Welcome to Gir National Park - India

Being one of the youth brands of Global Tourism India (GTI Travels Pvt. Ltd.), we know your needs the best and thus offer you the best of your time and money for Gir National Park Tour. Under the guidance of our expert guides you will have surely a life time experience or everyone looking to fulfill their wildlife fantasies across one of most renowned wildlife sanctuary of India, we offer Gir Wild Life Tour Package. We all know, Gir is the only natural habitat of world popular Asiatic Lions. Where our tailor made Gir Wild Life Tour Package gives you an unparalleled opportunity to watch those rare Asiatic Lions coupled with thousands of other elusive wild animals and hard-to-find birds like uncommon Asiatic wild ass, hyenas, Gir foxes, pygmy woodpecker, brown fish owl and black buck etc, it will make sure that you receive the highest standards of luxury, comfort and travel. Additionally, all this is available at very phenomenal charges.

The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (also known as Sasan-Gir) is a forest and wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat, India. Established in 1965, with a total area of 1412 sq.km. (about 258 sq.km. for the fully protected area (the national park) and (1153 sq.km. for the Sanctuary), the park is located 43 km in the north-east from Somnath, 65 km to the south-east of Junagadh and 60 km to south west of Amreli.

It is the sole home of the Asiatic Lions (Panthera leo persica) and is considered to be one of the most important protected areas in Asia due to its supported species. The ecosystem of Gir, with its diverse flora and fauna, is protected as a result of the efforts of the government forest department, wildlife activists and NGOs. The forest area of Gir and its lions were declared as "protected" in the early 1900s by the Nawab of the princely state of Junagadh. This initiative assisted in the conservation of the lions whose population had plummeted to only 15 through slaughter for trophy hunting.

The April 2010 census recorded the lion-count in Gir at 411, an increase of 52 compared to 2005. The lion breeding programme covering the park and surrounding area has bred about 180 lions in captivity since its inception.

Water reserves

The seven major perennial rivers of the Gir region are Hiran, Shetrunji, Datardi, Shingoda, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval. The four reservoirs of the area are at four dams, one each on Hiran, Machhundri, Raval and Shingoda rivers, including the biggest reservoir in the area, the Kamleshwar Dam, dubbed 'the lifeline of Gir'.

During peak summer, surface water for wild animals is available at about 300 water points. When drought hits the area following a poor rainfall, surface water is not available at a majority of these points, and water scarcity becomes a serious problem (mainly in the eastern part of the sanctuary). Ensuring the availability of water during peak summer is one of the major tasks of the Forest Department staff .

Gir National Park Gir National Park attracts large number of tourists to witness the Asiatic lion, as this is the sole place all across the world where these creatures are presently found. Once extinct, numbers have been recovered owing to the conservation efforts. The Sanctuary is open for tourism from 16th October to 15th June every year.

Gir National Park Gir National Park attracts large number of tourists to witness the Asiatic lion, as this is the sole place all across the world where these creatures are presently found. Once extinct, numbers have been recovered owing to the conservation efforts. The Sanctuary is open for tourism from 16th October to 15th June every year.

Junagadh is perhaps the best approach to the park. The railway station in Junagadh receives trains from different cities like Ahmedabad and Rajkot and other major cities. Then, from here it takes approximately one and half hour to reach Gir National Park.

From Rajkot-On reaching Rajkot Railway Station or Airport you can take a cab or bus and to reach a Limda chowk. There are a number of privately operated that go to Junagadh at frequent intervals. Junagadh is nearly 105 Kms from the city Rajkot and it takes nearly 2 and a half to 3 hours to cover the distance.From this point you have two options. First one is either you take a bus from gate number 11or 12 to Sasan Gir or travel by taxi that is accessible bang opposite the taxi stand. The taxi will take nearly one and half an hour and will charge reasonably and will drop you to Sasan Gir.

From SomNath to Gir National Park Road Distance or the driving distance from the Gir National Park to Somnath is approximately 50 Kms and it takes nearly 1 hour to cover this distance. GSRTC buses and quite a few private buses ply between both the cities and take you directly to Sasan Gir Forest.

From Diu To Gir Park: Diu airport is closest to the Gir National Park. From here you can hire that are present just outside the airport which will take you to Sasan Gir. Sasan Gir is nearly 110 kms airport of Diu and takes approximately 2 hours to cover this distance. If you have a late afternoon flight it is better to take a halt at Diu or can visit Somnath Temple which is nearly 80 kms from Diu and the road too is good except in little patches. It just takes an hour to reach Somnath from Diu. Next morning you can move on to Sasan Gir which is just 40 kms from here and just takes half an hour to cover this distance.Some other routes to reach Sasan Gir by road is from Keshod which also has an airport and is 45 kms, Veraval is 40 kms away, Junagadh is 55kms, Rajkot is 160Kms, Ahemedabad is 410Kms. The closeby railway stations are Sasan which is 0 Kms and Rajkot which is 160 Kms.

