Booking a Safari at Gir National Park
Last abode of the Asiatic Lion
Leo Persica, commonly known as the asiatic lion once roamed the vast expanses of Turkey in the east to Bengal in the west. Thanks to trophy hunting and habitat destruction, by the end of 19th Century they went extinct all but for a tiny patch of shrubby deciduous forest called Gir.

Gir forest once was the hunting grounds of the Nawab of Junagadh. By the turn of 20th century there were only a dozen asiatic lions, all at Gir protected by the Nawab of Junagadh. In 1965, the Govt. of India declared Gir as a sanctuary for the protection of the Asiatic lion and thanks to the conservation efforts the Park now boosts a population of over 500 asiatic lions making it the go -to place to see an Asiatic lion in wild.
Gir Jungle Trail (Jeep Safari)
Key species: Asiatic Lion, Leopard, Striped Hyena, Nilgai, Chital (Spotted Deer), Sambar Deer.
Place: Sasan Gir, Gujarat
Booking website: www.girlion.in
Best time to visit: Months of November to January are cold and pleasant, undoubtedly the best time to relish the forests of Gir. February to May are generally very hot with temperature reaching 45⁰C. The park is closed during the monsoon months (mid June till mid October).
Safari slots: 6AM–9AM, 9AM-12PM, 3PM-6PM
The booking website is maintained by Gujarat forest department and is the only official website to book a Jungle safari at Gir National Park. The forest department issues fixed number of permits per time slot on a given day and all of them are available on the website. It is advised to book the permits at-least a month before your trip. Animals are most active in the mornings and evenings, prefer the 6AM and 3PM safaris.
A maximum 6 (+1 child 3–12 years) people are allowed per vehicle (gypsy). The booking on the website is only for the permit and gypsy, guide & camera charges are extra and should be paid at the reception centre on the day of the safari (As of Jan 2018, it costed us Rs.3100 for a single safari). Please refer the website for latest prices.
Once the permit is booked, on the day of Safari you should report at the Gir Reception centre(Sinh Sadan) 30 minutes prior to your Safari timing with ID proofs and a print of the permit. At the reception you are allotted with a Guide, Gypsy and a route number. There are 8 different routes in the park and each vehicle is randomly allotted a route and the vehicle cannot veer-off the route, they do it to manage traffic with in the park.
Sightings: Like any other wildlife reserve, summer is the best time to spot wildlife as they frequent the nearby waterholes. In Gir the forest department fills water tanks near the safari tracks during the dry season. If time permits, do at-least two to four safaris, this will maximise your chances of spotting the big cats.
Stay: There are multiple Resorts and Hotels around Sasan Gir, choose one based on your budget and book it on Makemytrip or GoIbibo (fares are cheaper on these sites). Make sure it is not too far away from Sinh Sadan.
Occasionally lions stray into the streets of Sasan Gir and surrounding resorts, especially at the night time. For safety, carry a torch and avoid roaming alone on foot at nights.
Camera & Lens: DSLR with a wide angle lens for habitat shots and Telephoto lens(>250mm) for wildlife, birds. Lions here are bold and can be seen walking beside the Safari Vehicles, in such cases make good use of you mobile phone to record the drama :)
Clothing & miscellaneous: Sweaters and mufflers will come handy for morning safaris and a cap, sunscreen for evening safaris. You would be picking up a lot of dust especially if you are visiting in the summer months, so carrying a face mask and a pair of sunglasses will help. Don’t forget to carry a bottle of water!
Reaching Sasan Gir
Sasan Gir is a small village situated in the Gir national park and it’s nearest towns are Junagadh (52Kms to North) and Somnath (40Km to South) . Though there is railway station in Sasan Gir, the trains are too slow and in-convenient.
The nearest airport is Ahmedabad (350Kms away) and the most convenient way is to hire a taxi directly to Sasan Gir and back( it is hard to find cabs leaving to Ahmedabad in Sasan Gir ).
If you are on budget, take a bus or train to Junagadh and hire a taxi to Sasan Gir. Junagadh is well connected to Ahmedabad, Rajkot and has frequent buses, although the ride is not so comfortable considering you will be traveling in a non-AC bus for 6~7 hours and a cab or Auto-rickshaw for the last leg to Sasan Gir. Visit https://gsrtc.in for bus timings.
What is Devalia Safari Park (Gir Interpretation Zone) ?
Devalia Safari Park also known as Gir Interpretation Zone, is the established to reduce overload of tourists from Sasan Gir Forest safari and to provide whole wildlife of Gir at single place in safe habitats. This Interpretation Zone comprises of 412 hectares of chain link fenced are covering all habitat types and wildlife of Gir. The basic aim of creating this facility is to provide an opportunity of viewing lions and other animals in their natural habitat within a short period of time at cheaper rates.
Safari here is done in a closed bus, for a duration of 30 minutes and it can booked on spot or through www.girlion.in. Devalia Safari Park is 12Kms from Sasan Gir and you can hire auto-rickshaw to and fro.
Go to Devalia only when you couldn’t spot a big cat in the Jeep safari, else completely ignore this option.
Pics from my visit:
We visited Gir for a single safari on 1st Jan 2018, for a morning safari. We were very un-lucky, as our guide stopped at a check-post to talk with the forest guard, we heard the roars of a couple of lions. They were very close, but it was still very dark and we couldn’t see them. For the next 90 minutes we found nothing other than Cheetal and Sambar deer. And then we spotted two leopards drinking water near a pond. As they saw us approaching, they vanished into the woods. Well, at-least we got to see a couple of leopards.
Note: The pictures of lions in this post were captured at Gir interpretation zone.







