Incredible India
7 Things to Do in Gir National Park, Home of the Asiatic Lion
Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only place on earth where the Asiatic lion still roams wild, a population brought back from the edge of extinction over the past century.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 3 min read
Gir National Park, in the dry deciduous forest of southern Saurashtra, is the only place in the world where the Asiatic lion still lives in the wild. The subspecies once ranged from the Middle East across to eastern India; hunting and habitat loss reduced it to a handful of animals in and around Gir by the early twentieth century, when the then Nawab of Junagadh moved to protect the remaining lions on his hunting reserve. That protection, continued after independence, has let the population recover to several hundred today, still confined almost entirely to Gir and the forest patches around it. Here are seven ways to spend time in and around the park.
1. Jeep safari into the Gir core zone
A permitted jeep safari through Gir’s core forest zone, usually taken at dawn or late afternoon, is the main reason most visitors come, with sightings of the Asiatic lion never guaranteed but reasonably likely given the park’s recovered population; guides also point out leopard, sambar deer, chital and the marsh crocodiles that share the park’s rivers.
2. Devalia Safari Park
Also known as the Interpretation Zone, this fenced section of Gir offers a shorter, permit-free alternative to the core zone safari, with a good chance of seeing lion, deer and birdlife in a couple of hours, useful for visitors without an advance core-zone booking or travelling with young children.
3. Kamleshwar Dam
Built across the Hiran River inside the sanctuary, Kamleshwar Dam is known locally as the lifeline of Gir for the water it holds through the dry months, and its banks are a reliable spot to see marsh crocodiles basking alongside a wide range of waterbirds.
4. Gir Interpretation Zone museum, Sasan
Near the main Sasan Gir gate, a small interpretation centre and museum sets out the history of the Asiatic lion’s decline and recovery in Gir, useful context before or after a safari and a good option on a day when core-zone jeep slots are unavailable.
5. Tulsishyam hot springs and temple
A couple of hours from Sasan, Tulsishyam combines a small Vishnu temple with natural hot springs said to have therapeutic properties, set in a quieter, less-visited pocket of the wider Gir landscape away from the main safari routes.
6. Girnar Hill, Junagadh
Girnar, rising above the gateway city of Junagadh around an hour from Sasan, is one of Gujarat’s major pilgrimage sites for both Jains and Hindus, its summit reached by a stepped path of roughly ten thousand steps past a cluster of centuries-old Jain temples partway up the hill.
7. Somnath Temple
On the coast around an hour and a half from Sasan, Somnath is counted among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva and has been rebuilt several times after historical destruction, most recently in the years following Indian independence, making it a natural add-on for visitors extending a Gir trip toward the Saurashtra coast.
Traveller tips
- The nearest airport is Diu, around 90 minutes away, with more frequent connections via Rajkot (about three hours) or Ahmedabad (around five hours).
- The park is closed each year during the monsoon, typically mid-June to mid-October; the cooler months from November to February are the most comfortable for safaris.
- Core-zone jeep safaris require advance permits, bookable online through the Gujarat forest department; slots fill quickly in peak season.
- Sasan Gir village has most of the accommodation and safari booking offices; confirm current permit and safari timings before travelling, as these are revised periodically.
Where this is
Gir National Park, Gujarat
