Mussoorie/Haridwar/Haldwani : An unprecedented influx of tourists and pilgrims during the extended weekend triggered massive traffic jam in Uttarakhand, clogging local roads and trapping tourists in their vehicles for hours. Local officials said the surge in number of visitors was driven by a combination of summer vacations, rising temperatures across North India, the ongoing Char Dham Yatra and the long weekend. The Queen of Hills witnessed one of its busiest weekends of the summer as thousands of tourists headed to Mussoorie to escape the scorching heat in the plains. Traffic began building up on Friday evening and intensified through Saturday, with major roads witnessing long queues of vehicles. According to the officials, more than 3,000 vehicles entered Mussoorie daily since Friday. Officials also attributed part of the tourist surge to the recently operational Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, which has reduced travel time between Delhi to Dehradun to around three hours. “The expressway made the journey very comfortable, but the last stretch to Mussoorie took nearly three hours,” said Mohamad Haris, a tourist from Noida. Haridwar witnessed an overwhelming rush of pilgrims and visitors due to the ongoing Char Dham Yatra, summer vacations and religious events associated with the auspicious Jyesth Purushottam month. Officials estimated that more than 50,000 tourists visited Nainital district during the extended weekend. Kedarnath suspended Meanwhile, Kedarnath Yatra was briefly suspended on Sunday due to rainfall and an orange alert issued by the India Meteorological Department .