Devalia Safari Park

Devalia Safari Park, also known as the Gir Interpretation Zone, is a fenced 412-hectare safari enclosure within Gir National Park in Gir Somnath district, Gujarat, near Sasan Gir village. Created to reduce tourism pressure on the main sanctuary while ensuring sightings of Asiatic lions, it houses lions, leopards, deer and birds in natural habitat. Visitors explore the zone on guided government-operated buses for close wildlife viewing.

Visitors can expect a guided bus safari through a large fenced natural habitat that replicates the Gir forest ecosystem. The park contains Asiatic lions, leopards, spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, wild boar and numerous bird species. Safaris are conducted in enclosed mini-buses operated by the Gujarat Forest Department along fixed tracks with forest guides explaining wildlife. The terrain is dry deciduous forest and scrub with viewing from inside the bus only.

Devalia Safari Park was created as the Gir Interpretation Zone, a fenced 412-hectare enclosure within Gir National Park, to reduce tourist pressure on the core Gir sanctuary while providing assured viewing of Asiatic lions. It was developed by the Gujarat Forest Department as a conservation and eco-tourism initiative to showcase the Gir ecosystem and support protection of the Asiatic lion, whose only wild population is in Gir.

The park represents the conservation culture of Gujarat centered on the Asiatic lion, the state animal, and the coexistence of the Maldhari pastoral communities with the Gir forest ecosystem. It serves as an educational interpretation zone for visitors to understand Gir's wildlife and conservation efforts.