Experience the best of Sasan Gir

Sasan Gir is the village at the heart of the Gir forest on the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat. The surrounding national park and sanctuary protect dry deciduous forest of teak and thorn, and it is the only place in the world where Asiatic lions still live in the wild. Maldhari herders live in settlements inside the forest, grazing their cattle alongside the wildlife.

Leopards, spotted deer, sambar, nilgai and wild boar share the forest, and mugger crocodiles bask at the Kamleshwar reservoir. The Kankai Mata temple lies within the forest. Junagadh, with its hill fort and the temple-topped Girnar mountain, is to the north, the Somnath temple stands on the Arabian Sea coast to the south-west, and the island of Diu, with its Portuguese fort, is to the south-east.

A Gujarati thali, with flatbreads of millet, vegetable dishes, buttermilk and a touch of jaggery, is the typical meal. Gir kesar mangoes, which hold protected-origin status, ripen in early summer. In the dry months the animals gather at waterholes, and the forest turns green with the monsoon.