A wild vacation…

The excitement of exploring the wilds of India never ceases to die down with me. The more I explore, the more I fall in love with it and the more I crave for it. So it is no coincidence that every year my first vacation is some wildlife sanctuary and it has been this way for the past three consecutive years. 
   After exploring the jungles of Corbett, Bandhavgarh and Panna, this year I decided to head to Gir Forest reserve of Gujarat. While planning I realised that it would take me almost 27 hours to reach Gir Forest Reserve from Delhi, i.e. 24 hours of train journey to Rajkot and three hours of road journey from Rajkot to Sasan. Little taken aback, I researched about the forest, read about it, googled the pictures and I was sure I’ve to be in the forest of Gir.

   The train journey was long but superb fun. After watching movies, gathering valuable information from the locals sitting by our side in the same coach and relishing delicious rabri (Indian sweet made from milk) at Abu station of Rajasthan, I got down at Rajkot. The first thing that struck me and almost left me sulking after getting down at the station and going through a security check, is knowing that ‘Gujarat is a dry state’, yes no booze. The first thought that crossed my mind after knowing this was that ‘I’d not done my research well.’

Still, the thought of wildlife and jungle was enough to keep my spirits high and I decided to take a local bus to Sasan. Having gathered enough information about local buses, I was quite confident that it’s not going to be a bad idea. I took an auto from Rajkot station for the local bus stand, from there boarded a non-stop bus to Junagadh and from Junagadh boarded another bus to Sasan. As I was dead tired by the time I checked into the hotel at 2 in the afternoon, I decided to rest for the latter half of day in my hotel and enjoy jungle from there. Yes, the hotel was inside the jungle and the first animal I spotted that evening was a jackal from my hotel lawn. It’s a struggle to find non-veg. food in this part of the town. So please check whether or not your hotel serves non-veg. food if you can’t do without it. Mine was a vegetarian hotel and I’d already started missing chicken on day one of my trip.

All geared up for the safari, I got up at 4’0 clock in the morning the next day and the taxi that would take me to the tatkal ticket counter arrived at 4.30 am. There are three safaris to the forest in a day – 7.00 am to 9.30 am, 9.30 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 6.30 pm. Thirty vehicles are allowed inside the park at a time and in that 10 to 15 are booked a month in advance. Reaching early in the morning is mandatory if you want the permit to enter the park. What time one should leave in the morning to stand in the queue depends on the rush of tourists or whether it’s a weekend. The safaris are diverted on different routes starting from one to eight. You cannot choose your route as that is randomly given at the ticket counter. The morning and evening safaris are good if you want to spot the king of Gir forest – the lions and other wildlife like leopard, deer, antelopes, wild boar, crocodile and so on. Gir forest is a paradise for bird lovers as a wide variety of it can be spotted here.

My effort to get up early in the morning paid off when I got the permit for morning safari – my first safari in Gir. While getting into the safari jeep a surge of joy, excitement and nostalgia hit me. The thrill of entering the forest lying undisturbed the whole night, seeing animals in the wild, tracking down the King and the whole feel of the jungle…. Ahhh!!! That’s my heaven on earth. I took back-to-back three safaris on day one and finally my luck favoured me in the third trip when I spotted a lioness sitting relaxed by roadside. Just one glimpse of the beauty in the wild and your day is made.

Coming back to the hotel after taking series of safari, I got a very useful tip from a guy in our hotel. So the tip was before heading for a safari, I must privately ask the guide to do whatever he can to spot me a lion and in return ‘tumhare chai pani ka kharcha main dekh lungi’. So ‘chai pani’ theory works even in forests. There are other ‘jugaads’ also that you can look for if you fail to spot a lion in the wilds. One needs to figure out these ‘jugaads’ on his own.

I took two more safaris the next day and again spotted a lioness, this time quite close and while she was on a move. In the time gap between my morning and evening safari I decided to go to Deolia, which is nine kilometres away from where I was staying. In Deolia, a small part of the forest is fenced where you can spot guaranteed lions in a bus ride that lasts for 45 minutes. This is particularly made for those who fail to spot lions in a safari.

Next day before checking out from the hotel I decided to go for another morning safari and hearing this, my hotel guy could not help mention that he’d never seen someone taking six safaris plus Deolia trip in just two-and-a-half days. So in short he indirectly called me psycho and I loved it.

Spotting two lions the next morning while they were on move growling, I contently headed to my next luxury destination – Diu. The two-hour drive from Sasan to Diu is a treat. Clean, green, zero-potholed roads and cool breeze – the whole stretch was beautiful with small-scale jaggery making units in every small intervals. I asked my cab driver to stop at one such unit as I wanted to have fresh sugarcane juice. He didn’t quite like the idea but I still went ahead. Seeing them make jaggery was a bonus.

Enjoying rest of the road journey, I reached Diu. The landscape of Diu reminded me of Goa. The next best thing about Diu was that it’s not a dry place and there is non-veg. food in abundance. There is nothing else I could have asked for. After indulging in sinful lunch, I headed for Nagoa beach which was just 50 meter walk from my amazing resort.

The daylight just slipped into the dark, and I could not keep track of the hours I spent walking on the sand and playing in the waves. The water sport is another attraction of the beaches of Diu. The sight of people doing parasailing was enough for me and within next few minutes I was soaring high in the sky, enjoying the breathtaking view of the sea from a height and soaking in the cool breeze. This again reminded me of Goa.

After spending few relaxing hours at the beachside, I headed for my resort. The whole ambience of the place was awesome. Bonfire, classic rock music, open sky, food, carom board, unlimited booze and thankfully no smoke as the whole resort is ‘No Smoking Zone’. Enjoying the whole feel of the place, finally I slipped into my bed quite late in the night.

My dream vacation finally came to an end and it was my last morning in Diu. Without wasting any time, I left for the beach after a light breakfast. I soaked in the morning sun, did Jet Ski and played in the waves. Came back, got freshen up and decided to just walk down the quiet beautiful lanes of Diu as I  still had two hours left. Finally, at one’o clock, I bid adieu to Diu and boarded the taxi for Rajkot. Once again I was feeling if the vacation could just go on and not end. Another beautiful journey, and lots of memories to take back home!

How to Reach:

By Air

The nearest airport is Keshod, at a distance of 90 km from Sasan Gir; the other airport is Rajkot at a distance of 140 kms.

By Train

Sasan Gir has a railway station of its own, with train connections to a number of other cities and towns in Gujarat and its neighbouring states. The towns of Junagadh, Veraval and Delwada have daily trains to Sasan Gir, from where the park is only about a km away.

By Road

Fairly good roads link the park to the rest of the country. Junagadh itself is only about 60 km from Gir, and there are frequent buses connecting the town to the park.

Where to Stay

Gir Forest Reserve

Best Budget Options

·         Sinh Sadan Forest Lodge

·         Gir Birding Lodge

·         Gir Jungle Lodge

·         Hotel Green Park

Best Luxury Options

·         Club Mahindra Safari Resort

·         The Gateway Hotel

·         Lion Safari Camp

·         Firn Gir Forest Resort

Diu

·         Radhika Beach resort

·         Azzaro Resort and Spa

·         Hoka Resort