The Gir Harmony Hotel

The famous Asiatic lion is the only one found in the entire world. Which is the pride of Gujarat. Along with the lion, many other wild animals are seen. Every year, between June to October Gir National Park's protected area is closed. One should see a lion in an open forest once in a lifetime. So come and enjoy lion-watching with your friends and family.

Sasan Gir Safari National Park About The Location: This forested, hilly, 1412-sq-km sanctuary about halfway between Veraval and Junagadh is the last refuge of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leopersica). Taking a safari through the thick, undisturbed forests is a joy – even without the added excitement of spotting lions, other wildlife and myriad bird species. Access to the sanctuary is by safari permit only, bookable in advance online. If you miss out on a permit, your other option for lion encounters is at the Devalia Safari Park, a fenced-off part of the sanctuary where sightings are guaranteed but more stage-managed. The sanctuary’s 37 other mammal species, most of which have also increased in numbers, include dainty chital (spotted deer), sambar (large deer), nilgais (blue bull / large antelopes), chousinghas (four-horned antelopes), chinkaras (gazelles), crocodiles and rarely seen leopards. The park is a great destination for birders too, with more than 300 bird species, most of the residents. While the wildlife has been lucky, more than half the sanctuary’s human community of distinctively dressed maldhari (herders) have been resettled elsewhere, ostensibly because their cattle and buffalo were competing for food resources with the antelopes, deer, and gazelles, while also being preyed upon by the lions and leopards. About 1000 people still live in the park, however their livestock accounts for about a quarter of the lions diet. Twelve kilometers west of Sasan Gir village at Devalia, within the sanctuary precincts, is the Gir Interpretation Zone, better known as simply Devalia. The 4.12-sq-km fenced-off compound is home to a cross-section of Gir wildlife. Chances of seeing lions and leopards here are guaranteed, with 45-minute bus tours departing along the trails hourly. You may also see foxes, mongoose, and blackbuck – the latter being lion fodder. Brief History: The sanctuary was set up in 1965, and a 259-sq-km core area was declared as a national park in 1975. Since the late 1960s, lion numbers have increased from less than 200 to 674 (Census 2020). The Sasan Gir National Park - the largest compact track of dry deciduous forests in the semi-arid western part of India is the last abode of the big and regal predator Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), an endangered species. The sanctuary is internationally acclaimed for successfully saving this precious species from the brink of extinction. It was declared as a sanctuary in 1965. Subsequently, an area of 258.71 sq. km. was declared a National Park. After That every year lots of tourists visit the park with Gir Safari Booking, as Sasan Gir online booking as well as on-site offline bookings both are possible. But it is always better to make an advanced online booking. Gir lies a topography made up of a succession of rugged ridges, isolated hills, plateaus and valleys. Besides being the last abode of Asiatic lions, Gir forms a unique habitat for rattle, rusty spotted cat, pangolin, ruddy mongoose, civets, paradise flycatcher etc. The overwhelming presence of the omnipotent big cat diverts the attention of the common man from the remarkable bird population that the sanctuary has. However, the birds of Gir sanctuary did attract the great ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali who believed that, had the Asiatic lions not been there, the area would have been one of the most fascinating bird sanctuaries of the country.