One of the finest wildlife sanctuaries of India, the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is established in 1965, as a Forest Reserve to preserve endangered Asiatic lion. In fact Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is only one in Asia that has so many Asiatic lions. The park is spread at an area of 2,450 hectares and located in the Junagarh district of Gujarat. The Gir is covered with deciduous type of forests of teak, ber, flame of the forest, jamun, a variety of acacia known as babul. The thick forests offers pleasant long drives, crisscrossing plenty of rivers and hilly track.



The Gir sanctuary has rich history and folklore. Inside the forests there two ancient revered temples known as Kankai Mata and Tulsishyam, a place of pilgrimage with hot springs. The inhabitants of the forests are cattle herders, the Madharis who buffaloes serve as a substantial meals for lions. The best way to explore Gir forest is through Jeep safari. Jeep safari goes to Baval Chowk to Kankai, to Chodavdi and Tulsishyam and to Kamaleshwar dam.

Other than Asiatic lions, Gir is also home to number of other wildlife such as chinkara(gazelle deer), chital, four horned antelope, wild boar, wild ass, leopard, nilgai, spotted deer, and large variety of birds such as crested serpent eagle, Bonelli's eagle, crested swift, pied wood-pecker, gray drongo, cuckoo shrike, painted sandgrouse, gray partridge and the white-neck stork. The park also conserve about 25 different species of reptiles.

Sights And Activities

Safari
Driving through the forest is the best way to see the elusive lions. You can take any four wheelers but jeep is unmatched. The best time to catch wild beast is at dawn and dusk when they all set to prey. Before safari, you need a permit from forest lodge. Forest lodge also provides minibus but try to avoid because mini bus stick to original track while jeep can also venture into small tracks where there is much chance to spot a lion.

Gir Interpretation Zone
This is an important zone within the sanctuary premises. It is located at Devalia village, 12km from Sasan village. The zone spread at an area of 4sq km and has a cross section of wildlife within the park. It is the only place where you have good chance to see lions but for only 40-50 minutes. Vehicles can be rent from Sasan Gir's Main street.

Crocodile Breeding Centre
The best place to see crocodiles is at Breeding Center, which is located near Sinh Sadan. Sasan Crocodile Breeding Centre is established in 1997 and quickly showed a desired result.. along with Gandhinagar crocodile centre, till now they produced about 1000 crocodiles. The Gir Crocodile Centre is now preserved more than 100 crocodiles, from baby to big.