For many years, I’ve harbored a strong desire to see predators and other animals in the wild in a proper open forest environment, I being an avid animal lover. I also had this fascination with Gir Forest ever since I was a child, it being the only remaining refuge to Persian Lions(better known as Asiatic lions) in the world. I had been mulling about visiting Gir for roughly a year. Around 2 months ago, I made up my mind and made all the necessary bookings.
ROUTES TO GIR FROM BANGALORE
Rajkot is generally regarded as a good approach to Gir. But at the time of booking, there were very few connections from Bangalore to Rajkot. Diu is another approach to Gir(even shorter than Rajkot). But there are no bus routes etc from Diu to Gir. It only works out if one has one’s own car from Diu to Gir. Not finding either of the options feasible, I decided to book an onward and return journey from Bangalore to Ahmedabad by air which gave me a lot of flexibility in terms of when to arrive at and depart from Gir. Even though Ahmedabad is 300+ kms away from Gir, it has very good bus connectivity with Gir. I made the booking on such a sleeper bus for my journey from Ahmedabad to Gir and back.
WHEN TO VISIT GIR
Generally in the months of June to October(Monsoon months), the park is closed, also coinciding with high mating activity in the forest. October to February is considered to be a good time to visit, but not necessarily to capture good pictures of animals, it being colder, it is easier for animals to find suitable shelter for their purposes in several areas. Months of March to May(Summer months) on the other hand, make you deal with 40+ degrees Celsius temperatures. The animals are forced to come out to find suitable shady shelter and places to drink water and one can capture some memorable images, if you are willing enough.
MY EXPERIENCE IN GIR
My experience in Gir was both very positive and eventful. This is how it unfolded.
DAY 1
I had set out from Bangalore on 13th April by plane and took a connecting bus from Ahmedabad reaching Sasan Gir early next morning. I had made a reservation at a local’s home stay, a bit inside from the Singh Sadan / Sasan Gir Reception area road. There are a plethora of tourist lodges and one may be spoilt for choice while booking one. But I think the place I booked was fine for my purposes. It belonged to a local, who was living with his parents with rooms available for occupancy inside his home for visitors. The room itself was nice and self sufficient and so were the restrooms with all amenities, although the home itself was a bit inside the Sasan village. He also had a comestibles shop outside, run by a boy he knew.
I did not have any Safari permits for 14th, so I decided to visit the famous Somnath temple there, I never having visited any big Shiva temple till date. One can take a bus to Veraval and then an auto rickshaw to the temple. Same route while coming back. The temple itself has an attractive exterior with pigeons flocking outside who welcome your feeding, should you choose to. Inside, one can find idols of Shiva and Parvati with an equally attractive temple interior, to complement the exterior. I visited the temple, said my prayers(which included seeing lions in the wild), took some pictures and made my way back to Sasan Gir. I had tried the local food in the morning in the form of “Thepla” and “Aloo ke paranthe”. I also tried a mixed fruit local soft drink called “Sosyo” and “Kesar Mango Pulp Drink”. The latter was especially nice. I was also facing some kind of digestion problems owing to a sudden change of diet. But that was quickly fixed by a “Nimbu Sherbet” prepared by the aunty at my home stay. After a round of “Hundi Biryani” at around 8 p.m., I decided to hit the sack.
DAY 2
[MORNING SAFARI]
I had 4 safari permits spanning 15th and 16th. 2 of them were on the 15th, one being at 6 – 9 A.M. safari in the morning. The reporting time was 5.30 A.M. at the Sasan Gir Reception Centre. I am a person who normally gets up around 8 A.M. but I was practicing getting up early for the last 2 weeks, so this was no problem. I set an alarm for 4.30 A.M. but managed to get up at 4.27 A.M. To my surprise, while freshening up in my room, I heard a peacock calling loudly somewhere close by. This went on for some time. Turns out, I did not need an artificial alarm. But the best was yet to come. At around 4.45 A.M., there was a steady lion roaring also audible from my room. It seemed quite nearby, so I opened the curtains but didn’t see anything. This happened 4-5 times straight before ceasing. I had actually been told that there are lions who visit an area not far from the back of my room sometimes. But all this came as a pleasant surprise.
