Since the days of marking the location of the home of the Asiatic lion on the map of India during geography classes in school, the Gir wildlife sanctuary has always held an attraction for me. Living in Delhi and in spite of travelling all over India, visiting the wilderness of Gir forest somehow never happened. Located in a far corner of the state of Gujarat in western India, it just seemed too far. In January this year, while on a work assignment in Gujarat for a few months, I finally made the trip to Sasan Gir along with my parents.

Located in Junagadh district of Saurashtra, the Sasan Gir region is home to mostly pastoral communities of Maldharis and Siddis with forests, farms and river streams dotting its landscape. The main tourist road within Sasan Gir is surrounded on both sides by the forest wilderness and is mostly deserted with only a handful of shops sprinkled here and there. Deers moving around in the forest can be spotted from the road once in a while. On two occasions, two deers with big horns crossed the road right in front of our car. Many YouTube videos will show that sighting lions crossing these roads is also not unusual. A number of hotels and luxury resorts for different budgets have been developed here for tourists.  We stayed at a nice resort, the Gir Birding Lodge, located in the midst of a mango orchard where the trees were laden with early stage mango blooms. The weather was pleasantly chilly and after a long road trip of 9 hours from Vadodara, we relished the tender chicken curry and soft chapatis served in the dinner buffet.

Early next morning we were off to our safari.  The forest safari is divided over 13 routes and each visitor group can only go on one particular route which is allotted to them at the time of registration at the office. This is to ensure that the tourist burden is evenly distributed across all routes.

Established in 1965, the Gir national park is a dry deciduous forest spread over 1412 sq km.  Being winter season, the forest was mostly dry and brown in color at this time. Gir is the last place in the world to see the endangered Asiatic lion. It is a testimony to the success of the wildlife conservation program, that from 177 in 1968, the lion population has steadily increased to 523 (as of 2018) including males, females and cubs.  As our safari guide informed us (I guess all the guides repeat the same fact sheet to the visitors), the lions have enough prey to hunt with over 62,000 deers roaming the forest. As per our guide, a lion typically consumes 35 – 40 kg of meat in one meal which is enough for 3 – 4 days. The smaller spotted deer can only meet a lion’s breakfast needs and it is the bigger species of deer such as sambar, chinkara, nilgai, and wild pigs which the lions chase for their weekly feast. The availability of prey and watering holes developed by the authorities ensure a sustainable habitat for the lions. Besides lions, the conservation program has also protected and nurtured the rich biodiversity of the Gir ecosystem. Over 300 species of birds, 550 species of flowering plants and 2000 insect species can be found in these forests.

Exploring this rich wilderness for two hours was a very satisfying experience. We were lucky to spot a  number of animals such as sambar, chital, nilgai, blackbucks and several birds. The star attraction, however, eluded us. We couldn’t witness lions prowling through the forest or taking a walk on our safari route. We could only spot two female lions having a siesta, oblivious to all the fuss around them. That disappointment notwithstanding, we thoroughly enjoyed this trip.

How to visit Gir National Park:

Sasan Gir is well connected by road to all major metro cities in Gujarat i.e. Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot. Junagadh (65 km) and Veraval (45 km) are the nearest railway stations and are well connected by trains to all major cities in India. Rajkot (160 km) and Diu (100 km) are the nearest airports. Buses are also available from Junagadh to Gir.

The permits for the safari have to be booked here prior to visiting the park. It is the only official site to book the safari permit. One permit allows up to 6 persons and costs INR 800. A print out of the permit along with ID proof for all the members in the group has to be presented at the Gir reception office. A jeep (INR 1700) and guide (INR 400) are then allotted to you. So the total cost for the safari for up to 6 persons comes to INR 2900. This cost is for only Indian nationals. It is different for foreigners. Details are on the website.