Goravan Sands Sanctuary

Goravan Sands Sanctuary protects a stretch of relict alluvial (river-deposited) sand on the northwestern slopes of the Urts mountain range, within the Ararat plain. It sits in the southeastern part of the Goravan rural community, at 920-980 m elevation.

The reserve was established in 1959 by a decree of the Armenian SSR Council of Ministers, covering 200 hectares. In 2007 a government decision placed it under the administration of the Khosrov Forest state reserve, without altering its own protected status, to organize conservation work more effectively. A further decree in 2011 fixed its current boundaries and planned layout; today the sanctuary covers 95.99 hectares.

A 100-meter buffer zone runs around the perimeter, set up to limit or bar economic activity that could damage the site.

The sanctuary lies in Ararat province, in the southeastern part of the Goravan rural community, roughly 37 km south-southeast of Yerevan in a straight line.