What is the difference between an Asiatic lion and an African lion?

The Asiatic lion is a distinct subspecies, generally with a shorter, less full mane and a longer belly fold, found wild only at Gir. It once ranged across parts of West Asia and northern India before conservation efforts confined the wild population to this one refuge.

Can I see tigers at Gir as well?

No — Gir has no wild tiger population. Travellers wanting both species need to visit a separate tiger reserve such as Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh or Kanha as part of the same trip.

What is the Devalia Interpretation Zone?

A fenced area within Gir set up to give visitors a reliable wildlife viewing option when core-zone safari permits are unavailable. It is a legitimate alternative, not a diminished experience, though the setting differs from the open sanctuary.

Rajkot and Diu are the nearest airports, each involving a road transfer of a couple of hours to Sasan Gir, the gateway village.

The park closes for the monsoon, broadly mid-June to mid-October, with the exact dates confirmed each year when we book your permits.

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Wildlife SafarisGir National Park

Gir lion safari

Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only place on earth where the Asiatic lion still survives in the wild, a subspecies distinct from the more familiar African lion and once reduced to a small refuge population here.

Private naturalist guide and vehicle throughout
Zone permits booked in advance on your behalf
Reply within four hours, 9am–9pm IST
No payment to start planning

Best season: October to mid-June and closes
Price: Quoted per person
Route: Gir National Park

Reviewed by Experience My India Editorial Team · Updated 13 Sept 2026

The forest itself is dry deciduous scrub and teak, drier and more open than the dense central Indian tiger reserves.
Wear khaki, olive or other muted colours; avoid white, black and bright prints.
No flash photography, and keep phones on silent during the drive.
Gir closes for its full monsoon season each year; travel outside mid-October to mid-June is generally not possible.

Gir, in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, is the only wild home of the Asiatic lion anywhere in the world — a subspecies that once ranged across much of West Asia and northern India before hunting and habitat loss reduced it to this one refuge, from which a long conservation effort has rebuilt the population. The forest itself is dry deciduous scrub and teak, drier and more open than the dense central Indian tiger reserves.

The area is also home to the Maldhari, a pastoralist community who have lived alongside the forest and its lions for generations, and their presence is part of what makes Gir's conservation story distinctive.

Two drives a day
A pre-dawn drive and a late-afternoon drive, run by a private naturalist and driver in an open gypsy, timed to when lions are most likely to be active or resting in the open.
Gypsy safaris, by zone
Gir's core sanctuary is divided into permit zones, allocated in advance; where core-zone permits are unavailable, the Devalia Interpretation Zone offers a fenced, more accessible alternative with a fair chance of a sighting.
Permits booked ahead
Zone permits are released through Gujarat's forest department booking system, and we handle this as part of planning your trip.
The drive itself
Open, scrubby teak forest and grassland, generally easier terrain for spotting a resting pride than the denser cover of a tiger reserve, though a sighting is still never guaranteed.

Why book with Experience My India?

Government-approved operator
Approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
500+ vetted local guides
35+ destination specialists plan every trip by hand.
Human help, every day
Mon–Sun, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM IST · +91 73022 65809
No payment until you approve
You receive a written quote first; nothing is charged to start planning.

How we vet every guide, stay and route India e-Visa: who needs one and how to apply Have a specialist design this trip

How does booking work?

1
Send an enquiry
Dates, who is travelling and how you like to travel. Two fields to start.
2
We check availability
Hotels, guides and permits for your dates, with honest alternatives if something is full.
3
Price and hotels named
Every hotel and inclusion is named before you pay anything.
4
Written quote in INR
One document, no hidden lines, valid for the dates it quotes.
5
You approve
Change anything you like. Nothing is charged until you say yes.
6
A named specialist runs it
The same person from first reply to departure, Mon–Sun, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM IST.

Meet your trip designer

Gurudutt Kaushal

Founder, Experience My India · IIT Jodhpur

Gurudutt Kaushal founded Experience My India and set the two rules every trip here runs on: hotels and guides are named before you pay, and a human replies within four hours. Your itinerary is designed by one of the 35+ destination specialists on his team and checked against our vetting standard.

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What our guests say

Sophie Laurent
Lyon, France · Couple · Verified trip
4/54 days ago
A smooth, well-thought-out trip. The hotels were lovely, the driving was long some days, and one stretch of road was tiring — but they warned us about that, and the stops along the way made it bearable.
via Tripadvisor
Manpreet Singh
Chandigarh · Friends · Verified trip
5/51 week ago
Driver was a gem — patient, careful on the highway, and he pulled over for every photo request without a sigh. The car was comfortable and the air conditioning actually worked, which is not a given.
via Google
Wei Ling Tan
Singapore · Solo · Verified trip
5/51 month ago
Our guide grew up in the old town and it showed. We got the version of the city locals see, not the coach-tour one. He also found us a wonderful sweet shop that has ruined all other sweets for me.
via Google
Bhaskar Gogoi
Guwahati, Assam · Solo · Verified trip
3/51 month ago
Mixed feelings. The sites were spectacular and the driver excellent, but our guide's English was harder to follow than we expected and we missed some of the detail. The office apologised quickly when we mentioned it.
via Google

What is the cancellation policy?

Cancellation terms are confirmed with your written quote

No payment is taken until you approve the itinerary.

Request a quote

Price on request

Tailor-made quote from a specialist

Gir lion safari

Private naturalist guide and vehicle throughout
Zone permits booked in advance on your behalf
Reply within four hours, 9am–9pm IST
No payment to start planning

The forest itself is dry deciduous scrub and teak, drier and more open than the dense central Indian tiger reserves.
Wear khaki, olive or other muted colours; avoid white, black and bright prints.
No flash photography, and keep phones on silent during the drive.
Gir closes for its full monsoon season each year; travel outside mid-October to mid-June is generally not possible.

Two drives a day
A pre-dawn drive and a late-afternoon drive, run by a private naturalist and driver in an open gypsy, timed to when lions are most likely to be active or resting in the open.
Gypsy safaris, by zone
Gir's core sanctuary is divided into permit zones, allocated in advance; where core-zone permits are unavailable, the Devalia Interpretation Zone offers a fenced, more accessible alternative with a fair chance of a sighting.
Permits booked ahead
Zone permits are released through Gujarat's forest department booking system, and we handle this as part of planning your trip.
The drive itself
Open, scrubby teak forest and grassland, generally easier terrain for spotting a resting pride than the denser cover of a tiger reserve, though a sighting is still never guaranteed.

Why book with Experience My India?

Government-approved operator
Approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
500+ vetted local guides
35+ destination specialists plan every trip by hand.
Human help, every day
Mon–Sun, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM IST · +91 73022 65809
No payment until you approve
You receive a written quote first; nothing is charged to start planning.

How we vet every guide, stay and route India e-Visa: who needs one and how to apply Have a specialist design this trip

How does booking work?

1
Send an enquiry
Dates, who is travelling and how you like to travel. Two fields to start.
2
We check availability
Hotels, guides and permits for your dates, with honest alternatives if something is full.
3
Price and hotels named
Every hotel and inclusion is named before you pay anything.
4
Written quote in INR
One document, no hidden lines, valid for the dates it quotes.
5
You approve
Change anything you like. Nothing is charged until you say yes.
6
A named specialist runs it
The same person from first reply to departure, Mon–Sun, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM IST.