El Tatio Geysers
The highest geyser field in the world, worth seeing at dawn and dangerous to walk carelessly.
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El Tatio sits at about 4,320 metres in the Andes above San Pedro, which makes it the highest geyser field in the world, and with something like eighty active geysers it is among the largest anywhere after Yellowstone and the Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka. The reason everyone arrives before dawn is thermodynamic rather than aesthetic: the steam columns are tallest and most visible when the air is at its coldest, around minus ten to minus fifteen, and they shrink as the sun warms the basin. The ground between the vents is a thin crust over boiling water, and people have been badly scalded and killed by breaking through it.
What you actually see
- The highest geyser field in the world - at about 4,320 metres.
- Around eighty active geysers - among the largest fields anywhere.
- Steam at its tallest before sunrise - the reason for the dawn start.
- Thin crust over boiling water - the reason for the marked paths.
When to go
Year round, arriving before sunrise. Half a day including the drive.
Honest expectations
The altitude affects most people, and going straight from Santiago without acclimatising in San Pedro first is unwise. It is bitterly cold at dawn. The crust is genuinely lethal off the paths. The road is rough gravel.
Nearby
Machuca village is on the way back; San Pedro de Atacama is south.
What to pack for El Tatio Geysers
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.