After getting ready, I had to walk towards Sasan Gir Reception Centre. On getting out of my room, I found it to be almost completely dark at around 5.10 A.M. It felt a bit creepy, after hearing the roaring from a close distance in the dark. This area where I was staying, was sometimes visited by lions. Not surprising, as it goes on to join some of the safari routes from the main road. There have been instances of lions coming on to the road and feeding on cattle etc. or them simply walking the roads at night. There was a leopard once sighted inside Singh Sadan area(tourist lodge near reception) itself. I’d recently seen a video of 3 lions entering some tourist lodge entrance at 1.30 A.M. online by climbing over the walls in Sasan Gir. They never do any human any harm though. But I put these thoughts aside and reached the Sasan Gir Reception Centre. There I was assigned a nice guide Ashif along with a driver and an open safari gypsy, upon showing the necessary papers. In addition to the online permit payment(Rs. 1000), one also has to pay(Rs. 1500+ Rs. 300) for the gypsy and guide / driver per safari.
After having tea, the driver, guide and myself set off for the safari in the wee hours of the morning. We were assigned ROUTE 6, which would be followed by ROUTE 2. Shortly on entering the forest, we saw some calm and elegant chitals at one corner doing their morning feeding. Not far from there, we came across some lion pug marks. We picked up speed, in hopes of seeing the lion. We saw several chitals(spotted deer) along the way and sambars at some places along with numerous peacocks and peahens. There was a clearing near a water hole where there was a langur doing some warning calls. Ashif mentioned it might be for a leopard, as langurs generally don’t sound calls for lions. There were some other gypsies which waited, while we moved on. Upon going further, we came across a place where we were able to spot a couple of mongoose mating near some trees. I also spotted another mongoose on the other side of the road, quietly watching. Upon going further, we also came across another bird which was very well camouflaged, just beside the road. On all these routes, there is typically a stopping point where safari goers can take a break. We stopped briefly, taking in the atmosphere. Subsequently, Ashif told me that he got news that someone had spotted a sub-adult male lion on ROUTE 2. We immediately bolted as that was still further on. We reached the spot, but it appeared that the lion had gone inside the forest. After waiting for a while, we went further on, also stopping at a place where we spotted a female and a male Nilgai, hoping that the lion might show up. But it didn’t and we went on to see an owl at the side further on. Deer and peacocks being common, we didn’t stop for them on all occasions. The safari ended shortly after, we having sighted several things but the lion. Just its pug marks. It had been an exciting morning of discovery, nevertheless. We had also come across a Maldhari tribal settlement village along the way, in the forest.
Ashif mentioned that the lion I’d heard roaring in the morning might be different from the lions in the central area as where I was staying, was one of the edges of the forest. Not among the lions which could be seen during the Safari.
[EVENING SAFARI]
After sampling some more “Thepla” and “Paranthe” along with “Fafda”, I took some rest before getting ready for the evening safari. I met Ashif again who wouldn’t be the guide for this safari but he told me that lions had been sighted, but later in the morning around 11 A.M. So, if we were to go on the same route as the morning in reverse order, there was a chance we would sight them near the water holes. This made sense to me, as once they were sighted, the lions were most likely to seek shelter in the shade of the trees or near some water hole nearby in these burning temperatures of 40+ degrees Celsius. Also, we gave the lions some time to settle down, as they wake up in the evenings, to hunt or drink again. Instead of 3 p.m., we set out at 3.30 p.m. this time covering ROUTE 2 first and then ROUTE 6.
Vinod was the assigned guide and there was another driver along with him. We quietly made our way through the forest before making a stop near the shade of a cluster of trees. There, we saw langurs, deer and peacocks at one spot close together which made for some good pictures. The contrast between the naked trees and the green ones was very striking in the heat of the afternoon. On going further, we came across a group of chitals drinking water at a water hole. Gir Forest sports several water holes, some man-made and some natural, but both serve the same purpose. We saw some interesting scenes in that safari, peacocks doing stuff, some chitals staring at you from very close range but no nilgais and only a few sambars. We came to the junction area of ROUTE 2 and ROUTE 6 where we decided to stop before proceeding to be sure that the group of lions spotted in the morning had not strayed too far. We had scrutinized some water streams and water holes carefully on our way here. Behind us, several other gypsies came and stopped for a break. We stopped and drank for a while. The thing about afternoons is that the dust settles very easily on the camera screen and using the shortcut to take pictures becomes a tad difficult.
