Ovandere is a village in the Borchali uezd of the former Tiflis governorate, later in the former Jalaloghlu (Stepanavan) district, and currently in the Lori province. The provincial centre lies 39 km to the northwest of the town of Boyuk Garakilsa (Vanadzor), near the Ovandere River, at a height of 1,440 m above sea level.

The village was originally inhabited by Azerbaijanis, and after the settlement of Armenians in the region, the population gradually left the village.

The toponym was coined by combining the word “ova” used to mean in Azerbaijani “a plain, flatland” and the word “dere” used in the meaning of “a river bed, place where the river flows”. It is a complex toponym formed on the basis of a relief.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 19 April 1950, the village was renamed “Hovanandzor”. According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative area of the Lori province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude 41°01’N., longitude 44°31’ E.