Travel Diaries – Day 2: In Search of the King of Gir
From Somnath to Sasan Gir, a family safari filled with wildlife, laughter, unexpected surprises, and a meeting with the King of the Jungle.
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| Travel Diaries-Day 2 |
The King of the Jungle and His Home Boss 😊
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| Lion-King of Jungle |
Tell me one thing. Have you ever seen a lion, a gigantic one, right in front of you, just outside, playing with its family and enjoying its day?
Wait. When I say lion, I am not talking about seeing one in a zoo, where it is kept inside a closed cage. I am talking about seeing it in a forest, where it has the freedom to move around, explore and simply be what it is.
Before I take you there, let me give this story a little humorous touch.
We usually call the lion the King of the Jungle, and we all know that famous movie based on this King which has millions of followers around the world.
Some time back, while going through a few reels, I came across something funny. Though the lion may be the Nayak and King of the Jungle, somewhere there is always a lioness who seems to be the actual controller.
I think this is common in humans also. 😊
No matter how strongly you are built, how loudly you talk, or how powerful you are outside, once you are back home, you still have to listen to the home boss.
Looks like nature has followed the same rule with lions too. 😊
Among the big cats, lions are also special because they are highly social and live together in groups called prides.
This was part of the discussion happening with my kids while we were coming out of Somnath Temple and getting ready to travel towards Gir.
From Somnath to the Land of Lions
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| From Somnath to the land of Lions |
Our journey had already been quite long.
From Bangalore to Rajkot, and from there another road journey of almost five hours had taken us to Somnath. After the darshan the next morning, it was time for an early breakfast and another road trip of around two hours towards Gir Forest.
As you cross Talala, slowly the landscape starts changing.
The Gir Forest region welcomes you with a completely different view. The dry deciduous forest starts appearing, and on both sides you can see plenty of mango farms along with resorts welcoming people travelling towards Gir.
We finally reached Sasan Gir.
Our resort was almost 1.5 km inside from the main road. To reach it, we had to cross mango farms, and once inside, this big resort slowly appeared from between the dense mango trees.
The place was Saavaj Resort.
Our check-in was around 1 PM, but our brains were already thinking about only one thing.
The next day’s safari.
The resort itself was located close to the forest landscape, and the surroundings were astonishingly beautiful. Mango trees, greenery and that feeling that somewhere beyond all this, the forest was waiting for us.
Gir: A Forest Beyond the Lions
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| Meet the Star-Asiatic Lions |
While I will take you to the safari in a while, let me first share a little about the animal that had brought us all the way here.
The Asiatic Lion.
Gir is famous for being the heartland of the majestic Asiatic lions. What makes them even more special is that the last surviving wild population of Asiatic lions is in Gujarat, India. Gir continues to be their most famous home, though today the lions have expanded into a much wider part of the Saurashtra landscape.
And then, of course, there are African lions.
So naturally the next question from the kids was: What is the difference between an Asiatic lion and an African lion?
The easiest difference to notice is the mane. Male Asiatic lions generally have a shorter and less dense mane, so their ears are usually more visible. Another interesting feature is the fold of skin running along the belly, which is commonly seen in Asiatic lions and only rarely seen in African lions.
But is Gir only about lions?
No. Never.
Gir has a much bigger wildlife story.
The forest has rich biodiversity and provides habitat to many animals and birds. Along with the Asiatic lion, it is also home to Indian leopards, deer, jackals, vultures, peacocks and many other species. Gir is also an important habitat for marsh crocodiles.
Seven rivers flow through the Gir landscape, making water an important part of this otherwise dry forest ecosystem.
With all these discussions going on, we were sitting near the pool, sipping tea and coffee.
The kids, however, were interested in only one thing.
“When will we see the lion?”
For them, tomorrow morning was probably taking too long to arrive.
An Evening of Garba and an Unexpected African Connection
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| Garba & unexpected African connection |
With that thought in mind, we went back to our rooms and waited for the next surprise planned around 7:30 PM.
Since it was Navaratri time, the resort team had arranged Garba and Durga Pooja. We spent some time there, witnessed the celebration and took the blessings of Goddess Durga.
After that, someone from the resort said,
“You can go to the theatre near the pool. We have African dance.”
African dance?
The moment they said that, one question came to my mind.
