Geysers del Tatio

Our tour to the Geysers del Tatio was our undeniable favorite!  We spent a solid half day exploring and wouldn't hesitate to come back again.  It's definitely a challenge to capture them via photo, but that didn't stop us from trying.  The view of the steaming landscape as we approached via car felt very mysterious and other-worldly.  The reserve is composed of about 80 "active" geysers and nearly 1,000 steaming pools of water.  Scientists struggle to attach consistent numbers around the geysers since the park is an ever-shifting field of geothermal activity.  One month there is a geyser in a certain location and the next month it is gone, but others have popped up in new locations.  Unlike Old Faithful in Yellowstone, these geysers are tinier and don't adhere to a reliable eruption schedule.  Our guide explained that since there are so many, they are all interconnected and an eruption in one place affects the timing and size of eruptions in other locations.

An average-sized geyser at El Tatio.  Some are smaller and a rare few reach up to a couple meters in height.

Upon entering the reserve, we were given a strict and serious safety talk.  Because the park is an ever-changing landscape, the marked trails are suggestions of safe areas to walk.  We were warned to keep an eye out for unexpected hot puddles of water.  Unfortunately, many people have suffered burns or even death from accidents around the geysers.

One of MANY small hot puddles around the park.

One of MANY large hot puddles around the park.  The rainbow-esque rim around this one was particularly striking in person.

The grounds are covered in steam, streams of water, and neat salt formation.

It's quite common to see vicuñas walking around the geysers.  They don't seem to be phased by all the steam.

Like almost every other tour, we arrived just before sunrise.  (This meant getting up at 5am).  I, like most tourists, had assumed that there was more geyser activity around sunrise.  However, we learned that geyser activity is relatively consistent throughout the day and the tour timing is chosen for the best visibility.  Once the sun fully rises, it's harder to make out the blooms of steam in the air.

Matt (unsuccessfully) pretending to breath geyser steam.

We were lucky when we arrived at the park that it was only about -10C.  Some days it is as low as -40C!!!  The site is also at approximately 14,000 feet or 4,300 meters altitude.  We were definitely glad we waited a few days into our trip to the Atacama to acclimate before heading up.

Bundled up and ready to explore.

One of my favorite parts about the reserve was the dirt/rock/mineral formations that "grow" around some geysers.  The mound shown below was particularly large.

Here are some close-up pictures of the textures we saw on these mounds.

In other hot pools, we saw formations like these!

Matt and his favorite geyser.

The drive back to town from the geysers was particularly scenic.  We hadn't been able to appreciate it on the way up because it was before sunrise.  Along the way, we stopped to see the famous "green" rabbit, taste a kebab of bbq'd guanaco, and admire dozens of llamas, vicuñas, and guanacos.

The colors of the landscape around the town of Machuca were incredible.