Reserva Provincial La Payunia, Protected area in Malargüe Department, Argentina.

Reserva Provincial La Payunia is a protected area in Malargüe Department, Mendoza Province, spanning wide volcanic fields with hundreds of basalt cones and cooled lava streams. The three large volcanoes Payún Matrú, Payún Liso and Santa María shape the terrain and form one of the densest clusters of volcanic formations in South America.

The reserve was created by provincial decree no. 3917/1982 as the "Reserva total El Payén". Provincial law no. 8224, passed on 10 November 2010, declared the area and adjacent lands the "Área natural protegida La Payunia", a total reserve of 450,000 ha, and split it into a natural monument and a managed natural reserve and fauna and flora sanctuary.

The reserve's name, also given as Payún or Payén, is of Mapuche origin. Around 20 families of the Cooperativa Payun Matru live on the reserve and round up wild guanacos each year to shear them for their wool; the Wildlife Conservation Society monitors the round-up, and the wool and yarn are exported abroad.

Visitors need prior authorization and should bring enough water, fuel and provisions, as the reserve has no supply facilities. The unpaved roads require an off-road vehicle and experience driving on rough terrain.

Inside the crater of Payún Matrú lies a second, smaller crater showing visible traces of more recent eruptions. This geological feature attracts scientists from around the world who study volcanic formation processes here.