Sasn Gir Forest in India: Visit to View Lions in Their Natural State

The wild life lovers as well as all the common people like us would love to watch the lions moving freely in the forests, which is their kingdom. I had recently an opportunity to watch lions freely moving in the open forest in the Sasan Gir forests near the city of Junagadh in the Gujarat state of India during my last visit to India. This Sasan Gir forest is the lion reserve forest as declared by the Government of India. There are around 300 families of the lions staying here at this forest. This is the only forest in entire Asia continent that is having lions in such a large number.

One can easily reach Sasan Gir from Junagadh by the State Transport buses within one and a half hour, covering the distance of 30 miles. There is a tourist's guesthouse, operated by the government of Gujarat, where the tourists can stay. The nice double rooms are provided here at the rate of Rs.500 ($13) per day. The standard Gujarati food items are available in this guesthouse. This is the only facility available for the tourists to stay here for the night halt. Once you have settled down in the guesthouse, the next part is to go inside the thick Gir forest to see the lions in their natural habitat. Earlier, the visitors had to buy the animal like goat and tie it with the tree at night and watch the lions attacking on it and then eating it leisurely. This practice has been stopped by the government recently and a safe, sure way to watch the lions is devised in view of the merciless killings of the animals like goats and cows. The government has made one reserve area in the forest, having an area of around 10 square miles, in which around 25 lions are kept. All the tourists have to take a bus ride starting from one village, known as Devalia, which is around 7 miles away from the Sasan Gir, to this forest reserve area and the bus staff would show you the lions by interacting on the walki talkie sets with one another, finally taking all the buses at the exact spot where the lions are gathered. The tourists can watch the lions while sitting in the bus with ease.

The bus trip takes around 2 hours and starts at an interval of every half an hour from 5 pm in the evening, depending upon the rush of tourists. The bus ticket is Rs.60 ($1.5) per head for the Indian residents and Rs.100 ($2.50) for the foreign nationals. The cameras are charged separately at the rate of Rs.20 (fifty cents) per camera for the Indian nationals and Rs.50 ($1.25) for the foreign nationals. Each bus is a mini bus that can accommodate around 24 passengers in one bus. We traveled by this mini bus and were able to view total 7 lions at three different locations. We also could see other wild animals like wild buffalos, deers, monkeys, and the snakes. The Gir forest is not very thick and dense. Perhaps this is due to the less rains here over a period of last so many years.

Please keep in mind that this Sasan Gir forest reserve remains closed from 8 pm till 6 am in the morning. No one is allowed to move inside the forest during these hours, even if you have stayed at the forest for the night. If anybody is caught moving in the forest by the patrolling crew after the regular hours, then he is liable to be prosecuted and there is a provision of maximum 6 months imprisonment as per the Indian penal code. In spite of these limitations, it is really a unique experience to watch the kings of the forests moving freely in to their kingdom. There is also a crocodile center near this Sasan village, where all types of crocodiles are kept and grown here at this famous center. The tourists must see this crocodile's center on their way back to the city of Junagadh.

We enjoyed our visit to Sasan Gir, as we were able to see the lions moving freely in the jungle. I would strongly recommend all my readers to visit this Gir forest at least once during their visit to India, particularly to the Gujarat State in the Western zone.