Trip to GIR - Some must knows after my experience.
Traveled to Gir National Park during the Dec holidays. Made a trip to Somnath and Gir in a four day span. Went from Mumbai to Diu and then by road to Somnath first and then to Gir.
Gir was beautiful. Nice climate - not very cold - pleasurable. Went for the Lion Safari and was danm lucky to sight Lions multiple times. First one was a lone male lion drinking water just after finishing breakfast :-). Here is the picture on a Nikon 70-300 (details below)
After taking his time to drink , started his majestic walk towards us...you have to see the king of the jungle in his kingdom. Cool !
Then we stumbled upon a group of 3 lionesses and 4-5 cubs all taking a nap after their brunch
Like I said , it made our journey complete with all these sightings.
Next day we went for the Devalia Safari. Good sightings again as this is a smaller enclosed area specifically made for folks who miss a natural sighting.
Some very important travel tips learnt during this journey :
1. Always plan in advance as the only way to get into the Gir Safari is by booking the permits on-line. There are no permits available locally. So you have to go to the website - www.girlion.in. There are three slots 0600-0900 , 0900-1200 and 1500-1800...choose as many as you want and book the permits. There are only 50 Jeeps permitted per time slot.You need ID proof for all the travellers during booking and also during entry into the Safari.
2. Can book Devalia as well - so if you miss sighting , then you can definitely see Lions at Devalia.
3. Local cabs are expensive depending on the hotels that you stay. We stayed at The Fern inside the forest - the place is good.
(Quick Tip and Trick - If you dont get the permit on the first go , keep checking every day - I found that they get booked early but then get cancelled as cancellation is permitted till 2-days before the trip - you might get second time lucky like me !)
We also did a short nature walk for birding along the Hiranya River. Did some good sighitngs including - Marsh Crocodiles , Indian Tree pie , Shrikes , Ibiss etc.
Trip Iten worked like this :
1. Mumbai - Diu - Takes baout 1.5 Hours.
2. Diu to Somnath - 80 Km 1.5 Hours. Somnath has a nice temple and a light and sound show at 1930 in the evening. We stayed at the Fern Somnath. The place is good but far from the temple. You get autorickshaws to travel from the hotel to the temple.
3.Somnath to Gir - 50 Kms about 1 Hour.
4. Gir to diu and back. Gir to Diu is about 2.5 hours.
The roads are good and a nice drive.
Dont forget to book your safari permits in advance.
Traveled to Gir National Park during the Dec holidays. Made a trip to Somnath and Gir in a four day span. Went from Mumbai to Diu and then by road to Somnath first and then to Gir.
Gir was beautiful. Nice climate - not very cold - pleasurable. Went for the Lion Safari and was danm lucky to sight Lions multiple times. First one was a lone male lion drinking water just after finishing breakfast :-). Here is the picture on a Nikon 70-300 (details below)
After taking his time to drink , started his majestic walk towards us...you have to see the king of the jungle in his kingdom. Cool !
Then we stumbled upon a group of 3 lionesses and 4-5 cubs all taking a nap after their brunch
Like I said , it made our journey complete with all these sightings.
Next day we went for the Devalia Safari. Good sightings again as this is a smaller enclosed area specifically made for folks who miss a natural sighting.
Some very important travel tips learnt during this journey :
1. Always plan in advance as the only way to get into the Gir Safari is by booking the permits on-line. There are no permits available locally. So you have to go to the website - www.girlion.in. There are three slots 0600-0900 , 0900-1200 and 1500-1800...choose as many as you want and book the permits. There are only 50 Jeeps permitted per time slot.You need ID proof for all the travellers during booking and also during entry into the Safari.
2. Can book Devalia as well - so if you miss sighting , then you can definitely see Lions at Devalia.
3. Local cabs are expensive depending on the hotels that you stay. We stayed at The Fern inside the forest - the place is good.
(Quick Tip and Trick - If you dont get the permit on the first go , keep checking every day - I found that they get booked early but then get cancelled as cancellation is permitted till 2-days before the trip - you might get second time lucky like me !)
We also did a short nature walk for birding along the Hiranya River. Did some good sighitngs including - Marsh Crocodiles , Indian Tree pie , Shrikes , Ibiss etc.
Trip Iten worked like this :
1. Mumbai - Diu - Takes baout 1.5 Hours.
2. Diu to Somnath - 80 Km 1.5 Hours. Somnath has a nice temple and a light and sound show at 1930 in the evening. We stayed at the Fern Somnath. The place is good but far from the temple. You get autorickshaws to travel from the hotel to the temple.
3.Somnath to Gir - 50 Kms about 1 Hour.
4. Gir to diu and back. Gir to Diu is about 2.5 hours.
The roads are good and a nice drive.
Dont forget to book your safari permits in advance.
posted by Jayant Barve at
11:45 AM
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