Black lava fields
An alien landscape.
La Payunia is a vast nature reserve in southern Mendoza province, declared in 1988 over 4,500 square kilometres, with hundreds of volcanic cones, the best known being Payún Matrú. Its landscape looks like another planet: plains of frozen black lava, hills of red, orange and black, and cones scattered to the horizon. Large herds of guanacos, Andean condors, Darwin's rheas and flamingos live here. Visitors travel routes through lava fields and steppe, stopping at viewpoints over the cones and old lava flows. It cannot be visited independently: entry is only with authorised guides on 4x4 trips from Malargüe, a full day of ten to twelve hours covering about 420 kilometres there and back. Bring water, food and clothes for both heat and cold.
An alien landscape.
The best-known volcano.
On the steppe.
About 160 km southeast of Malargüe, southern Mendoza
No. Entry is only with authorised guides on organised 4x4 trips from Malargüe.