Banej Mahadev Temple (Deep Gir Forest)

Few pilgrimages in India feel as remote as the drive to Banej Mahadev, a small Shiva shrine hidden in the wooded heart of the Gir forest, the last wild refuge of the Asiatic lion.

• Reached along a rough, gated forest track roughly midway between the Dhari and Sasan Gir sides of the sanctuary, the temple sits in a shaded gorge where the Shingoda (Singavdo) river slows into quiet pools.
• A modest stone sanctum shelters the Shiva lingam, tended by a resident mahant whose small ashram is the only human habitation for miles.
• Peacocks call from the canopy, spotted deer drift past at dawn, and the silence between prayers is broken mainly by birdsong and the rustle of teak leaves.
• It is a tirth defined less by grand architecture than by its extraordinary setting inside a protected national park.
• What made Banej famous across India is its democracy story.
• Because a lone priest lives permanently within the forest, the Election Commission sets up a dedicated polling booth here at every general and state election so that this single registered voter is never disenfranchised.
• A full team of poll officials treks into the sanctuary and staffs the booth for one voter — a widely reported symbol of India's commitment to universal franchise.
• The tradition has run across successive mahants who have kept the shrine and its dharamshala over the decades.
• Banej is deep-forest interior, so access is controlled by the Gujarat Forest Department.
• Vehicles usually stop at outer gates and permits or a local guide may be required; the shrine is busiest around Mahashivratri, when a fair draws pilgrims, and the forest interior is generally closed to visitors during the monsoon (roughly mid-June to mid-October).
• Come in the cool early morning, carry water, and treat the sanctuary with the quiet care a lion habitat deserves.
• There is no market or restaurant at Banej itself — it is untouched forest, and the mahant's ashram offers only simple prasad and drinking water to pilgrims who reach it.
• Plan your meals before or after the excursion in the gateway settlements.
• Sasan Gir village, the usual base, has several pure-vegetarian Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali eateries and lodge dining rooms serving unlimited rotli, shaak, dal, bhaat, chaas and jaggery; Dhari town on the northern side has similar simple pure-veg Gujarati bhojanalayas.
• Carry your own vegetarian snacks, fruit and plenty of water for the long forest drive, as no fresh food is sold inside the sanctuary.