Gir National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary is the only place in the world where you can see Asiatic lions – majestic creatures that once once roamed as far west as Syria and as far east as India’s Bihar. Asiatic lions are smaller than African lions, and they are identified by their prominent belly fold and moderate mane growth in males.
Animal Kingdom
Taking a safari through the dry teak woodlands interspersed with grasslands of the national park is a joy – even without the added excitement of searching for big cats like leopards, sloth bears, sambar deer, chowsingha (four-horned antelope), gaurs and hyenas. There is an abundance of birdlife, including the crested serpent eagle, the vulnerable Greater spotted eagle and the endangered Pallas’s fish eagle.
Tranquil Heart
The safari route takes you to what the guides call "Heaven of Gir," a vast, beautiful body of water surrounded by hills, near Kamleshwar Dam on the Hiran River.
Devalia Safari Park
If you miss out on a permit, your other option for lion encounters is at Devalia Safari Park (closed on Wednesdays), a fenced-off part of the park where sightings are guaranteed but stage-managed and overpriced (entry costs the same as a Gir National Park safari).
Rise and Fall of a Species
Widespread hunting decimated the population with only a dozen lion left in Gujarat by the 1870s. The Nawab of Junagadh set up a protection zone and, by the beginning of the 20th century, lion numbers began to recover. Today, Gir is too small for the growing lion population, forcing lions beyond the park, leading to higher potential for human–lion interactions.