Naurzum Nature Reserve, Nature reserve in Kostanay Region, Kazakhstan

Naurzum Nature Reserve consists of three separate clusters 9–14 km apart: Naurzum (139,714 ha) with its pine forest on hummocky eolian sands and lake system, Sypsyn (38,720 ha) with small-leaved groves in the Naurzum-Karasu floodplain, and Tersek (12,947 ha) with a pine grove in the Dana-Bike valley. The reserve lies 190 km south of Kostanay.

The reserve was created on 30 June 1931 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, following proposals by botanist I. I. Sprygin and a 1930 expedition led by F. F. Shillinger. Closed in 1951 and turned into a forestry enterprise, it was restored in 1966 with four sections covering 85,000 hectares. In 2008 it joined the UNESCO World Heritage site Saryarka.

The reserve's name comes from the Naurzum pine forest, a relict grove on eolian sands. The reserve operates a Nature Museum, and the Naurzum and Tersek sections contain small forest tracts of pine, birch and aspen that visitors can see.

Start your visit at the administrative center in Karamendy village, which provides access to the reserve's viewing areas and main trails. Plan to arrive during seasons when wildlife is most active and visible in the landscape.

The reserve's Naurzum section protects a pine forest growing on large hummocky and ridge-hummocky aeolian sands, a combination of forest and steppe rarely found together. The reserve also runs a Nature Museum for visitors.