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Chaos in the Hills: Nainital to Shimla Overwhelmed by Tourists, Hotels at 12K, Traffic Jams.
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News18•04-10-2026, 11:39
Chaos in the Hills: Nainital to Shimla Overwhelmed by Tourists, Hotels at 12K, Traffic Jams.
- •A long three-day weekend led to chaos in the hills, with vehicle queues stretching for kilometers and thousands flocking to hill station markets.
- •Nainital's hotels, homestays, and guesthouses were fully booked, leaving many tourists searching for rooms late into the night, some forced to wait by the lake or on roads.
- •Tourists reported some hotels demanding 10 to 12 thousand rupees for vacant rooms, with complaints of arbitrary pricing amid room shortages.
- •Shimla also experienced significant tourist influx, leading to increased vehicle pressure and long queues from Tara Devi to Shimla, causing hours of delay.
- •Traffic jams also affected the Badrinath pilgrimage route, with queues stretching 7 to 9 kilometers from Joshimath to Vishnuprayag, delaying pilgrims for hours.
Key Questions Answered
A long three-day weekend caused a massive influx of tourists to flock to hill stations, leading to collapsed systems, fully booked hotels, and severe traffic congestion.
Tourists reported that some hotels and their staff were demanding between 10,000 and 12,000 rupees for vacant rooms, though these rates could not be independently confirmed.
In the span of 24 hours, over 17,000 vehicles entered Shimla, with more than 7,000 of them being tourist vehicles coming from states like Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Delhi.
