The Ulla Ulla National Reserve - which today is part of Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area

Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area

The Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area is a protected area in the La Paz Department, Bolivia, situated in the Bautista Saavedra, Franz Tamayo and Larecaja provinces.- External links :*...

 - was created in 1972 with an extension of 240,000 ha, a biosphere reserve

Biosphere reserve

The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

 located in the Franz Tamayo Province

Franz Tamayo Province

Franz Tamayo is a province in the Bolivian department of La Paz. It lies in the western part of the nation, and includes the Ulla Ulla National Reserve - which today is part of the Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area - in the high Andean plain on the western border with Peru...

, in the Department of La Paz

La Paz Department (Bolivia)

The La Paz Department of Bolivia comprises with a 2001 census population of 2,350,466 inhabitants. It is situated at the western border of Bolivia, sharing Lake Titicaca with Peru. It contains the mighty Cordillera Real that reaches altitudes of . Northeast of the Cordillera Real are the Yungas,...

 in western Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

.

The Reserve is on the high Andean

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 plain northwest of the city of La Paz

La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

, with an average altitude of over 4000 meters above sea level. Its western border is the political border with Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. The park is about 2,000 km² in size and is populated by about 12,000 people, most of them of Aymara origin. The park protects part of the Central Andean wet puna

Central Andean wet puna

The Central Andean wet puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia.-Setting:This ecoregion occurs above and consists of high-elevation, wet, montane grasslands amid lakes, plateaus, valleys, and high mountains. It is bordered on the west by the Sechura...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

. It is also the home of the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) (reportedly the largest flying bird in the world), as well as significant populations of alpacas, and the largest group of vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) in Bolivia.

The park was designated a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

biosphere reserve in 1977.