After snowfall, Jomsom looks even more scenic

POKHARA: After three hours of snowfall, Jomsom, a beautiful hilly town across the Himalayas, looked even more beautiful on Thursday morning.

With rays of the sun reflecting off flakes of snow that covered most parts of Mustang district, Jomsom bazaar looked like a grand stage as if it was extravagantly prepared for some romantic movie scenes.

Tourists, who had reached Jomsom before snowfall, were delighted to see their hotel gardens, streets and surrounding hills covered with snowflakes. "It was a sort of visual treat for them," said Bidur Kuinkel, Jomosm office chief of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). "On Wednesday, they could not see how beautiful Jomsom had become as it was already dark. But when they woke up Thursday morning, they were thrilled to see snow."


A Stunning view of Jomsom after Thursday´s snowfall. (Santosh Pokharel)

After Wednesday´s snowfall, local farmers in Mustang have also been happy as snowfall is good for apple farming -- the mainstay of Mustang´s agro economy.
Although snowfall led to fall in temperature, the afternoon was a bit warmer. "In the morning, temperature hit sub-zero level," said Surya Bahadur Khatri, air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport. "As the sun pierced through the clouds and the wind stopped blowing, we did not feel cold in the afternoon."

Kagbeni, Chhusang, Muktinath, Marpha and Tukuche of Mustang, apart from Jomsom, had also received snowfall on Wednesday night.

In Jomsom, flights were disrupted for a few hours as the runway was covered with snow until late Thursday morning. Planes that were scheduled to take off for Jomsom from Pokhara at 7 a.m. were held back until 10 in the morning.

"Planes landed in Jomsom only when all snowflakes that had covered the runway melted," said Khatri. "Planes might slide off the runway when they land on the snow-covered airport."

source: republica,16 jan 2014
Photo: A Stunning view of Jomsom after Thursday´s snowfall. (Santosh Pokharel)