Upon getting confirmation from a gypsy coming from ROUTE 6, we set off at full speed to hopefully sight the group of lions sighted earlier that morning. A deer crossed the road along the way and a langur for some strange reason, started hugging the tree like a koala which made for interesting viewing. Finally, we came upon the water hole we had passed early morning in the beginning, where we then sighted a group of 5 lions. 4 lionesses and 1 lion - 1 adult female, 3 female sub-adults and 1 male sub-adult. 3 of the sub-adults were fast asleep while 1 was semi-awake. The female adult was wide awake and was taking in her surroundings. They were maybe 15-20 ft. away from us at that point. It was quite a sight. I had never seen anything like it before. Just on TV! I got to know these 5 were part of a pride of 12 and had separated for the time being.
Gradually, some other gypsies also arrived at the scene. The scene made for some great pictures. After a while, the adult female, tired of the sunlight hitting her eyes, decided to get up and started walking towards the road where the gypsies were. While the others continued taking pictures of the sub-adults, we pursued the female briefly, who turned right after reaching the road. At this point, she may have been 5-6 ft. away from us. But then she crossed the road and went to the other side of the forest where she sat down calmly at a distance, wagging her tail periodically. It probably wanted to avoid the sun. She was a fair distance away then. But we backed the gypsy and added to our media collection before setting off. We caught sight of some langurs doing some strange stuff before returning to the Sasan Gir Reception.
On returning, some of the local kids wanted me to play cricket with them. I obliged for a bit. They seemed happy.
After having “Kaju Paneer / Roti” for dinner and buying a souvenir T-shirt, I hit the sack to be able to wake up for the following morning safari.
DAY 3
[MORNING SAFARI]
That morning there was no peacock call audible from my room and maybe there was a muffled growl or 2 of a lion at around 5 A.M. Not like the steady roaring, the day before. Nevertheless, I got dressed up and reported at the Sasan Gir Reception Centre at around 5.10 A.M. They were quite enterprising about assigning me the routes I wanted, second safari onwards. This time I was to go on ROUTE 1 followed by ROUTE 3. It was yet another guide with the gypsy, Raju. He was very ambitious about sighting a lion or a leopard. This time we set off on the route opposite of ROUTE 2 or 6. His plan was to go at full speed to a waterhole where lions were known to drink sometimes as after 7.30 A.M. that place was less probable for lion sightings. I got to know this was not a route where one was likely to find a pride of lions. Just some stray lions who drift to this route. It was quite dark when we entered the forest and we went ahead at full speed, only pausing momentarily to sight a rabbit at the side and one crossing the road. Also on a couple of occasions, porcupines, who seemed to be moving quite fast. We came to a machan like place, where the guy sitting above lifted the roadblock to let us pass. We saw loads of sambars and chitals and some peacocks. We also came across an old African tribal settlement village. We went ahead full speed only to stop to talk to a lion tracker who was on night duty who was making his way back on his motorcycle. He said he didn’t see any lions. But we went ahead anyway. We reached the waterhole before 7 A.M. But there were no lions on that occasion. We, however took some pictures of some lovely green pigeons.
On our way back, one driver in the opposite direction mentioned he had a sighted a leopard and another mentioned there were a lot of deer and langur calling going on somewhere near a pink temple. To check if there was anything nearby. We first came upon the place where there was a lot of deer and langur calling. But the chitals persisted feeding on grass, unperturbed. After a while, when nothing seemed to give, we moved ahead again. I suddenly caught sight of some wild boars on the right. After pausing for some pictures, we moved on. Indeed, we did encounter some leopard pug marks after a while. Smaller than the lion ones the morning before. Shortly afterwards, we encountered a couple of peacocks flying from one hillock to another. I’ve seen them fly before to 1st or 2nd floors of a building. But not like this! Quite some distance and quite a sight! We were then on ROUTE 3. That was over the Kamleshwar lake, the banks of which sometimes have crocodiles resting on them. Here, on reaching the edge of the overbridge, we stopped for a break. I urinated somewhere at the side and went almost fully down to a bank to check if there were any crocodiles sunbathing there. It didn’t seem so. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to come this far down the bank. There was a rock formation in the water which looked like that might be one, but on splashing a stone nearby, there was no movement. So, I concluded there were no marsh crocodiles on the bank and went back up.
