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Visiting Gir National Park | An Easy Weekend Itinerary | Do it Yourself
About Gir National Park
Why visit Gir? Because Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only natural habitat of the endangered Asiatic lions. The park offers the unique opportunity to see these majestic creatures up close in their natural environment. Gir is also richly biodiverse and home to various other species such as leopards, hyenas, crocodiles, peacocks, etc. The ecosystem consists of dry deciduous forests and open grasslands. The forest is coloured like a lion’s skin, with a profusion of teak and acacia variations, and the occasional massive banyan and ghost of Gir gum trees.
Gir is situated near Mumbai and has good connectivity through both train and airplane, making it an ideal weekend getaway for nature lovers. You can easily do this weekend itinerary yourself in the Gir National Park.
About the Asiatic lion
The Asiatic lion is one of the rarest big cat species in the world. At its lowest point in the early 20th century, the population was almost nil. However, through conservation efforts, their numbers have increased, and hovers around 700-800, almost all of them in Gir National Park. Asiatic lions are smaller than their African counterparts and have a prominent longitudinal fold of skin on their bellies. Male Asiatic lions have a distinctive long and dark-coloured mane that grows around their head and neck, extending to the shoulders and chest. Asiatic lions are social animals, living in prides, consisting of several females, their cubs, and one or more dominant males. The males defend their territory and protect their pride from intruders. They are primarily active during the night and early morning, spending much of the day resting and conserving energy. Asiatic lions are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
How to Reach
Best Time to Visit
Booking a Safari
Overview
Gir offers well-organized safari tours for visitors to explore the forest and observe wildlife without overcrowding or disturbing the animals. It’s perfectly easy to book a safari through the government website, but you need to book much in advance. Book only from the official site.
The Parks
Gir
Gir National Park is the main forest with the most number of lions in their natural habitat. The forest is divided into 13 routes and 50 jeeps are allowed each day in a time slot, making for a very pleasant, non-intrusive viewing experience with low disturbance for the animals. Allocation of the routes is random. Preserve the voucher for your next safari so you are allocated a different route. The routes have to be followed rigorously and a jeep cannot change the route as per will in case a lion was spotted somewhere.
We went on Route 13 the first morning (10 lion sightings, 3 leopard sightings, and the Kamleshwar Dam view) and Route 9 (5 lion sightings, and a thicker forest).
The queue at the counter to get a gipsy and guide is long, even at 5:30 a.m. in peak summer, but it moves fast. You only need to show the mobile reservation voucher along with your Aadhar card to be assigned both.
In summer, the safaris take place at 6-9 a.m., 9-12 a.m., and 4-7 p.m. It costs INR 1000/- to book a permit online (INR 800/- on weekdays). After that, onsite you pay gipsy charges of INR 2000/- + Guide INR 400/- + INR 200 for a camera.
The park also has cosy rooms near the reception known as Sinh Sadan which can be booked online. Rooms cost INR 3000/ night.
Devaliya
The gipsy safari bookings for Devaliya and Gir are next to each other. The Devaliya bus safari is 13 kilometres away from the gipsy booking area. Gir safari permits need to be booked online, and Devaliya—whose gipsy costs the same but the safari time is shorter—appeared to be for those who did not or could not book Gir online and can be done on-site.
Devaliya Safari can be done alongside Gir for confirmed sightings of lions, but it may feel a bit like a controlled environment like a zoo. Devaliya has both bus and gipsy safaris. And the buses leave only when they are full.
Ambardi
Ambardi is a newer park where you can see lions accompanied by probably smaller crowds. Ambardi is close to Khodiyar Dam in Dhari which is an added attraction. Amabardi offers more economical bus tours.
Girnar
Girnar is a newer and smaller version of the Gir Safari. The Girnar forest is situated close to the city of Junagadh, near the ‘Old Fort’ and the sanctuary gets its name from Mount Girnar which has religious significance to the locals. It is generally a peaceful place to go for a safari, although the chances of spotting lions are lower compared to Gir while costs are comparable to Gir.
Where to Stay
We stayed at Gir Serai. Gir Serai is a Taj property bought from Gujarat Tourism and is slowly being refurbished to Taj standards. The best part of the hotel is the location, right beside the gipsy safari booking office. Altogether, the property was large and lush, with an amazing view of the hills and the Hiran River from our River View room. All the staff was warm and hospitable.
Other good accommodation options are Fern Gir Resort and Woods at Sasan, both highly rated.
The Experience
We did two early morning safaris and saw lions both times. Overall, we saw fifteen lions. In the first safari, we saw ten lions, two leopards and a cub, a few crocodiles, scores of sambar, nilgai, langur, peacocks, peahens, eagles, and two peacocks dancing. Peacocks are aplenty, as common as crows in the city, and we saw many of them cavorting around us, crossing the road, or calling to each other. We saw lions drink water, fan themselves, and leisurely cross the road. We witnessed a leopard crossing the road as well. It was a bonanza sighting both times. No complaints.
There are apparently 674 lions in a 315 square km area. The chances of seeing lions are highest in the first half of the early morning safari (between 6 – 7 a.m., when the lions wake up to have water) and in the last half of the night safari (6 – 7 p.m. when the lions wake up for their nightly hunting activity). Get an early start and be one of the first to make it to a spot in the park for the morning safari. Jeeps are a disturbance to the lions, who will leave as more of them arrive.
We were told the mid-morning safari i.e. 9-12 a.m., yields very little sighting since the lions are asleep.
Other Things to Do
What to do after the safari is done? Nothing much honestly.
It’s an easy interesting walk around Sasan village, Hiran River, the tiny train station, and the sunset point. Somnath is an hour away by taxi and makes for an easy day trip; Somnath temple is the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. Diu is another interesting albeit longer stop. You can also explore Junagadh, which has ancient temples, forts, and step wells.
At night you can laze on the hotel’s balcony like I did and soak in the distant forest sounds with a book. Take a moment to hear what I did. The leaves rustling on the trees, the distant temple drums, the whirring of a generator or the wheels of a tractor, and the trilling of night insects and cicadas. Up above, the twinkling silver stars looked down at me, filling me with peace and hope. I slept early, looking forward to the next morning. I guess it’s essential to have this detox every once in a while.
- First, I go to TripAdvisor and check out top things to do, top places, and experiences. I use this to make a rough itinerary.
- From TripAdvisor I often go to Viator to book day tours. I love their user friendly platform and flexible cancellation policies. Compare their offers with GetYourGuide, which is great too.
- I book my accommodations in Booking because of their flexibility and that the bookings are easily cancellable. The mobile app is great and the genius discounts are on point.
- I recommend getting the Priority Pass. It gives you access to airport lounges and has helped me through many long waits. It’s definitely well worth the money.
- And I am literally always on Skyscanner. I get to see the best airfares, and the airline / third party providers offering them. Try the “From: origin city” to “To: Everywhere” option to ignite your imagination on where to travel to next.