El Tatio: a steaming landscape
It takes a certain amount of sacrifice and discomfort to visit El Tatio. For one thing, you will sacrifice sleep, as all tours leave very early in the morning. The steam from the geysers is most active and visible at dawn, so you need to be there before sunrise.
You must also be prepared to be very cold (-12 degrees the day we visited) and to cope with altitude; the geyser field is at 4,200 metres above sea level. So is it worth it? Oh yes!
El Tatio, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, is the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world, with over 80 active geysers. For the most part they do not erupt to a particularly impressive height; the average is 75 centimetres, although the tallest can reach six metres. What is striking here is the sheer number of them in such a concentrated area. The spectacle is enhanced by the columns of steam that rise above each geyser and condense in the cold morning air; hence that early start.
We were picked up from our hotel at 4.30 AM. The geyser field lies about 90 kilometres north of San Pedro de Atacama, along a mountain road that in daylight offers amazing scenery, as we were to see on our return. But driving out of town in a small convoy of tourist buses and cars (everyone leaves around the same time), all I could see out of the bus window was the looming dark shadows of the surrounding hills; while overhead were thousands of stars, our first reward for rising so early.
Arrival
By the time we arrived, at around 6.00 AM, the sky was already growing lighter and the stars fading; but in any case these were soon forgotten at the sight of the steaming landscape that surrounded us.
We stopped briefly at the entrance for our guide to get our tickets. Despite the other-worldly scenery the area near the entrance did not initially inspire; a large parking lot full of buses and other vehicles, and a lot of bundled-up very cold tourists! But once we drove into the site itself and got out of our bus, it already seemed a bit less busy, and a lot more exciting! The geyser field is pretty large and guides obviously collaborate to lead their groups on different paths through it; so although we did encounter other people it wasn’t crowded enough to spoil the experience. And after a few attempts to take people-free photos I soon realised that their silhouetted shapes tended to enhance my images rather than spoil them!
Safety first
But before we even set off on our walk we had a safety briefing. You can see in some of my photos that the geysers are surrounded by stones; these have been placed here by locals to mark the safe walking areas. Get too close and you risk falling through the thin crust into the boiling water. This is a real warning; tourists have done exactly that from time to time and been severely burned or I believe even died.
The other safety risk relates to the altitude; so our guide briefed us on the possible symptoms of altitude sickness too. Although I’ve been prone to headaches at altitude at times in the past, this morning I had no problems, for which I was grateful.
Once in among the geysers our guide led us on a winding path between some of them. As we walked he explained something of the phenomenon. Geysers are caused when surface water gradually seeps down through the ground and meets rock heated by magma, so are most often found in volcanic areas such as this. The heated water erupts through narrow channels under extreme pressure; if there is more room, a hot spring is formed rather than a geyser. These eruptions happen periodically as the water overheats then (through erupting to the surface) cools again. Between eruptions the water steams; it is that steam that makes the El Tatio field look so other-worldly at dawn.
We spent about thirty minutes here. We walked, took photos, and shivered in the icy air; although I realised that my feet, which are usually the first part of my body to feel the cold, didn’t do so, presumably because the ground is so warm underfoot.
Sunrise
Gradually the sun started to touch the surrounding mountains. At the moment when it was high enough to reach down into the valley it seemed to me that a collective sigh of pleasure arose from everyone as they were touched by its warmth.
This was our cue to head back to the parking area. There a breakfast of hot tea or coffee, cake and biscuits was served on a table set up with views of the geysers. As well as enjoying the hot drink and warmth of the sun, I had fun photographing a cheeky Black-hooded Sierra-Finch who came pecking for crumbs under the table.
Black-hooded Sierra-Finch
The highest geyser
After breakfast we moved on to another area where it is possible to bathe in the hot spring water at the Pozón Rústico. Anyone who takes a tour here is advised to bring bathing suits and a towel; but we had opted not to as the thought of changing into almost nothing and then getting wet in that chilly air didn’t especially appeal! When I first saw the pool, I wondered if I had made a mistake, as it looked sort-of fun; but as it turned out the bathers didn’t really get very long to enjoy the experience, allowing for changing time, and it would all have been a bit rushed for my liking.