As we started the gypsy to go back over Kamleshwar lake, we stopped to take pics of one langur who had made its way up to the top of the tallest tree. Shortly afterwards, on the left, I saw something which looked like a crocodile in the lake from above. It was a fairly thin road we were traversing, over the lake. On waiting a few minutes, the serrated back of the crocodile became more and more evident, along with the fore snout. I told the guide who confirmed it was a crocodile. We paused as I took a video of the same till it submerged again. On moving forward, we yearned to glimpse the leopard but that didn’t materialize. Caught sight of some langurs doing acrobatics, a kingfisher, a buzzard, some peacocks and chitals. That concluded the morning safari on 16th.
A very eventful one but without sighting of a lion or leopard.
[EVENING SAFARI]
I had “Paranthe”, “Theplas” and “Methi Pakodi” for brunch. I had a permit for another safari but was caught in 2 minds whether to visit Devaliya Park or go for another open gypsy safari in the forest. I would only be able to do 1 before I left for Ahmedabad. I reflected that I’d pretty much seen all that could be seen in my wild gypsy safaris. The thought of an enclosed park safari struck me as boring. I’d go on a last wild safari on a gypsy, hopefully to have another lion or a leopard sighting. This time the assigned guide was Ranjit. I also met Ashif earlier in the morning, who mentioned lions were sighted on routes 2, 6 and 5 in the morning. ROUTE 5 was what was left for me. ROUTES 4, 7 and 8 were under maintenance because of water overflowing from Kamleshwar dam onto some of these routes. So, that time I chose a route which covered ROUTES 6 and 5.
We set out at 3.30 p.m. from ROUTE 6 and this time it was hotter than the day before. So hot that even chitals were resting in shady confines of trees. We did see some peacock-peahen pairs, a few sambars and Nilgais(only for the 2nd time). We did see the camouflaged bird again(Eurasian white collared dove) and some interesting trees including a gum tree. The driver once thought he saw something like a leopard, but it was only a tree. We came across the Maldhari village again. We also passed a spot where a lion had killed a cow sometime back. The residual skeleton was still lying there. On ROUTE 5, in the morning, some had sighted 2 male and 2 female lions. We would try and locate them.
I indulged in some chitchat in between. The amount of dust flying around was unbelievable. Apparently, only 258 km^2 of the total 1412 km^2 was the sanctuary, and if one had a permit, one could traverse 70 km^2 covered by the routes of the sanctuary area. In this area, there were around 70 lions, when last counted. Apparently hundreds of leopards too, although elusive to spot. In this same region, there are 2 prides of 12 lions each. Rest of the 523 lions in the last 2015 census were either in the buffer zone or not part of the central sanctuary. In an earlier discussion with Ashif, I’d learnt that there were closer to 600 lions currently in Gir and buffer zones.
Eventually, we came upon the spot where the 4 lions had rested in the morning. We got there first, like in most safaris. They no longer seemed to be on the left. On moving a bit forward, we spotted a lioness sleeping in the shelter of trees on the right. One could easily have mistaken her for a tree trunk owing to the camouflage. Except that she was sleeping with her legs parted, facing us. One leg up in the air. Strange pose. I’ve only seen lionesses in this pose before mating on TV. Perhaps she was dreaming.:D Only 10 – 15 ft. away from us with some foliage in between. I would’ve taken her for dead, but she moved occasionally. Suddenly, another head popped up and we knew there was another female behind her, who soon dozed off again. The 2 males had probably gone deeper into the forest.
Metres away, we spotted a herd of chitals crossing close to the area where the lionesses were sleeping. Little did they know, they might end up being “dinner for 2” eventually.:D We spotted a sambar at very close range just before close of the safari. The guide whistled and it started following us. It had taken a liking to him.;) There were other monkeys in the forest too. Not only langurs.
I reached Ahmedabad next morning, where I mostly rested. Had a good look at Acropolis Mall in the afternoon. In the evening, I caught a flight to Bangalore and reached in the early hours of next day.
To conclude: It was an enjoyable trip. 7 lion sightings in 4 safaris. Gir is a forest with very diverse flora and fauna. I had a memorable time there.