Residents of Darjeeling look at photgraphs entered for a contest on the theme of the recent snowfall in the hill station. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, Dec. 31: With concerts, carnivals, food fests, felicitations, celebration of seasons and photography contests, the Queen of Hills has emerged as the queen of hearts, catapulted to the status of a winner among tourist destinations in the region.

Having perfected the art of wooing tourists with events galore, the hill town has begun chalking out plans for 2004, and with a little help from snow and fair weather, it is confident of grabbing the lion’s share of visitors headed for cooler climes.

The results of the round-the-year festivity are there for all to see.

“More than 4.25 lakh domestic tourists and 40,000 international tourists visited the hill town this year. And the figures do not include the thousands who arrived during the Dalai Lama’s recent trip to the town,” said D. Pariyar, assistant director of tourism, DGHC. The figures, he said, are better than in previous years.

Dinesh Sharma, general manager, Fortune Resort Central, said: “This has been an exceptionally good year and, going by the trend, things will only get better if we can keep such celebrations going.”

The high point of the year was the Darjeeling Carnival, a 10-day fun, food and cultural fiesta held from November 7. A group of 30, which struck upon the idea of the immensely successful carnival, said it would only be “too glad to oblige”.

“Greater thrills are in store for visitors who come to the hills next year,” said Saahesh Prasad, one of the organisers of the carnival. “The preparation for next year’s carnival and other shows are on, and this time they will be on a grander scale. Plans are in the pipeline to hold the programmes simultaneously in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.”

Everyone is bubbling over with novel ideas. A carnival office has already been set up and two persons appointed to compile the new concepts.

“We had only one thing to show through all the festivities,” said Namrata Edwards, an event organiser. “To portray Darjeeling as the nicest place on earth.”

More than the festivity, however, it was the camaraderie of the residents in times of crises that made the hill town come closer to the title.

It was June 23, a week after the Monsoon Fest, that heavy landslides bore down on Mirik, destroying 10 houses. Another mammoth landslide hit Mirik on July 8, killing 23 and displacing more than 1,052 people.

Though the hill town was crippled, the residents united for the victims. Funds were raised and more than 20 truckloads of relief material were sent to Mirik.

Then, on October 19, came the ropeway tragedy in which three cable cars plunged around 100 feet, killing four tourists.

Even as the disaster cast a pall of gloom over the town and threatened to end the festive ambience and tourist season prematurely, the group of 30 came up with the idea of hosting the first ever Darjeeling Carnival to cheer up residents and visitors.

The carnival, which introduced adventure sports like parasailing in the hills for the fist time, was a runaway success. A concert by the “godfather of jazz”, Louis Banks, and performances by the police band helped the hill town get over the negative publicity arising out of the tragedy.

The feel-good spirit spread by the carnival was capped by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit soon after.