Where did these Africans come from?
Then immediately my connection went back to Karnataka.
In Uttara Kannada, there is a community called the Siddi. Even while crossing Talala earlier that day, I had noticed several people in shops and along the road. At first, I had wondered whether they were Africans who had come here for studies or work.
So when the resort management said there was going to be an African dance, I was curious.
“Okay, let us watch first. Then we will find out.”
Exactly at 7:30 PM, the performance started.
It was hardly around twenty minutes, but it was energetic and enjoyable. When I later checked about the dance, I came to know about the unique cultural identity of the local Siddi community and their traditional dance performances. Such performances are also presented for visitors staying at hotels and resorts around Gir.
Their traditional occupations include farming, cattle rearing and work connected with the forest region.
By then, it was already around 8 PM.
Dinner time.
And more importantly, time to start thinking about the early morning safari.
We finished our dinner and went to sleep early.
Actually, more than my kids and my friend’s kids, I think it was the parents who were more excited about the next morning.
5 AM, One Alarm and Plenty of Excitement
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| 5 AM Alarm |
I remember setting the alarm for 5 AM because we had to reach the safari point by around 6:45 AM.
I have this strange habit of waking up just before my alarm gets a chance to wake me.
That morning was the same.
I opened my eyes before the alarm and almost felt like telling my phone,
“Thank you. I woke up already. You can sleep now.”
That was especially important because my mobile battery was somewhere in the 30s, and I needed the phone for photography.
Not that I am some great photographer.
But whatever I capture usually has a story behind it, and later I can tell that story to you guys.
Now it was time to wake everyone else.
The adventure we had been waiting for was finally here.
By around 6:30 AM, everyone was ready, and we started towards Gir.
The Safari Confusion: Gir, Devalia or Ambardi?
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| Safari - gir,Devalia or Ambardi |
Now, here came one confusion which even confused us while booking.
There is the Gir Jungle Safari, which takes you into the main Gir wildlife landscape through designated safari routes. Permits are limited and need to be booked in advance through the official system.
Then there is the Gir Interpretation Zone at Devalia, often called Devalia Safari Park. Think of it as a smaller representation of the Gir ecosystem. It covers around 412 hectares and offers both bus and Gypsy safari options. Because it is an interpretation zone, visitors get an opportunity to see Gir’s wildlife within a more compact area.
There is also the Ambardi Wildlife Interpretation Zone near Dhari, another interpretation area connected with the Gir landscape and Asiatic lion conservation.
So this is where our confusion gets cleared.
We could not get the permit for the main Gir Jungle Safari. Instead, we opted for the Devalia safari with a dedicated Gypsy for the family.
Everything was managed through the booking system. No long queue, no waiting and no fighting with someone suddenly entering in between and saying,
“I was already standing here…”
Bla bla bla. 😊
You get inside, they scan and confirm the booking, and then a guide and dedicated Gypsy are assigned.
The vehicle we got was well maintained and clean.
From the Gir wildlife office, the place where we were going for our safari was around 15 km away.
When Humans Entered the Cage 😊
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| Enter the Cage |
Now we were inside the Gypsy safari jeep.
Driver and guide in front.
There was a protective grill around the vehicle, but we could clearly see the forest outside.
For a moment, it felt funny.
Humans were inside the cage.
Animals were freely roaming outside.
Maybe somewhere the animals were also watching us and saying,
“Look… here comes one more group of human species. From their noise and conversation, looks like they are from South India.” 😊
After around fifteen minutes, we were entering Devalia.
As we passed through the entrance, there were large posters of lions and lionesses.
And then the landscape slowly started changing.
The trees suddenly became fewer, and long savannah-like grasses started appearing. The early morning sunlight was falling on the grass, making it shine beautifully.
A Breakfast Party and a Conference in the Jungle
The first animals we spotted were actually not animals.
Birds.
A group of different species of birds were having their breakfast.
But when we went closer, we realised something.
It was a breakfast of someone’s breakfast.
I mean, whatever had been left behind by lions or leopards had now become breakfast for these birds.
Among them were eagles, crows and other birds waiting around.
A little further, we were able to see a Long-billed Vulture — Gyps indicus sitting high on a tree.
It looked like it had already finished its breakfast and was now sitting comfortably on top, enjoying the early morning sun.
