Father Christmas brought a record number of travellers to Darjeeling this Yuletide, a gift that surprised even the biggest optimist in the pandemic year.

Ajoy Edwards, owner of the iconic century- old Glenary’s in Darjeeling said that the rush was so great that they ran out of Christmas cakes two days ago.

“This has never happened before in our history,” he said.

Given the curbs on movement because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Glenary’s family had baked fewer cakes. “We had prepared 3,000-odd X’mas cakes unlike the usual 5,000-odd cakes in normal years,” said Edwards.

By December 23, all 3,000 Christmas cakes were sold out. Pastries and other items can be seen on the counters but not the cakes. And there won’t be any for New Year too, as “the entire process of preparing a Christmas cake takes almost a month”, Edwards said.

Seasoned businessman Edwards was way off the mark in his predictions for cakes.

The statistics from another iconic eatery in Darjeeling, Keventer’s, tells a similar tale.

“Going by our sales figures this Christmas, I can safely say that there have been an increase of more than 50 percent in tourist footfall compared to December last year,” said Rahul Jha, owner of Keventer’s.

The pandemic had not hit India last December and thus this figure has surprised everyone.

“There is a huge queue to enter Keventer’s throughout the day,” said Jha.

The scene before Glenary’s was no different on Friday.

Glenary’s might have run out cakes but not on the fun spirit of the festival week.

A piped band from Kalimpong played on the Glenary’s selfie stand with their music synchronising with the huge signage that read: HOPE.

“We all are looking ahead to the new year 2021 with a lot of hope,” said Edwards.

Apart from the band, musical shows have been lined up at Buzz, the resto-bar of the eatery throughout the week.

The crowd at Keventer’s awash with the Yuletide spirit. Telegraph picture

A few hundred metres uphill, Chowrasta, too, bustled with people on Christmas, having undergone a sea change from the recent near-empty scenes.

Tourists are being spoilt for choice at “Gundri Bazaar”, an event organised by Decibel and Vik-Run Foundation that is providing a platform for new start-ups.

From local handicrafts and food to organic products, the buyer is inundated with goodies.

The festive spirit on full display in Darjeeling might entice more tourists. But rooms are in short supply.

“I was looking for five rooms and I could not find one. Most places are fully booked through this week,” said Samir Singhal, treasurer of the Darjeeling Hotel Owners’s Assocation. “All categories of hotels are doing well,” said Singhal.

A member of the hotel association — around 300 odd hotels are affiliated to his group — said not enough rooms speaks volumes of the tourist flow in Darjeeling. Travellers are mostly from Bengal.

“More than 90 per cent of the tourists are from Bengal. Darjeeling has always been a quick getaway. Many are reaching here on their own vehicles and also on bikes,” said Rajesh Rajak, general manager, Pine Tree Resorts.

The urge to travel seems to be pushed by a number of factors, the dominating factor being the “stifling feeling” brought about by Covid-19 restrictions.

“I do visit Darjeeling frequently but after lockdown I had this very strong urge to get out of Calcutta as there was this stifling feeling within the family,” said Sudipto Ghosh, a businessman from Taratala, Calcutta.

Many holidaymakers said it was easy to plan holidays as most educational institutions are closed. “Also the hotel prices are very competitive. I had booked my rooms almost a month back,” said Kingshuk Shah from Behala, Calcutta.

Hotelier Rajak said most bookings came through online platforms.

On a normal year, Darjeeling receives almost 4 lakh domestic tourists on an average. This year, Darjeeling has been without tourists for most part of the year, until now.