Tourists enjoy the snowfall at Tiger Hill. (Suman Tamang)

Tiger Hill, Jan. 11: The upper reaches of Darjeeling received the season’s first snowfall today but the hill residents could not experience the precipitation for a long time as the sun soon broke through the gloomy sky.

As the excitement gave way to exasperation, the people, maybe for the first time, complained about the sunshine, relished much during the winter.

For most part of the day, the sky was clear in Darjeeling and also at Tiger Hill, which is at a higher elevation of 8,100ft. The sky suddenly turned grey in the Jorebunglow-Tiger Hill area around 1pm and by then, dark clouds had formed over the Darjeeling town as well.

To the surprise of even the most ardent snow chasers in Darjeeling, news trickled in that snowflakes had started descending at Tiger Hill. They did not expect the snowfall on a sunny day.

The local people and tourists alike soon starting hiring taxis for Tiger Hill. Within half an hour, Tiger Hill, 14km from Darjeeling, was teeming with snow chasers.

“It is simply heavenly. This is a once-in-a-life experience for me and my family members,” said Ashima Roy, a tourist from Calcutta.

There are not many tourists in Darjeeling at this time. But Roy’s family could only thank their stars for being in the hill town at the right time.

The sun was soon back both in Darjeeling and Tiger Hill and with it, the 2cm-thick snow started to melt.

For once, everyone in Darjeeling was disappointed with the sunshine. “It’s been quite some time since the town experienced a proper snowfall,” said Dhanraj Ghisingh, a resident of Darjeeling.

The snowfall continued for about 45 minutes at Tiger Hill.

Even though one could still see the blue sky from Darjeeling, residents screamed in excitement when some snowflakes were spotted in the town. The flakes had probably been blown from Tiger Hill.

Tiger Hill receives snowfall almost every year. The Darjeeling town, situated around 6,400ft, had last experienced the snowfall on January 26, 2008. But the residents could not enjoy much then as the snow was washed off in a drizzle. “I, however, remember playing with snow when it had snowed in the town on February 14, 2007,” said Deepmilan Pradhan, a resident.