Hojapil Sanctuary is a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

(''

zakaznik Zakaznik (russian: зака́зник, зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznik, zakazniki''; uk, singular: заказни́к or зака́зник; plural: заказники́ or зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznyk'', ''zak ...

'') of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

and a part of

Köýtendag Nature Reserve Köýtendag Nature Reserve, formerly Kugitang Nature Reserve, is a nature reserve (''zapovednik'') in the extreme east of Turkmenistan. Geography Established in 1986, it is located in the Köýtendag Range of Lebap Province Lebap Region ...

. It was established in 1986.https://web.archive.org/web/20090609072344/http://natureprotection.gov.tm/reserve_tm.html

Sites

Dinosaur Plateau

An inclined limestone slab—spanning about 0.5 km in length and 0.2 km in width—preserving hundreds of

dinosaur footprints A fossil track or ichnite (Greek "''ιχνιον''" (''ichnion'') – a track, trace or footstep) is a fossilized footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. A fossil trackway is a sequence of fossil tracks left by a single organism. Over the year ...

, is a popular tourist attraction. The site was discovered by Soviet geologist in the 80s; Turkmen scientists propose the evidence to be suggestive of three new dinosaur species: Gissarosaurus, Hojapilosaurus, and Turkmenosaurus. In local tradition, the footprints were cast by elephants belonging either to the forces of Alexander the Great or some returning pilgrim from India.

Kyrk Gyz Cave

A sacred site in Turkmen tradition, the floor of the cave has a tomb. Local legends explain the cave to have been created in an act of God, when 40 women — fearing capture by rogues — prayed for protection.

Umbardepe Canyon

A waterfal l— having a height of 27 m. — is popular among tourists.

References

Sanctuaries in Turkmenistan {{Asia-protected-area-stub