Questions from kids are always interesting because sometimes you need to think carefully before answering them.
They started asking why these birds were eating what the bigger animals had left behind.
Instead of making it too scientific, I told them to think of these birds as the cleaning team of the forest.
When a lion finishes eating, someone has to clean up the leftovers. These birds come and do exactly that.
Suddenly something that looked unpleasant became interesting to them.
We continued moving.
A little further ahead, it looked as if some kind of round-table conference was happening near the lake.
Coming from the IT and software world, I immediately made my own connection.
During any major technology event, whether it is Microsoft Ignite, Apple events or some other big conference, you will see different companies, partners and people gathering around one central place.
Something similar was happening here.
All the birds seemed to be having their own conference near the lake.
Maybe someone had announced the launch of a new variety of animal flesh and everyone had come for the product launch. 😊
Our guide started pointing them out.
Different eagles.
Vultures, including Long-billed Vulture and White-rumped Vulture.
Peacocks.
Squirrels.
And further away, almost like spectators standing outside the conference hall, were deer.
They looked calm, but somewhere you could imagine them always being alert about when and where an attack could come from.
Finally, We Found the Lions!
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| Gir Lion Photography_KG |
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| Gir Lion Photography_KG1 |
But we had come here for one main reason.
The Asiatic lion.
And until now, we had not seen one.
Slowly, people inside our vehicle were becoming restless.
I finally asked the guide,
“By any chance, will we be able to see lions today?”
The answer came immediately.
“Your luck, Sir. We will try to show you. If you are lucky, you will see them.”
Hmm.
That was not exactly the answer we were hoping for.
As we continued talking, suddenly our driver turned towards us.
“Keep your voice low.”
Something had changed.
A few safari vehicles were standing ahead.
Looks like something was there.
Lion?
Lioness?
We slowly moved closer.
Breathe…
Breathe…
Uffff…!!
Finally.
There they were.
A group of lions out in the open grassland.
Some were sleeping peacefully while a few younger ones were playing around. The smaller ones were moving around a tree, and suddenly one of them did something that surprised us.
It started climbing the tree.
How come?
That was immediately my question to the guide.
She explained that when lions are young, they can climb a little, though they are not professional climbers like leopards.
For almost ten minutes, we simply stayed there and watched them.
The mother was nearby, keeping an eye on the cubs while they played. A few of the grown-ups were resting or moving around close to the group.
There was no cage between us and them.
No artificial setup.
They were simply doing what they normally do.
Living.
Playing.
Sleeping.
One thing was missing though.
A wild boar.
That would have completed our movie connection.
And somewhere in my head that iconic “Simba…” connection had already started playing. 😊
The kids enjoyed every second.
After plenty of photos and enough staring at the lions, it was finally time to say goodbye.
The Leopards and a Question That Stayed With Me
Our next stop was near what looked like an open enclosure.
Immediately the question came.
“Why are we stopping near a cage when this is supposed to be a forest?”
The guide had an interesting way of explaining it.
“When someone commits a serious mistake, where do we put them?”
Jail.
“Exactly.”
The animals we were looking at were not lions.
They were Indian leopards.
According to the guide, these were animals that had repeatedly attacked humans and could no longer be allowed to move freely in areas where they might come into contact with people. So they were kept inside a large enclosure with the required facilities.
Hmm…
That answer stayed in my head.
Because another question immediately came.
Are we also not committing a mistake?
We have eaten into the jungle.
Forests have slowly become agricultural lands, villages, cities, roads and resorts.
Then where exactly are these animals supposed to go?
That thought was still running inside my mind when our Gypsy had already moved ahead.
We entered a long straight stretch where we could see hundreds of deer.
Then came peacocks.
Jackals.
More birds.
More deer.
Goodbye, Jungle Lions. Hello, Home Lionesses! 😊
And slowly, our safari started coming to an end.
By the time we crossed the gate, the sun was already in full swing and the temperature was moving towards 36°C.
I looked back once more and silently said goodbye to the forest and its residents.
Then I turned towards the family sitting inside our Gypsy.
The jungle lions were done.
Now there was another challenge waiting.
“Okay guys… now we have to tackle our home lionesses and cubs.”
😊
Few important informations
Till you see the next travel diary story, keep waiting and bless me if you like the way the story is narrated!!
