The paved road from Arequipa climbs northeast past El Misti and Chachani to this national reserve , which covers 367,000 hectares at an average elevation of 4300m. Drives here take you up to an oxygen-deprived 4910m where, in between light-headed gasps for air, you can ponder weird wind-eroded rock formations, trek on old Inca trails and watch fleet-footed vicuńas run across the desolate pampa at speeds of up to 85km/h. Both El Misti and Chachani volcanoes are part of the reserve.
As a national reserve, Salinas y Aguada Blanca enjoys better protection than the Colca Canyon, primarily because no one lives here bar the odd isolated llama-herder. Its job is to protect a rich raft of high-altitude species such as the vicuñas, tarucas envinados (Andean deer), guanacos and various birds, most notably flamingos.
