Gir National Park is well-known and famous for its Asiatic lions. It is the only place in the world, apart from Africa, where lions roam freely in the wild.
It's located in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India.
Gir National Park was established in 1965. It was established to protect the endangered Asiatic lion.
It covers about 1,400 sq km and includes dry forest, rocky hills, and open grasslands.
The park has roughly 38 mammal species, including lions, leopards, deer, chital, and hyenas. Gir has more than 300 bird species, including six of India's nine vulture species. More than 2,000 insect species are found here.
In 1975, a core area of about 258–259 sq km within the larger sanctuary was declared a national park with restricted human activity.
The Maldharis are a herding community. They have lived in the Gir forest for generations. Despite occasional cattle losses, they did not harm lions.
According to the latest data from the Gujarat Forest Department, the number of lions in Gir is 891 in 2025.
Apart from lions, you can spot leopards, jungle cats, striped hyenas, golden jackals, honey badgers, civets, and mongooses.
If you are coming by train, the nearest railway station is Veraval (45–55 km away), followed by Junagadh station (65–75 km) and Rajkot station (160 km). If you are coming by air, the nearest airports are Keshod (~60 km), Diu (~73 km), and Rajkot (~170 km), followed by a road journey to Sasan Gir.
Gir offers four main types of safaris: Gir Jungle Safari, Devalia Safari (Interpretation Zone), Girnar Safari, and Kankai Safari.
During your Gir safari tour, you can visit Kamleshwar Dam, Durbar Hall Museum, Girnar Mountains, Somnath Temple, Junagadh Zoo, Diu Island, and Kankai Temple.