Gir National Park

Gir National Park And Wildlife Sanctuary; The Only Wild Population Of The Asiatic Lion · Sasan Gir, Gujarat

The last refuge of the Asiatic lion, and the only place on earth where it survives in the wild. A century ago the population had fallen to perhaps a few dozen animals, hunted almost to extinction; protection by the Nawab of Junagadh and then by the Indian government has brought it back to several hundred, spread across the dry teak forest, scrub and grassland of the Gir forest in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat. The national park and the wildlife sanctuary around it are also home to leopards, spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, marsh crocodiles in the reservoirs, and a large bird list. The lions are seen from open jeeps on fixed routes, with permits booked in advance online, and sightings are good because the population is dense. The Maldhari herders who have lived alongside the lions for generations are part of the landscape. The park CLOSES for the monsoon, from roughly mid-June to mid-October. Outside the season, or if permits have sold out, the fenced Devalia safari park nearby offers a near-guaranteed lion sighting by bus. Sasan Gir is the village base.

Sinh Sadan, Sasan Gir, Sasan Gir, Gujarat, 362135, India

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern: the park is open roughly 16 October to 15 June and CLOSED for the monsoon. Jeep safaris run in fixed sessions, typically an early-morning slot starting around 6 or 6:30 am, a late-morning slot, and an afternoon slot ending around sunset, with reporting times at Sinh Sadan before each. Devalia runs bus tours through the day and has usually had a weekly closed day, often Wednesday; check. The traps: permits sold out because booking was left late, a name mismatch with the ID, and arriving late for the reporting time, which forfeits the slot.

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