Darjeeling, Dec. 25: Residents of Kurseong and adjoining areas had a white Christmas, though not literally, when a sharp shower brought hailstones along, enough to whiten up the place late in the evening.

However, in the higher reaches of the Darjeeling hills around the Sandakphu area at an altitude of more than 12,000 ft above sea level, a light snowfall was experienced during the day.

Vishal Thapa, a resident of Maneybhanghyan, from where the trekkers to Sandakphu start their 30 km journey, told The Telegraph: “We also had hailstones for about an hour from about 4.30 pm in the evening and trekkers coming from Sandakphu seem quite excited for having witnessed a very light snowfall today.”

However, Maneybhangyan did not experience any snowfall during the day even as icy cold winds swept the entire area.

Though no hailstones greeted Darjeeling today, the day was cold and shrouded with fog as the temperature hovered around the 5 degree Celsius mark. For the past few days, the sun has not been shining brightly, resulting in temperatures plummeting to near about sub-zero during the night.

The crowd in the market place was thin as the people chose to celebrate Christmas in their homes.