We visited Gir wildlife sanctuary- the only place in the world to see asiatic lion in its natural habitat. A few important tips for those interested in seeing this magnificent king of beasts.
- Navaratri, Diwali & Christmas vacations are NOT the best time to spot lions, though other animals like deer, monkey, peacocks can be easily spotted.
The best time to spot more animals is in high summer ie. April-May, when the water holes in the core area of the jungle dry up & the animals come out on the marked safari routes insearch of water. The authorites have made water points at various places along all the 7 routes.There are 2 kinds of wildlife tours that one can avail of -
One is the safari in an open Gypsy(with a guide & driver) which takes one in the actual forest and lasts for about 3 hrs. It starts from the entrance of the park at Sasan village.
It is indeed exciting as there is anticipation of spotting some animal or the other. This takes place at 6.30am , 9.30am & 3.30am , though chances of spotting is the greatest in the 6.30am one.
During the above mentioned times there is a huge rush of visitors & only 30 vehicles are allowed inside at a time.
When we tried, there was a Q from the previous night itself for the permits. The locals stand in the q & sell their places to others for as much as Rs.500/-. This is what we did as we were desperate to get the 6.30 safari.
BTW there is also a 50% increase in the official permit rate from Rs.450 to Rs.600 during this time.The Gypsy charges vary from Rs.600-Rs.900 depending from where(hotel) one is picked up.
In spite of all this the chances of spotting a lion, leave alone a pride are pretty slim.
There is an alternative .
There is something called ’Gir Interpretation Zone’ which is a 4 sq.km. cordoned off area which is ’a model representation of the Gir Forest’ (called Sinh-Darshan) at Devaliya. This is where one is taken for a 45 min ride in a mini bus at Rs.165 per head (festival rate).
Here we can see lions(upto 6 or 7) from as close to ten feet with no barriers. The fact is these lions are in a pathetic state. They are injured or ill ones who cannot fend for themselves in the wild. One of the males we saw looked blind.
The other animals in this zone namely nilgais, spotted deer, sambhar etc looked extremely well fed and healthy.
We like others , after a disappointing safari went on this one. The kids enjoyed seeing real lions from up close & took photos to show off to friends later.
We stayed at Maneland Jungle Lodge( http://www.maneland.com) which is at the edge of the jungle. The staff had tales of lions coming near the boundry wall at night but we did not even hear a roar or even a moan. The place had a rustic charm & gave the impression of staying in the jungle with night campfire & all. Food is simple but tasty.
Nearest railway station Junagadh 50kms(1 hr), Rajkot 165 kms.(3 hrs) We had booked a taxi from Rajkot as we were travelling from Mumbai
We also visited Somnath temple 45 kms away.
If anyone needs more info pl let me know in the comments section