Shimla faced power outages lasting over 24 hours.
Equally glaring was the failure to regulate tourist inflow. Entry points at Mandi, Kullu, Solan, Kandaghat and Shoghi should have been controlled once the towns exceeded their carrying capacity. Instead, tourists continued to crawl bumper-to-bumper into and out of Shimla and Manali, choking hill towns already stretched to the limit—made worse by a weekend and three consecutive holidays.
Systemic Failure, Repeated Every Season
This winter episode once again underlines a hard truth: Himachal lacks adequate snow-clearing infrastructure and modern machinery. Disaster management in the state repeatedly collapses when nature strikes—be it monsoon floods or winter snowfall.
The power crisis tells the same story. HPSEBL is short of field and technical staff, and its overhead transmission lines are poorly laid. Every snowfall brings recurring snaps and trippings, plunging towns into darkness at the very moment when heating and lighting are most critical.
Adventure Tourism Thrives, Governance Falters
Himachal’s winter tourism is thriving—not because of the system, but despite it. Tourists have embraced the adventure; locals have shown compassion. What’s missing is preparedness, planning and political will.
Snowfall is not a surprise in Himachal. It is a promise. Until the administration learns to manage it proactively—rather than firefighting after collapse—every spell of snow will continue to expose the widening gap between the state’s tourism potential and its governance capacity.
