Just a stone’s throw away from one of the biggest cities on Earth.
bounce across the teetotal deciduous forest in the eerie pre - dawn hours , we slow up , and the engine of our Jeep cuts . While the dust settles around us , our driver and guide listen intently to the deafen secrecy . A distant but unmistakable holla jolts us back into motion . Relishing the well-fixed March sunshine , we ’re on safari in hunting of lions — but we ’re not in the African Serengeti . We ’re in India . As the vaporing flies , we ’re less than 200 milesfrom Mumbai , one of the most heavily populated urban center on Earth .
Asiatic Lion , orPanthera leo persica , are a king of beasts subspecies , just like the well - known African lion . These powerful vertex predators roamed the timberland of India , the deserts of the Middle East , and what is now Türkiye until the later 19th century . They were slowly eradicated rural area by land until the only ones that remained were shelter within the secret hunting ground of a princely crime syndicate . Fortunately , this small corner of India ’s Kathiawar peninsula , which juts off the west coast of Gujarat state , was under the rule of a well - known animal lover who reportedly owned more than 2,000 dogs . As one legend goes , Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III begin comment fewer and fewer lions on his regular forest walk . enjoin an prescribed survey that reportedly only counted 12 entire king of beasts within his territorial dominion caused him to shun all hunting in the area .
Without the nobleman ’s well timed intervention , the lions would have in all probability drop dead extinct .
Asiatic lions are lankier than their African counterparts.|Photo by Geena Truman
gratefully , audacious traveler bet for a more off - the - beaten - pathwildlife experiencecan still travel from Mumbai or nearby Rajasthan into Gujarat and see the proud fauna for themselves . brim with wildlife and satisfyingly expansive , Gir National Park evokes the African savannah with the only noticeable departure being the expectant cats that survive there . Asiatic Lion are lanky and have close - clip , dark manes , as opposed to flowing golden - brown lock chamber . They also have spunky tuft of dark hair on the tips of their shadow and elbows .
Without the immense expanse ofAfrica ’s never - terminate Savannah River , Asia ’s last Panthera leo have acclimated to live near the over-crowding of India ’s cities and the 1 million inhabitant of the border district . But these lions remain wild . They ’re the last of their species . And India has lead to great length to protect them . Now they live and roam in spite of appearance of a dear internal parking area that most foreign visitors have never learn of .
Emotionally talk , they are the pridefulness of all of Gujarat . When Gir National Park was set up in 1965 , the first official survey counted only 100 lions . But more than 650 Asian lion live in and around the park today , and visitors have a 75 % succeeder rate at recognise the stealthy predators on safari . I personally saw 14 of them , one of which was lurk on the road toenterthe park , not even within the boundaries . Every safari is secret , which intend no jostle inside an overcrowded lope vehicle with 20 other passengers and their cameras ; instead , you may enjoy your opened - air travel Jeep with just a driver and template .
Daniel Romanson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
It was n’t easy to get there , though . In fact , doing so without a rental car was something blood-related to an Olympian event call for a series of railroad train and buses that rattle through the barren desiccated desert and into the teak woodland of Gir . The train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was a slow , scenic , and relatively painless eight hour as prognosticate . But a second train to Junagadh , which hold up nearly as long , end our track journey and the last color of comfort . As we boarded a local bus , every aerofoil was coated in the desert ’s dust . The bus crawled onward for what seemed like an timeless existence , all its windows open , allowing for heat , dust , and the smoke of farmers stubble burn in their fields to impregnate the air travel .
But even though the journeying was hard and uncomfortable , most experiences worth their salt are .
Upon reaching in the belittled small town of Sasan Gir , we were met by our guesthouse host to guide us toThe Wild ’s Villa Gir . We left town in a jinrikisha and follow a scandal path through the forest for three statute mile , engross ourselves in the wild . The guesthouse , which was located on a modest mango tree farm , offered splendid nursing home - cooked meals , a swimming consortium , and nature walk with a resident guide . ( For a more plush accommodation pick rather than a budget - friendly homestay , considerThe Fern Gir Forest Resort , which has numerous pools , wide rooms , and wildlife walks . )
Only 150 Jeeps can enter Gir National Park each day.|Photo by Geena Truman
We also had to be after . Limitations on the number of visitors to the commons per day often mean mental reservation are fully book a hebdomad or two in approach . What ’s more , foreign visitors without an Amerindic camber bill have to reserve their Jeep via WhatsApp and a PayPal link rather than utilise a streamlinedonline booking system . According to parks guides , the best time slot to book for safari is 6 to 9 am , and the second good is the even one-armed bandit at 3 to 6 pm , as this is when the Leo are most active . Keep in mind there are also two different areas to potentially see lions inside the park . Devalia Interpretation Zone , which is more developed and well - groom , has kinsperson - friendly amenities but keeps some beast in enclosures near the entranceway . It ’s very unlike from the conservation - focused Gir safari sphere that we call in .
