Zoological parks and toy trains recorded high footfalls in the hills and plains of north Bengal during the winter festive season from Christmas.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) said all joy ride services were fully booked until January 2.
Officials of the state forest department said that North Bengal Wild Animal Park (Bengal Safari Park) and the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) together generated ticket sales of nearly ₹10 lakh on Thursday, reflecting the surge in footfall.
The Bengal Safari Park, which is on the outskirts of Siliguri and the region’s only open-air zoological park, drew close to 3,000 visitors during the festive rush on Thursday.
“We recorded around 2,850 visitors, with ticket sales amounting to ₹8.20 lakh. This high turnout is because of the Christmas vacation, and we expect the steady flow to continue for at least the next week,” said Vijay Kumar E, director of the park.
The safari park currently houses around 800 animals of 62 different species, including the Bengal tiger, Asiatic black bear, crocodiles, deer, and several species of birds, along with a nature interpretation centre, making it a major attraction for wildlife enthusiasts.
Tourist footfall has also remained strong in the hills, with hoteliers and tour operators reporting a rise in visitors during the winter
vacation period.
At the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling, officials recorded 3,936 visitors on Christmas Day, with ticket sales of ₹2.77 lakh, said Arun Mukherjee, the park’s director.
Despite its usual weekly closure on Thursdays, these parks remained open because of the festival.
“Both these parks will also remain open on January 1, another scheduled weekly closure day. These will be closed on January 2,” said an official.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) operated 13 toy train joy ride services on Christmas day, which is higher than the usual nine services between Darjeeling and Ghoom, to manage the increased tourist influx.
“Considering the heavy rush of visitors, these additional joy ride services will continue till January 5. These days, there is a steady demand for tickets, and all seats of all the joy rides have been booked till January 2,” a DHR official said.