Shimla covered in a blanket of snow as the Himalayan city receives the first snowfall this winterShimla: Himachal Pradesh's picturesque resorts of Shimla and Manali woke up this morning to a white blanket of snow which was the season's first snowfall in the state capital, the weather bureau said.The residents of Shimla shivered as icy winds brought down the temperature significantly.

Tourist spots near Shimla, such Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda too experienced snowfall.Manali and its nearby tourist spots - Solang, Gulaba and the Rohtang Pass too have been experiencing heavy snowfall.Kalpa in Kinnaur district and Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district saw snow for the second consecutive day.Temperatures remained below the freezing point at most places in the state with widespread snow and rain since Monday, an official of the meteorological office told news agency IANS, adding the western disturbances would start withdrawing from Thursday.The majestic Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas surrounding Dharamsala wore a fresh blanket of snow."High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts have experienced moderate to heavy snow," a Met official said.Rain lashed lower areas of the state such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, pulling down temperatures.