While the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) recorded 2,21,643 footfalls in April 2022, it registered 3,45,752 visitors this April.

The tourist season started last year soon after the end of the pandemic, an official from GBG said.

But this year, tourists started to arrive from the beginning of April to escape from the heat in the plains and take a break from their routine.

Over 1,50,000 tourists visited the botanical garden in the last week of April, he said. “Normally, 6,000 to 7,000 people visit the garden daily during the season. But over 10,000 visitors had a glimpse of the garden every day in the past weeks,” he added.

“Despite the continuous rain and wet weather in the hills in the past few days, the garden attracted more visitors,” an official said.

The number of tourists visiting the holiday retreat has increased, but most are one-day tourists, said a hotelier.

“Security has been tightened in the town for the past two weeks. On an average, around 10,000 vehicles enter the hill town daily,” police said.

As the floating crowd increases, the number of visitors who tend to stay in the hill town for a day or two decreases yearly.

With over 2.5 lakh of flower plants in full bloom in the garden spread across 50 acres, the GBG attracted more visitors than other tourist spots in the town.

The potted flower varieties include cyclamen, French marigold, balsam, salvia, daisy, aster and petunia.u