CHILE'S SPECTACULAR EL TATIO GEYSERS

Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll

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It's 4:00 a.m. and pitch dark outdoors. Inside the Hotel Park Calama, the friendly receptionist serves us coffee and cookies, and hands us boxed breakfasts, prepared by the hotel's chef.

Our driver arrives, and invites us into his four-wheel drive vehicle. Luis speaks only a bit of English, and we speak a smattering of Spanish, so we communicate in a battered mixture of both. We understand each other surprisingly well.

Sunrise spectacle

The early departure time is essential, because we're heading to El Tatio, a field of geysers that is best seen at dawn. Once the sun rises, morning winds disperse the steam and the spectacular views.

It's a long slow climb from Calama, at 2,700 meters, to El Tatio at 4,300 meters. The road is appalling, with countless turns and a washboard surface guaranteed to rearrange your internal organs.

After snaking our way up the mountainside, for 1½ hours, Luis stops the vehicle, turns out the lights, and invites us outside into the darkness. "Cielo lindo," he says.

Astronomical observatories

And indeed, it is a beautiful sky. A celestial planetarium arches above us, with more stars than we've ever seen in our lifetimes. "No contaminación," states Luis, proudly. We recall that the pollution-free mountain tops, here in the Atacama desert, are home to several observatories, including Las Campanas, the University of Toronto's astronomical domes.

One extremely luminous planet stands out, above the eastern horizon. It's Venus. Back in the car, we follow the "star in the east." We feel like the Three Wise Men.

Dangerous road

The road continues its serpentine climb. Below the darkened edge, we spot a cross and a small altar. Luis explains that several Italian and Austrian tourists were killed here when their bus driver fell asleep. We silently hope that Luis went to bed early the night before. Reading our thoughts, he assures us that he knows the road well, since he used to drive trucks back and forth between Chile and Bolivia.

Luis suddenly slows the car and flashes on his bright lights. A half dozen llamas, grazing by the roadside, perk up their banana ears and bat their long eyelashes at us, as we pass.

People walk on El Tatio geyser field. Chile.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Chile's Yellowstone

The sky lightens to an indigo blue, silhouetting the snow-covered mountain peaks surrounding us. They're all volcanoes, Luis tells us. Chile has 115 volcanoes, 36 of them still active.

We arrive at the edge of the geothermic field, a breathtaking Dante's Inferno of more than 200 puffing, steaming and spewing geysers. Luis explains that magma creates the steam by heating water in the underground river to 120° C.

Although a few other jeep-loads of tourists have arrived, we feel alone in the vast primordial landscape. El Tatio is the Rotorua and Yellowstone of Chile, but one without the sulfury odors.

Geyser steam towers over visitor. El Tatio, Chile.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Hot enough to cook eggs

We carefully make our way over the mineral-encrusted earth for a closer look. The geysers erupt from holes as small as a bathroom sink drain, to yawning cavities as large as a manhole in a city street. Some belch steam like giant tea kettles; others resemble cauldrons of boiling water. Still others spew pillars of mineral-laden water, creating cones, colored apricot, lemon and lilac.

One visitor places an egg in the hot water running from a rasping steam vent. Four minutes later, he cracks open the shell. The egg is hard-boiled. He and his girlfriend share it for breakfast.

People soak in thermal pool. El Tatio, Chile.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Natural Jacuzzi

Tentatively, we ford a vaporous stream, on stepping stones. On the other side, we find snorting fumaroles and craters of mud, bubbling like thick porridge. Nearby, a few visitors steep themselves in an emerald-green thermal pool, heated to 35°C, by runoff from the geysers.

We photograph a couple gazing at a geyser that's violently spurting a 10-metre-high shaft of steam. Seconds later, the wind shifts, enveloping them in a cloud. The effect is magical, surreal.

As the sun rises over the snow-crowned mountains, flanking the geyser field, the flumes of steam blanch alabaster-white against the metallic blue sky. We feel like privileged guests of the mountain gods.

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TRAVEL INFORMATION

More things to see and do in Chile:

Punta Arenas Chile - City at the End of the World

Cruising Chile's Inside Passage on the Patagonia Express

Exploring The Giant Milodon Cave in Puerto Natales Chile

Chiles in Chile

TIPS FOR VISITORS TO EL TATIO

There are no admission gates, souvenir stands, boardwalks or warning signs here. The earth's surface can be fragile. People have been scalded, after falling through the crust, to the boiling waters below. Be careful where you walk.

Other caveats are in order as well. At 4,300 metres, El Tatio is the highest geyser field in the world. Altitude sickness can be a problem for the unacclimatised. We both had headaches.

In spite of its proximity to the equator, the air can be cold, especially before sunrise. Depending on the month, early morning temperatures range from 4° to -10°C. Bring hats, gloves, and sweaters or jackets that can be peeled off as the air warms.

If you plan to bathe in the thermal pool, wear swim suits under your clothing. There are no change rooms here.

While you can rent a car to drive to El Tatio, it must have a high-clearance, and be tuned to high altitudes. Considering the road conditions, it's safer to join a tour, or hire a local driver/guide.

Tours also leave from San Pedro de Atacama. The trip is about 30 kilometers shorter. If you return to Calama, you can stop at picturesque oasis villages and Inca fortress ruins along the way.

LanChile Airlines flies to Santiago and Calama. El Tatio is 129 kilometres east of Calama.

Recommended Reading: Lonely Planet's Chile & Easter Island.