Sasan Gir is the name of the place, where the Gir Forest spreads out in to the distance.
Sadly it is the only place where one can see the surviving Asiatic lions in their original natural habitat.
Sasan Gir is close to the erstwhile princely(Nawabi)State of Junagadh, in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
It is accessible by road as well as train.
We visited Sasan Gir some years ago, by road.
At the entrance to Sasan Gir is the Forest checkpost.
One travels some distance and reaches Sasan Gir.
Here there is a Forest Office which issues permits for entering the real forest.
Vehicles are also available for travelling inside along with a guide.
Nearby is situated the Forest Rest house where rooms are available for stay.
However one may have to check up in advance for reservations from the Forest Deptt.
We took a guide and travelled in our own vehicle.
Inside the forest was dense but not so much initially.
As we neared a big lake Chital deer ran in front of the vehicle some distance, zig zag and then went sideways in to the forest and watched us go by.
A peacock fluttered down with outspread beautiful wings.
We peered hard to try and find the graceful king of the forest somewhere.
However, the guide after stopping at a stream, examined some spots near the stream and said the pug marks indicated that a lion had come here but now the chance of seeing him was remote as the lions travel long distances in the forest.
We saw some crocodiles in the big lake which had observation posts on the side.
To the left was a huge jungle with lots of ’’ber’’ and other trees, with butterflies flitting about.
We returned and some rustling made us stop, only to find a ’’neelgai’’ looking at us amused.
Due to shortage of time, we did not go deep in to the forest, where one can visit some temples, see waterfalls and also see the settlements of the ’’siddi’’ and other tribals who are originally from Africa.
We then took the lion safari park ride and were able to see the lioness and cubs near the road as the lion lay unperturbed under a huge tree.
This safari park, covering approx.20 sq.kms.was hedged in by a huge fence. Hence the chance of seeing lions was very great.
Back at the Forest office we saw a huge leopard in a cage.It had strayed in to the neighbouring Junagadh and had been caught and brought back to be released deep in the forest.
No doubt the forest officials would first examine whether there was some problem which made the leopard leave the forest and venture in to the city.
We returned to the Forest Rest house and rested in the rooms and took photos outside in the gardens before the bougainvillas.
After taking some food in the rest house, we returned in the evening, as the birds descended on the trees and started their chorus before going to sleep.
We hoped to come and stay in the rest house some other time and maybe hear the roar of a lion in the night or confront him in the forest.