India's Gir National Park - Travel Guide & Tips

[Naresh Shah]

Mayankvagadiya

Gir National Park, famous as the only home for Asiatic lions attracts flock of tourists from all over the world as it is the only place in the entire world to watch the lions beside Africa. Gir is a splendid abode for all the wildlife photographers and greatly admired wild life sanctuary amidst the tourists from world-wide. In 2000, the lions were hunted to almost extinction and so listed critically endangered but due to continuous and hard conservation efforts, the numbers of Asiatic lions now have been recovered. As per census conducted in 2020, the total population of lion was recorded at 674. In comparison to 2015, the numbers of Asiatic lions in Gir and its surrounding area has increased by 29%, and it’s a great boost to the efforts of conservation programmes.

• Location of Gir National Park: the park is located in Junagarh district of Sasan Gir Village in Gujarat, with the main entry at Sasan Gir Village. Here the Girnar temple is very famous and so attracts a large number of devotees every year. Underneath this famous temple, in the pastoral areas there is a vast forest which is famous as Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary. It is just 40 kilometers from Veraval. In addition to the park there is Gir Interpretation zone which is also famous by the name of Devalia Safari Park. It is located at a distance of 12 kms towards devalia in the west. This area is enclosed by a fence and has variety of wild life animals including Asiatic Lion.

• How to reach Gir National Park: This national park attracts a large number of tourists every year as it is the only place in the entire world to watch the activities of majestic lion beside Africa. Junagarh is just 65 kms and veraval is only 40 kms to the national park and very well connected by trains to the major cities like Ahmedabad, Rajkot and other cities. From Junagarh it hardly requires one and half hour to reach Gir National Park. Nearest airport from Gir National Park is Rajkot (132kms) and Keshod (38kms) and both are connected to Mumbai. By Air, one can easily reach at Rajkot and from there taxi, bus and trains are available for Junagarh. You can also take bus services from different major cities and can easily reach to Sasan Gir National Park.

• Best Time to Visit: Every year the protected area remains closed from 16th June to 15th October. In these seasons, due to the arrival of west monsoon, park remains closed. Climatically the best season to visit is from December to March. But for spotting wild life and for photography, the best seasons are April and May. Though these months are too hot.

• Opening Hours and Safari Timings: Tourists can enjoy exploring the Gir National Park from mid October to mid June. You can have safari ride at 6:30 am, 9:00am and 3:00pm daily during these periods. Each safari ride is of three hours. The safari ride of Devalia Interpretation Zone remains open throughout the year from Thursday to Tuesday (Wednesday closed).

• Online Booking of Safaris: E-permit is the only option which grants access to visit Gir National Park. One has to receive permit per jeep which can occupy 6 occupants at a time. You have to obtain permit for Gir National Park as well as for Gir Interpretation Zone ( Devalia Safari Park). You should try to book your safari ride three months advance - and at the very latest before 48 hours before. Just 30 vehicles at one time are allowed for safari ride to explore the national park. So rides are limited, seats are limited, so you have to book your online booking of safaris well in advance.