About a third of the people on our tour chose to go in the hot spring. I had been a little concerned that for those not bathing there would be little to do but wait, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! There is plenty to see in this part of El Tatio too. We really enjoyed exploring the area near the pool where there are several more geysers, including the one that erupts the highest, up to around 6 metres. We were fortunate to see this one in action. Looking around on our own meant that we could take our time over our photos; and as the sun was now up the temperature was much more pleasant here.
The journey back
The time passed quickly and soon we had to return to the bus to meet up with the bathers. Some of them seemed to have really enjoyed the experience and others less so! I would have loved to have stayed longer even though I knew that with daylight the drama of the scene would diminish. But the drive back revealed the full beauty of the road we had driven, with some breath-taking scenery to rival the sight of the geysers themselves.
I visited the Atacama Desert in 2016
24 Comments
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peNdantry
What an amazing place! Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Forestwood
Other-worldy, indeed, Sarah. Some of the photos remind of the geyser fields in Iceland. Cold there, too. The final photo is amazing. It would make an excellent wall canvas in a living room!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Amanda 🙂 Yes, I can see the similarities with Iceland, but I haven’t seen this steam effect there (maybe because I’ve never visited the geysers at dawn!!) And thank you for the kind words about that last photo. It was taken through the tinted window of a minibus on a bumpy track, so I was amazed it came out as well as it did – although I did have to play around in Photoshop to get the light and colour as it should be 😉
Forestwood
Excellent job on the final photo. I have seen the steam effect in Iceland – but it was in winter. Only in some parts – not on all geysirs.
Did it smell of sulphur? Iceland didn’t but NZ does.
Sarah Wilkie
I don’t remember any smell – only the cold!!
Forestwood
It sounded bitterly cold.
Sarah Wilkie
Good, that means I succeeded in conveying, as best you can in mere words, just how cold it was 🥶🥶
rkrontheroad
So dramatic, definitely worth getting up early for, cold or not. Following your photos, I almost breathed a sigh of relief at the arrival of the sun.
Sarah Wilkie
I certainly did so! I don’t like the cold and although the geysers looked so amazing I was distracted from it for a while, by the time the sun arrived I was more than ready for some warmth 🌞
wetanddustyroads
This was definitely worth it to get up early (and to experience the cold temperature)! Lovely images … and certainly not something I would expect to find in a desert!
Sarah Wilkie
So very worth it! The Atacama Desert has so much variety and so many unexpected sights. It’s one of my favourites of the very many places I have visited 😀
Stuart Danker
Wow, it’s so amazing to be able to view nature’s wonders. I like places like these, where it’s not all about crowds and cities. Thanks so much for sharing your journey!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Stuart, I really appreciate the feedback 😀 Yes, this is an amazing place to be able to visit. I do love desert landscapes, and other such wild places!
maristravels
I shuddered when I read your descriptions of the early start and the cold, both of which I avoid like the plague when I can, but as I read on I could see how very worthwhile it would have been to put up with those discomforts. What a great experience. I would have loved to have been there but honestly compels me to admit that I would have probably said ‘no’ to this. I could take either an early start or extreme cold but the two together? I’d have chickened out and let my husband go alone. He didn’t share my aversion to such things!
Sarah Wilkie
Oh dear, it does sound as if this isn’t the excursion for you! My husband and I split the challenges between us – I don’t mind getting up early, especially for something so worthwhile, but I find it hard to tolerate the cold (or extreme heat, for that matter). Whereas he is quite comfortable in a wide range of temperatures but hates having to get out of bed before he is really ready!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Those sacrifices were absolutely well worth making by the sound of it!
Sarah Wilkie
Completely worth it, yes!
margaret21
What a spectacular experience. Definitely worth any sleep deprivation!
Sarah Wilkie
Absolutely worth it – I wouldn’t have missed for anything! Although tbh I think the cold bothered me more than the early start, whereas for my husband I think it was the other way around 😅
Patricia Furstenberg
This is breathtaking. I’ve never been in the desert, thank you for taking me there 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊 The Atacama is spectacular, I loved it there!
Patricia Furstenberg
🙂