The La Payunia Reserve is located 200 kilometers Southwest of
Malargue on the Southern portion of the Principal Cordillera an
on the austral extreme of the San Rafael Block. This is the
largest reserve in the Mendoza province. The name comes from the
word “Payén”, place where there is a copper mine. It has unique
volcanic and geological characteristics. It is considered to be
one of the vastest volcanic fields in South America.
The great concentration of volcanic cones allows experts to make
a reading of the evolution of the planet. It has an average of
10,6 volcanoes every 100 square kilometers and a total of 800
cones have been counted though this may not be the total number.
The most prominent ones are: Payún Matru, 3,715 meters, Payún
Liso, 3,838 meters, and the Santa María which has a molten
rock displacement of approximately 17 kilometers known as the
Escorial de Media Luna.
The main activities here are photographic safaris, trekking,
mountaineering, and all terrain crossings amongst others. One
can capture extraordinary images and enjoy a unique landscape,
only found here.
Campo de las Bombas, Pampas Negras and Real del Molle are
some other spots which deserved to be observed carefully.
The landscape in this region of volcanic territory covered
by a blanket of black lava makes it into a paradise for
experts and for all those who visit this unbelievably
beautiful place.
The reserve is also implementing the “Sustainable use of
wild Guanacos” (guanacos are typical Andes animals similar
to llamas and vicuñas…). The goal of the project is to
generate an experience through which to evaluate wilderness
as a tool for these family of animals in the Mendoza
province. This will generate legal and technical precedents
in order to establish normative frames for regulating
similar experiences that might be undertaken in the future
in the province of Mendoza.