The DGR is located in the foothills of Mt Girnar in the historical city of Junagadh in the southern region of Saurashtra (70.36° East longitude and 21.31° North latitude: 60 m above mean sea level). The climate of this area is semi-arid with an average rainfall of 800 to 1000 mm.

The main office-cum-lab building of DGR is 4 km away from the main town of Junagadh on Ivnagar road, seven km from Junagadh Junction (railway station) and five km from main state bus station. The distance from Junagadh to Ahmedabad is about 350 km. The nearest airport in operation is at Rajkot (110 km), which is connected to Mumbai.