Thousands thronged the Palace, Mysore Zoo, Chamundi Hills and Brindavan Gardens on the outskirts of the city throughout the weekend. Sunday saw the palace and zoo witnessing the highest number of visitors this summer season. The Chamarajendra Zoological gardens registered a record gate collection of a whopping Rs 9.4 lakh on a single day with 30,000 visitors. “The collection is the highest since Dasara,” the zoo Executive Director K B Markandaiah told Deccan Herald.

According to him, the weekend government holidays have brought a good number of visitors to the zoo. Also, wide publicity for exotic additions like Hunting Cheetah and Asiatic lions did the trick. The Mysore Zoo will turn more exciting for people in the coming days when Anaconda and African buffaloes are set to be added.

The zoo is also working on constructing a separate enclosure for the Lorris Loft to enable people watch these exotic birds feed on nectar. Such a facility for Lorris exists only in Singapore zoo at present, he said. He attributed the increase in revenue for the zoo to the recent hike in ticket prices.

As visitors from far and wide flooded the tourist spots, traffic was thrown out of gear in the evening hours in the vicinity of the Mysore palace and the zoo. The ongoing work on the Rajamarga on Albert Victor Road also affected traffic movement. Tourist vehicles were seen scrambling for parking space, even as vehicles were found parked on the main roads.