From a crocodile reservoir deep in the forest to a Portuguese fort in the sea — fourteen places that make up a Gir trip.
Gir is not a park you visit in isolation. The forest sits in the middle of the Saurashtra peninsula, an hour from one of India’s holiest temples, an hour and a half from a city of Nawabi tombs and Mauryan inscriptions, and a morning’s drive from island beaches. Most trips combine at least two of these.
We have grouped the places in three bands: the park and its surrounding forest, the coast from Diu round to Dwarka, and Junagadh with its sacred mountain.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary The open-jeep safari through wild lion country
The main event: a roughly three-hour drive in an open gypsy along a forest route allotted at Sasan, with a Forest Department guide, through the tourism zone of the sanctuary where Asiatic lions, leopards, deer and hundreds of bird species live wild. Entry is by official e-permit only.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary The Gir Interpretation Zone — a short, near-certain lion sighting
A large fenced tract of typical Gir habitat about 12 km west of Sasan, where lions, leopards and herbivores can be seen on a short bus or gypsy round. It is the fallback when Jungle Trail permits are sold out, and a good choice with small children.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary The village where every safari begins
A small village on the Hiran river that serves as park headquarters. Sinh Sadan, the Forest Department campus, is where permits are checked and jeeps and guides assigned; around it are lodges, resorts, a tiny railway station and mango orchards.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary Gir’s crocodile reservoir, deep inside the forest
A reservoir on the Hiran river in the heart of the sanctuary, known for its marsh (mugger) crocodiles and waterbirds. It lies inside the protected area and is reached only on safari routes that pass it — you cannot drive there on your own.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary A forest shrine in the middle of lion country
A temple to the goddess Kankai (Kankeshwari) deep inside the Gir forest, reached by a rough road through the sanctuary that is open to visitors in daylight under Forest Department rules. The journey through the forest is as much the point as the shrine.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary Hot springs and a Krishna temple on Gir’s eastern side
A temple of Lord Krishna as Shyam with warm sulphur springs, set among forested hills on the road between Una and Dhari. It sits in the eastern part of the Gir landscape, far from the Sasan crowds, and works well on the way to or from Diu.
Gir National Park & Sanctuary A second lion safari park, near Dhari
A fenced lion safari park run by the Forest Department near Dhari in Amreli district, on the eastern side of the Gir landscape. Like Devalia it offers a short bus round with a good chance of seeing lions, and it is handy for travellers coming from Amreli, Bhavnagar or Diu.
Somnath, Diu & the Saurashtra coast The first jyotirlinga, on the edge of the Arabian Sea
One of the most sacred Shiva temples in India, counted first among the twelve jyotirlingas and rebuilt after Independence on a site destroyed and restored many times. About an hour from Sasan, it is the natural partner to a Gir safari.
Somnath, Diu & the Saurashtra coast Fishing harbour, railhead and the place Krishna’s story ends
A working port next to Somnath with one of Gujarat’s biggest fishing fleets and a yard where wooden dhows are still built by hand. Veraval is also the main railway station for Somnath, and nearby Bhalka Tirth marks where Krishna is said to have been struck by a hunter’s arrow.
Somnath, Diu & the Saurashtra coast A Portuguese island fort and Gujarat’s favourite beach break
A small island off the southern tip of Saurashtra that was Portuguese until 1961, with a sea-battered sixteenth-century fort, whitewashed churches, the glowing Naida caves and long sandy beaches. It is about two to three hours from Sasan.
Somnath, Diu & the Saurashtra coast 
Somnath, Diu & the Saurashtra coast Krishna’s city at the western tip of India
One of the Char Dham and among the holiest cities of Vaishnavism, built around the towering Dwarkadhish temple above the Gomti ghats. It is a long drive from Gir, usually done as part of a Somnath–Dwarka circuit with a night or two on the way.
Junagadh & Girnar A Nawabi city with two thousand years of monuments
The old capital of the princely state whose Nawabs first protected Gir’s lions. Come for the wildly ornate Mahabat Maqbara, the ancient Uparkot fort with its stepwells and rock-cut caves, and Ashoka’s edicts at the foot of Girnar — about an hour and a half from Sasan.
Junagadh & Girnar Gujarat’s highest hill: thousands of steps or a ropeway
A cluster of volcanic peaks rising straight out of the plain behind Junagadh, sacred to Jains and Hindus alike. Pilgrims climb a stone stairway of nearly ten thousand steps past the Jain temples to the Ambaji temple and beyond; a ropeway now lifts visitors to Ambaji in minutes.
See the Gir guide for full itineraries and safaris & tours for trips that cover them.
Pair a Gir safari with the temple on the Arabian Sea, the old Nawabi city of Junagadh and the beaches of Diu. Compare guided tours and book in a couple of taps.