If you can't afford a taxi there are frequent buses that are playing throughout the day. The park is easily accessible from the beautiful beaches of Diu which is about two hours drive don't want to take a taxi, pubic buses run regularly to Sasan Gir from both places during the day. People prefer private buses as it conveniently drops them to the Guest houses you want to reach. So in this way they are more convenient than the buses. No prior booking is required as the buses are available on any part of the day. So, come and enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna of Gir National Park and take home some of the most treasured moments back home.

The count of 2,375 distinct fauna species of Gir includes about 38 species of mammals, around 300 species of birds, 37 species of reptiles and more than 2,000 species of insects.

The carnivores group mainly comprises Asiatic lions, Indian Leopards, Sloth bears, Indian Cobras, Jungle cats, Striped Hyenas, Golden Jackals, Indian Mongoose, Indian Palm Civets, and Ratels. Desert cats and Rusty-spotted cats occur but are rarely seen.

The main herbivores of Gir are Chital, Nilgai (or Bluebull), Sambar, Four-horned Antelope, Chinkara and Wild boar. Blackbucks from the surrounding area are sometimes seen in the sanctuary.

Among the smaller mammals, Porcupine and Hare are common but the Pangolin is rare. The reptiles are represented by the Marsh crocodile hir Tortoise and the Monitor Lizard in the water areas of the sanctuary. Snakes are found in the bushes and forest. Pythons are sighted at times along the stream banks. Gir has been used by the Gujarat State Forest Department which adopted the Indian Crocodile Conservation Project in 1977 and released close to 1000 Marsh crocodile reared in Gir rearing centre into the Kamaleshwar lake and other reservoirs and small water bodies in and around Gir.

The plentiful avifauna population has more than 300 species of birds, most of which are resident. The scavenger group of birds has 6 recorded species of Vultures. Some of the typical species of Gir include Crested Serpent Eagle, endangered Bonelli's Eagle, Crested Hawk-eagle, Brown Fish Owl, Indian Eagle-Owl, Rock Bush-Quail, Pygmy Woodpecker, Black-headed Oriole, Crested Treeswift and Indian Pitta. The Indian Grey Hornbill was not found from the last census of 2001. Asiatic Lion habitat, distribution and population Male Asiatic Lion in Sasan Gir

The Asiatic Lion's habitat is dry scrub land and open deciduous forest. These lions were once found across northern Africa, south west Asia and northern Greece. Now there are only around 411 left in the wild and all of them are in or around the Gir Forest National Park. The first modern day count of lions was done by Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth, the Principal of Rajkumar College, Rajkot sometime between 1948 to 1963, probably early in his tenure as the Principal during that period. Even though the Gir Forest is well protected, there are instances of Asiatic Lions being poached. They have also been poisoned for attacking livestock. Some of the other threats include floods, fires and the possibility of epidemics and natural calamities. Gir nonetheless remains the most promising long term preserve for them.

The Lion Breeding Programme creates and maintains breeding centres. It also carries out studies of the behaviour of the Asiatic lions and also practices artificial insemination. One such centre has been established in the Sakkarbaug Zoo at the district headquarters of Junagadh, which has successfully bred about 180 lions. 126 pure Asiatic lions have been given to zoos in India and abroad.

The census of lions takes place every five years. Previously indirect methods like using pugmarks of the lion were adopted for the count. However, during the census of April 2005 (which originally was scheduled for 2006, but was advanced following the reports and controversy over vanishing tigers in India), "Block-Direct-Total Count" method was employed with the help of around 1,000 forest officials, experts and volunteers. It means that only those lions were counted that were "spotted" visually. Use of "live bait" (a prey that is alive and used as a bait) for the exercise, though thought to be a traditional practice, was not used this time. The reason believed to be behind this is the Gujarat High Court ruling of 2000 against such a use of animals. Gir Interpretation Zone, Devalia

Gir National Park and Sanctuary does not have a designated area for tourists. However, to reduce the tourism hazard to the wildlife and to promote nature education, an Interpretation Zone has been created at Devalia within the sanctuary. Within its chained fences, it covers all habitat types and wildlife of Gir with its feeding-cum-living cages for the carnivores and a double-gate entry system.