Sassan Gir tourism and travel guide
Overview
Gir National Park, in northwestern Gujarat in India, is the home to a wide array of wildlife and the only place where you can find lions roaming free, apart from in Africa. This open zoo has been a major place for tourist attraction for a long time. However, due to the consistent poaching efforts of the people of Junagarh, the various wildlife species had been threatened, and simultaneously Asiatic lions were undergoing a steady decrease in other parts of Asia. Later, owing to the strict interference of the Department of Forest Officials, the population of lions rose from 20 in 1013 to 523 in 2015. The entire Sasan Gir region was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the Government of India on 18th September 1965.
+moreThe railway station in veraval is a viable place to reach the Gir National Forest because it receives trains from Ahmedabad and Rajkot. From there, about one and half hours are required to reach the Sanctuary. From the Rajkot railway station, a cab or a bus can be taken to Limda Chowk, from where you can reach Junagarh by frequently traveling buses. GSRTC buses are also good options if you are traversing from Somnath to Gir Forest, which is fifty kilometers and can be covered within an hour. Otherwise, the Diu Airport is closest to the Gir National Park, from where you can take a cab or any available vehicle to cover the distance of 110 km in 2 hours.
Being the dominant National Park of India, the Gir National Park hosts a huge range of animals from Asiatic lions to different kinds of birds, reptiles, and more. There are approximately 106 male lions, 201 females, and 213 sub-adult lions in the Sasan Gir region. Apart from these, the Saurashtra region is also dominated by 300 leopards. Sambar, the largest breed of deer in India, is found here. Other smaller carnivores include Striped Hyena, India Fox, Jackal's, etcetera.
More than two hundred species of birds exist in the Gir forest area. The Indian Bird Conservation Network has recognized the place to be an important bird area. The Sasan Gir region is inhabited by more than forty species of reptiles and amphibians. In a large reservoir named Kamleshwar, Marsh crocodiles are in abundance. Different species of snakes include King Cobra, Russell's Viper; the Saw scaled viper and the Krait.
The population in and around Gir National Park was 411 in 2010 and 359 in 2005. The place is mainly a tourism site, and people go there for wildlife photography in the summers, though it is best to visit the park between December and March.
The renowned wildlife zoo, Gir National Park, is situated about 65 kilometers southeast of the Junagarh district in Gujarat. The park covers a total area of 1412 square kilometer of which 258 kilometer forms the core. It has a forest infrastructure made of dry and deciduous trees, among which the animals reside in all their glory.
The Devaliya Safari Park, an enclosed area of the Sanctuary, provides a glimpse of the rustic wilderness of the place. Several animals, including the Asiatic Lions, can be seen in a twenty to thirty-minute tour.
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