Junagadh and the Gir Jungle Trail
Dwarka · 11 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹2990 for the whole vehicle, up to 8 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹2990 for the vehicle.
- Tata Sumo: Rugged 8-seater. The most room for the money. ₹3490 for the vehicle.
- Innova or Ertiga: The comfortable one on a long hill day. ₹4990 for the vehicle.
A day around a safari permit, with Junagadh in the morning
Gir is the last wild home of the Asiatic lion, and the Gir Jungle Trail is the safari almost everyone means. It runs only from 16 October to 15 June, it is closed through the monsoon, and every seat needs an e-permit from the forest department's own online system, booked in advance with ID for each person. The permit is not ours to sell, and the gypsy and guide are hired at Sinh Sadan in Sasan, on top of it.
So this day is built around your permit, not instead of it. We have chosen the afternoon slot, because the morning in Sasan is otherwise empty and Junagadh is only about an hour away. You see the restored Uparkot citadel, Mahabat Maqbara and Ashoka's edicts while it is cool, and you are back at Sinh Sadan in good time for the afternoon reporting.
Lions are wild and Gir is a forest, not a park with enclosures; sightings are frequent but never certain. The car and driver are yours for the day at one flat price for the vehicle, and they wait while you are inside.
Your day, stop by stop
1. Uparkot Fort
Junagadh's ancient citadel, reopened in 2023 after a long restoration. Inside are the Buddhist rock-cut caves, two great stepwells, Adi Kadi Vav and Navghan Kuvo, and the old mosque on the rampart.
Entry tickets at the gate
2. Mahabat Maqbara
The nineteenth century mausoleum of the Nawabs, all onion domes, carved arches and minarets with staircases spiralling round the outside. One of the most photographed buildings in Gujarat.
3. Ashoka's Rock Edicts
A granite boulder on the Girnar road carved with Emperor Ashoka's edicts in the third century BC, with later inscriptions added beside them. Under a protective roof, and easy to miss.
Entry ticket at the gate
4. Gir Jungle Trail, from Sinh Sadan
The afternoon safari in Gir National Park, in an open gypsy with a forest guide. The permit is booked by you, in advance, on the forest department's site; the gypsy and guide are paid separately at Sinh Sadan. Our car takes you to the gate and waits.
Safari permit, gypsy hire and guide fee, all paid separately
In your price
- Private vehicle with driver for the full day
- Pickup and drop at your stay in Sasan Gir
- Fuel, tolls, driver allowance and parking
- Drop and pickup at Sinh Sadan, and waiting time during the safari
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- The Gir safari e-permit
- Safari gypsy and forest guide
- Camera fees in the park
- Entry tickets in Junagadh
- Meals
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Gir Jungle Trail e-permit, booked by you on the forest department's site
- Safari gypsy hire and the forest guide fee, paid at Sinh Sadan
- Camera fees where the forest department charges them
- Entry tickets at Uparkot and the Ashoka edicts
- Lunch and anything personal
Who this suits
Wildlife lovers and families. The safari is three hours on a bumpy forest track in an open vehicle, and Uparkot involves steps down into the stepwells. Each permit covers six adults and one child aged 3 to 12. The sedan seats four, the Sumo eight and the Innova six, each at one flat price for the car.
What to bring
Your e-permit and the original photo ID used to book it, for every person. Muted clothing, a scarf against the dust, a warm layer for winter afternoons, water, and binoculars if you own them.
Gir has its own calendar
The Gir Jungle Trail runs from 16 October to 15 June and is closed through the monsoon, so this day is sold only in that season. The forest department can cancel or change slots at short notice; if it does, we tell you as soon as we know and you take a full refund for the car or a free reschedule.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator, one driver per vehicle, commercially registered and insured. Inside Gir the forest department's rules apply: stay in the gypsy, keep your voice down, no food, no plastic, and the guide decides how close you go.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. The car is one price for the whole day; a Swift Dzire is ₹2,990 for up to four of you. The safari permit, gypsy and guide are separate and are paid to the forest department and at Sinh Sadan.
Can you book the safari permit for us?
No. Permits are issued only through the forest department's online system, up to a few months ahead, and each needs ID for every visitor. Book the afternoon Gir Jungle Trail slot for your date, then book this car. If anyone offers you a guaranteed permit, be wary.
What if we cancel? Is the permit refunded?
Our cancellation rules cover the car only. The permit follows the forest department's own refund schedule, which shrinks as the date approaches and is nothing in the last two days; we have no say in it.
We could not get a Gir Jungle Trail permit. What now?
Devalia Safari Park, inside the Gir Interpretation Zone a few kilometres from Sasan, is the usual fallback. It is booked on the same forest department site, is closed on Wednesdays, and is a fenced area rather than the open forest. Tell us and the driver will take you there instead.
Will we see lions?
Often, and still never guaranteed. Gir is open forest, and the guides go where the trackers last saw the prides.