Driving along the narrow shit paths as the Lord’s Day rose red in the sky , we approached lazy group of lioness lallygag just 30 groundwork from the track . With no other jeeps in sight , there was no rush . We could watch them saunter through the scrubland and ringlet in the rubble until our hearts were content . Nosing up to a watering gob , a exclusive lioness strolled within 10 feet of our stopped vehicle . Accustomed to live within the park , she scarce glance our elbow room , knowing humans amaze no menace to her life , and that there were plenty of Sambar deer in the area deserving eating . Our guide , Uday Kahor , is from a nearby village used to the comportment of the lions . “ Living here is not risky , ” he told me . “ If we do not disturb the wildlife , the wildlife will not commove us . ”
Gir National Park is come together between June and October for the monsoon season . This drill allows for a rewilding of the innate landscape . Even when it ’s open , the untamed shaggy scrubland sense remote . Only 150 landrover can enter the commons daily , 50 for each of the three safari sentence slots , which are three hours to each one . Those 50 jeep are then assigned to one of 15 track cutting through the park and can not vary from their designated route . This practice minimizes overcrowding and prevents guide from radio to others within the green to converge on one ill-fated social lion .
The last wild lions of Asia are huge economic driver to the area around Gir National Park.|Photo by Geena Truman
From the visitant ’s linear perspective , this often translate to a more internal experience described as serene rather than chaotic . Wildlife within the park is bountiful , lion ’s appetite away . Peacock , hyena , chital ( spot deer ) , pangolin , gold jackal , take flight foxes , sloth bear , wildcat , leopard , mongoose , and the earth ’s only four - horned antelope , to name but a few . Our special king of beasts chance — spot two males and 12 female person — put out to exceptional wildlife luck in general . A individual jackal dart in front of us , in all probability in hot spare-time activity of prey . A muster of peacocks swagger through the underbrush , their bright precious stone tones easy distinguished from the monotonic landscape . Hanuman Langurs light in the trees above the spotted book binding of chital grazing with a single stoical sambar cervid keeping careful watch nearby . A virulent Russell ’s Viper attempted to hide its thick body in the leafy cannon fodder near the path . The landscape was quiet but filled with living .
While lions have always been a symbol of strength , confidence , and power in India , to Gujarati people , lions have a more tangible welfare . Many in the area have the lions to thank for their employment . There are , of course , the park guides and drivers . But there are also common ranger and veterinary faculty , plus the countless guesthouse operators who leave the only lodges and restaurant for travelers who travel out to the remote village of Sasan Gir . In fact , the last savage lions of Asia are so cute that the politics of India has taken a hands - on overture to conservation , intervening when they ’re sick or injured and ply care in a nearby veterinary hospital .
This plan seems to be working . " Over the last several years , the lion population in Gujarat has been steadily rise , ” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiwroteon X back in 2020 . “ This is power by community involvement , emphasis on technology , wildlife health care , proper home ground direction , and whole step to minimize human - Leo conflict . ”
Photo by Geena Truman
hem in by tillage and sprawling but obtusely populate Indian cities , this habitat has minuscule room for expansion . The next step in king of beasts conservation , then , is the move of some lions to other place in India that are already protected and once held their own population . This dispersal is a necessary insurance insurance policy ; otherwise , the totality of the metal money could be wiped out by one highly transmissible virus . Just this year , theGujarat Government announcedthat Barda Wildlife Sanctuary , about 62 miles from Gir , was slated to receive around 40 lions from the park . As of February , there were already 4 - 5 lion propel inside the protect area .
But until that project is finish , there ’s only one plaza to see them .
The sun was already in high spirits in the sky as we zipped along the Jeep trail toward the passing . This secretive to the car park ’s border , you could start to hear the tires of other car whipping along the highway outside . consider it unlikely we would spot any other wildlife in our last stay moment , we relaxed into the backseat . But just then a lone lioness step up to the road , shoulder muscles rippling beneath her golden pelt as she climb up the embankment . The gadget driver slide to a diaphragm , giving us a good vantage point as she sauntered within six foot of my camera lens . finally , she strolled by , never soften her gaze on the horizon .
Our pathfinder , Kahor , stay nerveless . It occurred to me that these sighting could get monotonic , just like anything else . But he told me that was not the case . “ Panthera leo are a hallowed beast of India , and I get to see them every twenty-four hours , ” as he put it . While many animals are symbolic of India — from the stealthy Bengal tigers to the Elephants reminiscent of the god Ganesh — you could find them disperse throughout the country in abundance .
But the Asiatic lion is the Pride of Gir and Gir alone .
