Jeeps are available for hire near the main entrance to the park, from where one must obtain a permit on payment of modest park fees. One may enter the park in the early morning hours and exit before noon, or else get in during the late afternoon, and return by nightfall. Naturally, leaving the vehicle and walking is a strict no-no, as is making a lot of noise, or even persuading your driver to take the vehicle off the jeep track! A guide must accompany all vehicles entering the park, and private vehicles are not allowed inside.

The fact that the lion population is restricted to Gir has been the source of a lot of concern from wildlife quarters in years past.  In the event of an epidemic, the entire population would get wiped off in a single stroke, and there would be no way to replenish the wild populations. In other words, the Asiatic lion would go the way of the Indian Cheetah, which remains today only as museum specimens and in wildlife record books. Not a single Indian Cheetah remains on the face of the earth. To prevent this from happening, several experiments have been conducted to translocate and isolate small populations of the Asiatic Lion, but none has taken off yet. A relocation at Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh is currently underway.

Gir can get very warm during the summer months, so plan your visit during the winter, or else the very early spring or late autumn. Dress comfortably, going by the season. A sun hat and loose airy clothes are a good idea during the warmer months, while a warm sweater or even a jacket may be necessary on a cold winter morning. Carry your wildlife guide books; a copy of Salim Ali's Book of Indian Birds  or for a more serious birder, the Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent  or Prater's Book of Indian Animals  would be indispensable for anyone wanting to know what exactly they sight in the park...

Keep your eyes and ears open, for this is Indian big sky country at its best. There are fabulous vistas to be absorbed. Miles and miles of scrub country stretching to the horizon, blue skies above, flaming blossoms during the spring and monsoon months (you can't miss the Flame-of-the-Forest if you visit in February or March!) and plenty of colourful and even rare birds. Look for the Paradise Flycatcher with its unmistakable white streamer-like tail and pirouetting flight, the Crested Tree Swift making its fabulous aerial sallies or the White-browed Fantail Flycatcher chirruping in the undergrowth. Look carefully at the sandy pebbly ground ahead of you, and you might discern a well-camouflaged flock of Painted Sandgrouse. Of course, you can't miss the Crested Hawk Eagle squealing overhead or the watchful Honey Buzzard keeping a sentinel eye on the movements on the valley floor.

And if you get lucky with lots of lion sightings, give a thought to the wonderful array of smaller wildlife that make Gir their home. You might see small sounders of Wild Boar crossing your path, or a watchful Jungle Cat hunting in the grasses to one side of the track. Of course, there are plenty of Chital, Sambhar and Nilgai. You probably won't see a leopard, but there are a good number of them here. And if you're really lucky, like I was, then you'll see a Pangolin, which has not been seen around here for a long time. Or you may see a Hyena, as I did on leaving the Sasan Gir at night! There are so many surprises to be had at Gir that you'll probably see none of the above, but add something unusual of your own to this list! Go ahead and explore the Gir forest now while you can; you never know for how long the lion is there with us...

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