Heavy rush of tourists for lion sightings in Gir during Diwali vacation

According to a report by Sandesh newspaper, a large influx of tourists is being witnessed in the forests of Gir due to the Diwali festivals and vacation holidays. People are making advance bookings to catch a glimpse of lions in Sasan and a heavy crowd of tourists is seen. It is estimated that more than 15,000 tourists will visit Sasan in just one week. Online safari booking is already fully booked until the 23rd of the coming date. Bookings for the festive days are also full in the month of November, while online permit bookings are known to be full until the month of December.

Keeping this heavy crowd of tourists in mind, all arrangements have been ensured by the Forest Department. Along with this, tourists have been specially advised to travel by making bookings only from the official website to avoid online fraud. The main jungle safari requires the right timing and luck for lion sightings. Apart from the main jungle safari, many tourists are also turning towards the Gir Devaliya Safari Park.

Sharing his experience, a tourist who came with his family from Kolkata stated that earlier during a 3-hour jungle safari, he had the good fortune of seeing lionesses crossing the road. This time they are coming to Devaliya Park with their family, where sitting in a caged vehicle, experiencing the thrill of closely observing lions roaming in an open environment is altogether a different excitement. This year the vacation in Sasan was ended early. The vacation which was supposed to end on 16th October was ended on 7th October itself and the safari park was opened. Apart of Sasan Gir, Junagadh's Girnar Safari and Porbandar's Barda Safari have also been started.

Talking about the background, the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a national park and wildlife sanctuary located in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was established in 1965 in the private hunting area of the erstwhile Nawab of Junagadh, which has a total area of 1,410.30 square kilometers. In Gir, an area of 258.71 square kilometers is fully protected as a national park and an area of 1,151.59 square kilometers as a wildlife sanctuary.