Shimla, Dec 19 (IANS): It's "pleasant" in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, than in plains of north India!

The Met Office here on Wednesday said many places in the plains like Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Hisar and Karnal remained colder than hilly tourist destinations Shimla, Dharamsala and Palampur.

In Haryana, Hisar was the coldest city in the region, with the minimum temperature recorded at 2.9 degrees Celsius. Amritsar and Ludhiana saw the low of 3.6 and 4.0 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Chandigarh recorded a low of 5.4 degrees Celsius, while in Haryana, Ambala with 6.7 degrees, Karnal 5.0 and Punjab's Patiala 5.6 degrees Celsius were in the grip of cold through the region.

Hill stations across Himachal Pradesh have been experiencing long hours of sunny weather for the past few days and the temperatures in most places have risen.

An official at the Shimla Meteorological Office told IANS the current minimum temperature in the hill state is two-three degrees above the season's average.

Shimla, located around 7,000 feet above sea level, and Dharamsala, the abode of Tibetan spiritual leader, experienced "cosy nights" compared to most of the plains of adjoining states.

The Himachal Pradesh capital recorded a low of 9.4 degrees Celsius, while it was 5.6 degrees in Dharamsala and five degrees in Palampur.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district in the hill state was the coldest in the region with a low of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius, while picturesque tourist resort Manali recorded 0.4 degrees.

"What a mellow sun in Shimla from the biting cold of the plains," remarked Abhishek Sinha, a tourist from New Delhi.

His wife Urmi added: "It is pleasant to be in the hills these days."

Manmohan Singh, Director of Shimla's Meteorological Department, told IANS that the minimum and maximum temperatures are high in the hill stations due to prevailing dry weather and no foggy conditions.

The dry weather conditions would continue in the region till December 25, he added.