Shimla, Oct 1 (IANS): Tens of thousands of devotees from across the region on Saturday thronged temples in Himachal Pradesh to mark the onset of the 10-day long Navratri festival, the holy period for the Hindus.

"We are expecting over 30,000 devotees every day at the temple," an official at the hilltop Naina Devi shrine told IANS.

One of the busiest shrines in north India, the Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district sees a majority of pilgrims from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Likewise, a huge rush was seen since early morning at the popular temples of Chintpurni in Una, Baba Balak Nath in Hamirpur, Brajeshwari Devi, Jwalaji and Chamunda Devi in Kangra and Bhimakali and Hateshwari in Shimla district.

The festival will conclude on October 10.

Devotees would be able to watch live 'darshan' of Brajeshwari Devi, Naina Devi, Chintpurni, and Jwalaji temples and would also be able to offer online offerings.