Location: The Gir Birding Lodge is located in a large mango orchard at the entrance to the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

About: Gir National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary is a 1412 sq km tract of dry deciduous forests, acacia scrub, evergreen and semi-evergreen flora and grasslands, fed by rivers and streams. Among the many water-bodies in the reserve is the Kamleshwar Dam, known for its birdlife and for its large crocodile population.

This wildlife reserve is the last abode of the Asiatic lion and is also known for its leopard population. Other mammals that could be seen during game-watching drives are sambar (India’s largest deer), spotted deer, the world's only four-horned antelope, blue bull, Indian gazelle, wild boar, langur, jackal, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat, striped hyena and black-naped hare.

Gir is also interesting for birders with about 250 species on the forest department checklist. For those interested in herpetology, Gir has a crocodile breeding centre and is an important habitat for mugger or marsh crocodile. Many species of snakes and lizards can be seen in the sanctuary as also fresh water turtles and terrapins at the rivers and possibly the star tortoise.
 
Accommodation: The lodge has two rooms in the main building (sharing a bath), 4 standard cottages and 6 deluxe cottage.

Facilities & Services:

• Cottages are well designed with attached bathrooms, featuring western toilet fittings, hot-and-cold showers. Comfortably furnished, the rooms and cottages are surrounded by groves of the famous Kesar Mango of the Gir hills and other vegetation ensuring that a good number of birds come into the property itself.

The dining and drawing areas on the first floor of the lodge are airy and have large windows and verandas that are ideal to enjoy the view of the forests and watch birds in the orchard and nearby sanctuary.

• Cuisine: North Indian and western set-menu meals are served in these rooms that have a superb view of the deciduous forests from large windows, doors and verandahs. We also entertain special requests for meals like traditional Gujarati/Kathiawadi regional dishes, North-West Indian street-food specialties, Kumaoni-style Chinese and of course the famous seafood from Veraval (a major fishing pier for lobster, crab, prawn and seafish like pomfret and kingfish) one hour away.

• Walks: Our resident naturalists have identified pleasant walking routes for birdwatching, picnic lunches or scenic nature trails in the forests near the lodge. Ask for the services of our resident birdwatcher if you want to go for a birding walk or for a nature trek. Our cook will be happy to pack you lunch for a picnic in the forests or at riverside sites near the lodge.

How to reach:
By Air: Flights to Rajkot (3½ hour-drive) & Bhavnagar (5 hour-drive) from where it is a four-hour drive to Sasan Gir. Flight to Diu (1½ hours) from where it is a two-hour drive to Sasan Gir. Trains to Junagadh (1¼ hour-drive) & Rajkot (3½ hour-drive) from where there are buses and taxis to Gir. Ahmedabad is 6 hours away and is also an international airport. Transport can be arranged at an extra cost.

By Train: There are trains to Rajkot and then the drive of about 164 km takes three to four hours.

Place of interest near Gir:

Somnath: About 50 minutes drive from the lodge, the shore temple at Somnath is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage for Hindus. The main sanctuary is one of the 12 jyotirlingas or abodes of Lord Shiva. Near the temple is the Prabhas Patan Museum with remnants of the medieval versions of the original Somnath Temple before invaders ravaged it in the 11th and 16th centuries. Somnath also has a Sun Temple , the Triveni Tirth bathing ghats at the confluence of rivers with the sea, the 17th century Ahilya Temple and Bakhla Tirth associated with Lord Krishna.

Veraval: About 45 minutes drive from the lodge, Veraval is one of the major fishing ports of India . Besides the possibility of seeing the fresh catch from the sea, visitors are likely to watch multi-ton dhows being hand-built at the piers. Once a port of the princely state of Junagadh, Veraval has old gates and a sea-facing palace of the Nawabs.

Junagadh: A historic walled city, Junagadh has an impressive fort with monuments enclosed in a huge walled complex, Buddhist cave sites, 3rd century BC rock inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka, the palaces of the erstwhile Nawabs of Junagadh and flamboyant royal mausoleum complexes. One of the palaces is now a museum enclosing jewelled carpets, sumptuous thrones, palanquins and elephant howdahs and weapons. Junagadh also has a zoo where Asiatic lions are bred and an interesting city museum. Junagadh is a one-and-a-half hour drive from the lodge.

Girnar: This 3660-ft hill rising outside Junagadh is an important place of Hindu and Jain pilgrimage. Ascending the hill, there are many temples to be seen on ridges and at the summit, including beautiful 12th century Jain temples.

Diu Island: About two-hours drive from the lodge, Diu was a Portuguese enclave until the 1960s. It has a massive 16th century Portuguese fort, attractive churches and beautiful old houses. There are fine beaches for swimming, sunbathing and water-sports at Diu.

Jetpur: This textile town, north of Junagadh, is known for its block and screen-printing workshops

Tariff:

Accommodation with breakfast, lunch & dinner only. 12.5% tax extra.

Taxes(Luxury) 12.50% extra
Extra Bed (above 05 years of Age)
Children under 5 years of age

Inclusions
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Tea service
Accommodation in well appointed Rooms and Cottages.

Terms and Conditions
All tariffs are in Indian currency and are inclusive of all taxes.
Rates are subject to change without any prior notice.
To and Fro transportation can be arranged at an additional cost.
Group rates can be given on request.

Cancellation for all tariffs and Packages
Less than 15 days before arrival date- No Refund
Less than 20 days before arrival date- 60% Refund
Less than 25 days before arrival date- 75% Refund
No Refund in case of road block, accidents, no show etc.
50% of the total refundable amount (as per the above policy) will be released after
cancellation and balance 50% will be adjust into the future bookings only

Jeep Safaris
Safaris into the jungle are conducted by park guides in open 4WD. The duration of safari is approx
of three hours and is conducted early morning (07.00 hrs, 09.30 hrs) or in the afternoon (15.30 hrs)
till sunset. Each jeep can seat upto four persons comfortably. Besides the visitors, the jeep has an
expert driver and a park guide.

Cost per jeep per safari in INR

For Indian nationals
01-05 Persons : Rs.2500 (on weekdays)
01-05 Persons : Rs.2600 (on Weekends / Sat & Sun)
01-05 Persons : Rs.2700 (during festival season)
(Navratri – Diwali & Christmas – New Year)
Camera fees – Rs 100 (Per Camera Per Visit) above 7.1 megapixel.

For Foreign nationals
01-05 Persons : Rs.4200 (on weekdays)
01-05 Persons : Rs.4700 (on Weekends / Sat & Sun)
01-05 Persons : Rs.5200 (during festival season)
(Navratri – Diwali & Christmas – New Year)
Camera fees – Rs.500 (Per Camera Per Visit) above 7.1 megapixel.

Service tax on the bill is 6.18% additional.l.