With India’s variety in its topography and climate, it has earned a unique distinction of housing three of the world’s four big cat species. Gujarat, the westernmost state of India, boasts a terrain which is said to be India’s answer to the African Savannah. This is precisely why it is home to the last wild Asiatic lions in the world. With a conservation story like no other,  Gir National Park tells a remarkable tale of man and nature working in harmony to make a difference. The Asiatic lion numbers were once as low as just 10-15 individuals, before the Nawab of Junagadh came to their rescue and today approximately 450-500 of them roam the Gir National Park and its surrounding areas.

Approximately 200 km away lies another keystone species of this wilderness, the Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary. Named after the blackbuck, an antelope species endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, it is a picturesque terrain of flat grassland. Apart from its namesake species, Velavadar is home to the elusive Indian wolf and the shy Indian striped hyena. Moving over to the northern part of Gujarat, we reach a harsh, arid, dry habitat which initially seems inhospitable but in reality is a land of surprises. The Little Rann of Kutch is a paradise for birders due to its one of a kind habitat. Famous for its menacing raptors as well as waders and passerine avifauna, LRK is also the only home in the world of the Indian Wild Ass.