Armenia is a big barn of natural heritage. On its small territory it houses various results of geological processes in the earth’s crust of the past and present, rich world of flora and fauna, innumerable natural monuments, and with the unity of all these it turns into a wonderful and fairy land. And one of the units of that world is the Sands of Goravan.
The Sands of Goravan is one of the preserves of Armenia. It is located at the foothills of the mountain-chain Urts, on the left bank of the river Vedi, at a height of 1100-1200. The preserve was formed in 1958 on a territory of 3200 ha, and since 2007 it has been at subordination of Khosrov Forest State Preserve. Sand forests and the flora and fauna peculiar to them are preserved here.
The Sands of Goravan is the richest preserve of the Republic of Armenia with the number of rare and disappearing plants and animals. Here there are plants of more than 160 species, and animals of 33 species. 15 species of plants and 7 species of vertebrates are in the list of the Red Book of Armenia. This small sand desert is surrounded with wornwood formations, which is the reason of existence of plants peculiar to them. Here there are species listed in the Red Book like desert bullfinch, mediterranian tortoise, mabuya etc.
Separate isles of sand deserts, similar to the Sands of Goravan, have been preserved in the territory of the Khosrov Forest State Preserve.The same species of the plants and animals are peculiar to them. Due to it, these natural landscapes are worthy from the point of view of the preservance of multifariousness and science.