Until very recently alpacas were native only to the South American countries of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Here they live at great height, usually over 4,000 metres, on the altiplano of the Andes where they run as domesticated herds.

Alpacas can be genetically traced back to the Vicuña. The Vicuña has an even finer fleece than the Alpaca but still runs wild on the Altiplano and is sheared only under close supervision of the Peruvian authorities.  

The bulk of the population is in Peru where alpacas are a major industry and foreign exchange earner for the country. The centre of the alpaca business is in Arequipa, one of the most beautiful of cities known as the 'White City' because of the volcanic rock used in most of its buildings, where you will find both large and small textile companies using alpaca fibre in what is a long established textile tradition.

Many of the country people, the campesinos, run a few alpacas with their flocks of merino sheep however the really large herds are run collectively, high in the mountains. Visitors can see herds of alpacas from the train which takes them spectacularly from Puno to Cusco; however to see most of the larger herds you must travel into the mountains.

The climate for South American alpacas is extreme, as you would expect at that height. Being close to the equator summer days can be very hot, being at over 4,000 metres it is very cold at night. In addition it does have a wet season and so alpacas are also used to being rained on. When you come across alpacas on the altiplano almost always they are grazing in the lush valley bottoms where the run off from the snowy peaks provides vegetation for much of the year.

Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years. The various tribes of the Andes region bred them selectively to produce their wonderful fibre. During the brief Inca period alpaca garments were reserved for the Inca Royal Family. However with the arrival of the Conquistadors, came the European fleece producing animal - sheep. Not recognising the quality of what they were looking at the Spanish colonisers started to slaughter the native animal in order to free the grazing for their own animals. So the Peruvians drove their herds higher up into the mountains where they adapted to this environment and where they exist today.