The dip in the mercury in the Darjeeling hills and snowfall in the upper reaches of Sikkim have triggered a massive influx of tourists since Christmas, with visitors flocking to the mountains to enjoy the chill.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the possibility of light to moderate snowfall in the upper reaches of the hills by the weekend.

Although snowfall had occurred in a few years in Sikkim, the biting cold has been enough to draw tourists to the popular destinations, including Darjeeling.

According to sources in the Sikkim tourism department, hotels and other accommodations, especially in north Sikkim, are almost fully booked.

“There is currently a huge turnout of tourists, and almost all hotels in north Sikkim are fully booked,” said S.K. Subba, adviser to the Sikkim government’s tourism and civil aviation department.

“More than 6,000 tourists visited the Nathu-la pass and the Tsomgo Lake area of east Sikkim on Sunday. The heavy inflow also led to traffic congestion on the Mangan–Gangtok road on Monday,” he said over the phone.

Tourism officials said visitors had been heading to north Sikkim since Christmas in the hope of witnessing snowfall.

“Snowfall has already been reported at Zero Point. Tourist inflow has increased steadily since Christmas, and most hotels are operating at full capacity,” a source said.

In the past 24 hours, several locations in Sikkim recorded low temperatures — five degrees Celsius at Gyalsing, 6.5 degrees Celsius at Mazitar, and 6.8 degrees Celsius at Pakyong.

An IMD official said the weather conditions were expected to remain dry for most of the week.

“From Friday onwards, moderate rain and snowfall are very likely in the high-altitude areas of Mangan, Gyalsing, and Gangtok,” the official said.

The temperature has also dipped in the Darjeeling hills and the adjoining plains of north Bengal.

In the past 24 hours, Darjeeling recorded a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius, while Kalimpong registered 9 degrees Celsius. In the plains, Raiganj emerged as the coldest location, with the mercury dropping to 11.5 degrees Celsius.

The IMD also warned of dense fog in most districts of north Bengal’s plains. “The weather will remain dry, but dense fog may affect visibility until late afternoon in many areas,” the official added.

Officials of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) said all toy train rides were fully booked until January 2, reflecting strong tourist demand amid the chilly winter weather.

“Most of the hotels in Darjeeling are having an occupancy rate of over 90 per cent these days. Also, the homestays are full in most locations as tourists are arriving in the region every day to enjoy the winter,” said Tanmoy Goswami, who runs a travel company in Siliguri.

The surge in the tourist footfall, he said, is likely to continue throughout January. “There is a steady trend of bookings of accommodations and vehicles for the next few weeks. It will definitely boost the tourism industry that had suffered because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) in Sikkim and intermittent landslides along the hill highways,” he added.