Most tourists hoping to see big cats in India go looking for Bengal tigers – but in the Sasan Gir National Park, there’s an even rarer beast to spot. This sanctuary, surrounded by the “vast” teak forests and grasslands of Gujarat’s “wild west”, is the only place outside Africa where lions still roam in the wild, says Chris Caldicott in The Daily Telegraph.
On game drives there, I saw plenty of the creatures, but if you don’t, there are other rewards. The park is a rare “natural wilderness” in a crowded country, rich in flora and fauna. It has excellent accommodation, and is popular with local tourists, creating a sense of “inclusivity” you are rather less likely to find on safaris in Africa.
Like Indian elephants, Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than their African cousins, and the males have “rather less luxuriant manes”. Two thousand years ago, they ranged from the Levant to central India, but by 1900, they had been hunted almost to extinction, with just one pride remaining in Sasan Gir.
Keen to save them, the Nawab of Junagadh turned his hunting grounds here into India’s first wildlife sanctuary, and in 1972 the state took over, and relocated the hamlets of the local semi-nomadic Maldhari cattle herders to places away from the ever-growing feline population.
Today, the park is home to 674 lions – making it a “roaring” conservation success. If possible, stay at the beautiful and luxurious new Aramness Lodge, or at The Postcard Gir, a “worthy” and more affordable alternative, and take advantage of the park’s thrice-daily game drives.
The sight of a pride of lions relaxing in a sandy forest clearing in the golden light of dawn – with cubs playing “like kittens” amid the dunes – is “magnificent”. Early mornings are also the best time to spot a leopard, returning from its nocturnal hunt. And there are many other animals to see at any time, including langur monkeys, nilgai antelope, wild boar, and sambar deer.
Greaves India has an eight-night trip from £3,315pp, excluding international flights.
The sanctuary is a ‘roaring’ conservation success
