The Atacama Desert in Chile is a fascinating place with all sorts of different landscapes to see. The area is surrounded by volcanoes, lagoons, salt flats and sand dunes. But a unique place to visit is the Tatio Geysers where you can walk amongst geysers.
El Tatio is a geyser field that consists of over 80 geysers. It’s one of the largest geyser fields in the world. It’s one of the more popular attractions in the Atacama Desert and is located up in the Andes Mountains at an altitude of over 14,000 feet (4,320m).
San Pedro, Chile is the main town in the Atacama Desert where most of the tours originate from. The Tatio Geysers are one of the further tours to choose from, but definitely worth the trip out there.
Getting There
From San Pedro, the Tatio Geysers are located about an hour and a half away to the north. You can either jump on a tour or drive yourself if you have a rental car.
The pickup time for tours is incredibly early, typically around 4:30am. Though even if you don’t take a tour, it’s recommended to get there for sunrise (I’ll explain why in a minute).
I was given a time block of 4:30am-5:10am for pickup and was waiting outside in the dark for 40 minutes. Completely exhausted. So if you drive, you can at least leave when you want and don’t have to be waiting outside.
If you take a tour and think you can just sleep the whole way there, I’m sorry to say that is highly unlikely. The road there is like being on a wooden rollercoaster. It’s rickety and bumpy with lots of sharp turns. Sleep was out of the question.
Fees
Tour prices will vary depending on who you go with. Most of the tours I found were around CLP 40,000 ($43) for a half day, which is what I paid for the Tatio Geysers tour. However, most of these prices don’t include the entrance fee, which you’ll need to pay to your guide in cash upon arrival.
You may be able to find tours that include the entrance but there are so many tour agencies to choose from. I ended up booking with the same agency for the majority of my tours because it was easy and the prices seemed to be what everyone else offered.
Sunrise at the Tatio Geysers
The reason all of the tours start at four in the morning are because these geysers don’t have high eruptions, they have billowing steam. And the steam is best seen in the morning before the sun rays are out and while the temperature outside is at its coldest.
You’ll arrive just before sunrise and will be able to see the geyser field as you’re driving up. The best part is that there are pathways all through the geysers. You can get right up close to them and they’re all marked with rock paths. It’s an incredibly cool experience to walk through pathways of steam.
Your guide will walk you through and we had plenty of time to take pictures and explore. Even though all the tours start at the same time, it wasn’t terribly crowded. If one tour happened to be next to us, we would swap geysers or move on so we weren’t all crowded in the same area.
Altitude
As I mentioned, the tours are in the morning when it’s coldest outside and the steam will be at its most impressive. So there’s a few things to consider here. And you’ll want to take note so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
San Pedro is already at a higher altitude–about 8,000 ft (2400 m). And you travel up to the Tatio Geysers which are at 14,000 ft. If you have any issues with altitude, make sure you plan accordingly. I had a headache for most of the time that I was doing tours in the Atacama Desert, but I also frequently have headaches.
You’ll want to bring lots of water with you to stay hydrated throughout your tour (and before taking your tour). Another tip is to hold off on the alcohol to give your body time to acclimate to the altitude. Altitude hangovers are not to be messed with (learned that lesson in Cusco which is at about 11,000 ft).
Temperature
We were told to dress very warmly for this tour but unluckily for me, I was already wildly unprepared for my time in the Atacama Desert. So I donned every layer I had which was a pair of leggings, a thin pair of sweatpants and two cropped pullovers.
When we arrived, our guide told us it was 0º C (32º F) outside. ZERO DEGREES. Everyone else on my bus was smart and had hats, gloves, coats, scarves, etc, because why wouldn’t you?
Mind you, I had no idea that the geysers were at such a high altitude before arriving. I was in a panic (and felt incredibly idiotic) and seriously thought I might have to stay on the bus lol. While it was definitely cold, it wasn’t unbearably cold. I was able to suck it up until the sunrise and then I started to thaw out.
What to Wear + Bring
I visited Chile in April which is Fall in Chile. I expected some cooler temperatures but needless to say I majorly underestimated the weather (and the altitude). (Also, I live in Florida and sometimes forget what a proper Fall feels like, so it’s entirely my fault.)
Like I mentioned, San Pedro itself is at a high altitude and most of the attractions you visit will be at an even higher altitude. Bring layers. That will be the most important thing.
It will likely be cold in the morning so come prepared with a warm coat/fleece, gloves, ear warmer or hat, warm socks, etc. And then make sure you can take some of it off.
In the Fall, the desert didn’t quite warm up until about noon and then it could get pretty toasty. Since this is a half day tour, it didn’t get too hot by the time we returned, but it’s always smart to have sunscreen on you also. And throw in sunglasses for the rest of the day because you’ll be outside for a few more things!
Breakfast + Return
Once the sun comes up, you’ll make your way to an area nearby where your guide will start to prepare breakfast. On every tour, breakfast consisted of mostly the same things: scrambled eggs, avocado, breads, salami, cheese, jams and coffee/tea/juice.
Since the drive there is done completely in the dark, you don’t get to enjoy the scenery, but you do on the way back. Your guide will make sure to stop and point out any wildlife on the side of the road and we stopped at a really pretty viewpoint for pictures.
We also stopped at a random place where there was a man with an alpaca. As soon as our van stopped, the alpaca wandered right up to our door!
The man handed us some food and the alpaca wandered over to everyone to eat out of our hands. It was a quick, fun little stop. Though the person before me had the alpaca eat out of their hand and it immediately sneezed on them haha.
We arrived back in San Pedro in the late morning and I went right to bed for a nap. I should have taken it easy for the afternoon but it ended up being the only time I could do a sandboarding tour–another tour that is totally worth it!
Worth visiting?
The trip to the Tatio Geysers is a cold, early morning, but it’s definitely worth the trip. It’s a pretty unique experience to have and was definitely a highlight to see.
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