This Protected Natural Area is integrated with the circuit Colca canyon and Valley of the Volcanoes. In addition, it is located very near the city of Arequipa and is a must for visitors who are directed to Cusco, Puno and Cusco, as well as Bolivia and Brazil. The reserve has a network of roads and trails that allow for views in its interior, according to the interest and time traveler. In your area have been recognized two wetlands as RAMSAR site: the Salinas Lagoon and the Lagoon of the Indian. The first, a salt with the presence of three species of flamingos, and 160 species of birds, it is of outstanding beauty to be surrounded by the volcanoes Ubinas, Chachani and el Misti. The Lagoon of the Indian, with significant populations of aquatic species in the andes, especially in a large population of guallatas or andean geese. The reservation extends for 366,936 hectares and is surrounded by large and imposing volcanoes, which are the major recipients of the rains and the providers of rivers and lakes of the basin. Since ancient times these elevations were venerated as Apus in its influence on the water cycle. In the different ecosystems of the reserve there is a variety of plants utilitarian, medicinal and forage that is being retrieved, used, and studied, like that bird diversity.

Breeding alpacas and llamas

The category of National Reserve in the Conservation Units enables you to perform some friendly activities with the preservation of the environment. In the case of the RNSAB the theme is the ancestral breeding of alpacas and llamas. The area is one of the centers of domestication of these species, as evidenced by the cave paintings that date back to 8000 years old in the coats of Sumbay. Currently exists in the area a population of approximately 180,000 alpacas and 95,000 flames of ownership of 1500 families breeding. For centuries the flames were appreciated beasts of burden used in extensive travel for exchange of products of different ecological floors to the sea.

Other economic activities

In the area of The extracted salt and borate. The first, in the Salinas lagoon, is collected from ancient times by the local residents. Also mined borax from 1896, for various applications in medicinal, industrial, and agricultural. These activities are strictly controlled due to the importance of place as a RAMSAR site.

Arequipa, kingdom of the alpaca and the vicuña.

Camelids south americans in the wild are the vicuñas and guanacos, while llamas and alpacas are domesticated species. The habitat of these camelids is on the 4 thousand meters of altitude, with the exception of the guanaco, which can be found from the desert coast to the mountains, because they have a great capacity to adapt to and be able to spend a lot of time without water. The fiber of the alpaca is a coat that is highly valued by their elegance, their small diameter and 17 colors. As input for clothing, stands out for its soft touch; it's comfortable and warm for its quality of insulation and to absorb the moisture. Peru is the country with the largest production of this fiber and its territory inhabit 3.4 million alpacas. Breeding occurs mainly in Puno, Cuzco and Arequipa. The fiber of the vicuña is produced by a camelid wild that it was saved from extinction in the 70 years of the TWENTIETH century. In Peru we have 150 thousand individuals of the species. The fiber of the vicuña is considered the finest of the natural, surpassed only by the silk; it is of a single colour (beige gray) and exquisite touch, very comfortable and in high demand, and price. In Arequipa, the vicuñas are protected in conservation units in the National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca and in some communities. The fibres of alpaca and vicuña were used since pre inca times in which they developed amazing techniques textiles for clothing. The vicuña was reserved for Inca royalty, and was captured by the chaku, system harnesses holidays and ceremonial. The industrialization of these fibers is initiated in England in the 1830s, having been Arequipa the largest centre for export of the fiber up to the 70s. Then start your local industrialization. In the space of the RNSAB you can see the four species of andean camelids in their natural habitat.