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El Tatio Geysers Tour: Sunrise Steam Show at San Pedro de Atacama
4.5
86 Ratings
San Pedro de Atacama
Experience the mesmerizing steam show at El Tatio Geysers in San Pedro de Atacama. Witness the sunrise, explore the geothermal field, and visit the charming village of Machuca.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- San Pedro de Atacama - Your tour starts with hotel pickup by van before dawn — yep, that’s early! — from San Pedro de Atacama. The hotel pickup starts from the Hotels located nearby San Pedro de Atacama urban zone. We will drive north of San Pedro de Atacama to El Tatio, an approximate 1.5- to 2-hour trip.
The El Tatio Geyser Field stands just over 14,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile and getting there is half the fun. You’ll travel up windy scenic mountain roads surrounded by snow-covered active and dormant volcanic peaks along the way. Magma beneath the surface acts to heat an underground source of water resulting in an explosive release of pressure.
- Geyser del Tatio - Your arrival at the geyser field coincides with the rising sun, which gives the geysers their most spectacular appearance. In the cold, early morning air of sunrise, each geyser is topped with a white column of steam that disappears when the temperature warms up. You have about two hours to walk around the field, marveling at the geothermal wonders and taking pictures. Then enjoy a light breakfast that typically includes a ham and cheese sandwich, biscuit, fruit, juice, tea and coffee.
After about three hours total at El Tatio, head back toward San Pedro de Atacama, stopping in the village of Machuca.
- Machuca - You have about an hour here to explore the very tiny village (about 10 residents) at your leisure, checking out its wooden church, handful of adobe houses with thatch roofs, and artisan shop. If you wish, try a llama empanada, the local specialty (own expense).
Finally, make the drive back to San Pedro de Atacama.
- San Pedro de Atacama - Finally, make the drive back to San Pedro de Atacama, where your tour ends with hotel drop-off around midday. Remember that this trip takes approximately 3 hours to get back to San Pedro de Atacama.
What's Included
- Hotel pickup
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Local guide
- Breakfast
- Drop off is at the city centre
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Entrance fee to El Tatio geyser field
- Food and drinks, unless specified
Additional Information
Don’t miss this early morning tour to El Tatio geyser field, one of San Pedro de Atacama’s most popular surrounding attractions and one of the biggest geothermal fields in the world with more than 80 geysers. With a local guide, you’ll arrive at El Tatio at sunrise, when the cold, high-altitude air creates a mystical landscape of steam. Then enjoy a light breakfast. End your tour with a stop in the small adobe village of Machuca.
- It is recommended that you wear comfortable clothes including trekking pants and shoes, and a windbreaker or warm jacket
- Note: Please bring cash to pay the entrance fees and any additional expenses
- Note: El Tatio sits at an elevation of nearly 14,000 feet, which may cause altitude sickness for some; it is recommended that you drink plenty of hot tea or water prior to the tour and carry any necessary medication
- Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times
- Note: It is not recommended for children under 10 years old to use the pools due to the high water temperatures
- You must let us know if you have health problems, medication allergy or any problem that may affect physical performance during the tour
Location
San Pedro de Atacama
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(86 Ratings)
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Amadeus_b
Jan 30, 2024
Amazing part of Atacama. - Fabi and Pedro were great company to see the amazing sites with. Pedro's engeijing personality added to the whole experience.
Review provided by Viator
Prospector1
Dec 3, 2023
Hairy drive but worth it - We had our own hire car and did an early morning drive up to El Tatio - we left San Pedro at 04.30 and arrive at El Tatio at 06.15 when it was just starting to get light. The c80km drive is hairy especially after the first 25 km. You need to be pretty confident to drive in the dark on the sometimes very rough and stoney road - it’s well signposted so that is not an issue. There are some sharp curves and some very steep parts of the road which you really only see when you return in daylight. Lots of white tour vans do this trip every day so you start getting overtaken by them 10-20 km before your destination. Ideally get behind another car and drive 80-100 metres behind them as they will show you the road and the odd bad pothole.
Geysers are good in the early morning because the air temperatures are below freezing - around minus 5C on the day we visited though soon warms up as the sun rises. The geysers and surrounding scenery are beautiful - worth the trip but my wife would say take a tour the next time. We spend about 2 hours at the geysers.
We stopped off at the Puritama hot springs at 09.30 on way home - the timings worked very well - book you tickets for hot springs in advance. We just paid at entrance for El Tatio geysers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
359jennym
Nov 4, 2023
Amazing, far exceeded my expectations. Well worth getting up for the predawn departure - I took this excellent tour with Turismo Layana and the terrific guide was Christian.
It was a very early predawn pick up and the company sent a text the night before confirming the pick up time from my hotel.
It was over an hours drive out to the site of the geysers where the altitude was approximately 4,000m. The varied geysers were amazing and while standing beside bubbling boiling water and with many layers of clothing, warm hat and gloves, it was still extremely cold.
We also made a stop at wetlands in crater lakes with an abundance of bird life including flamingos and even vicuñas ( relative of lamas) coming to have a drink. Such an amazing experience.
Breakfast was set up on a table on another isolated stop out in the desert. We could make bread rolls with avocado, ham and cheese and tea/coffee and cake.
We arrived back at San Pedro de Atacama about 11.30am after a totally unique experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brumbab
Oct 29, 2023
Spectacular and well worth the trip - We didn't do a formal tour, we did self drive. The general view is that you should try to get to the geyser field at dawn and we did that. It was definitely worth it. The sight of the sun rising over the surrounding peaks as the fumaroles smoke and the geysers bubble is fantastic. The colours are spectacular as are the sounds of the bubbling and hissing.
Things to be aware of: you need to buy a ticket online beforehand, and the website isn't the easiest to use; it's a reasonably long drive so you need to leave plenty of time; if you're not comfortable driving on ungraded dirt roads with a lot of narrow points and twists and turns, in the dark, take a tour; it's cold before dawn at high altitude, very cold! Most of these are obvious but a lot of people we saw seemed unprepared and it's such an amazing place it'd be a pity to not enjoy it for want of a pair of gloves!
On the way back to San Pedro watch out for the flamingos and the amazing giant cacti. You may also like to combine your return trip with a visit to Puritama, a nice way to warm up and relax after the early start.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rahul_e
Dec 24, 2022
Incredible experience, must see - Very well organized, layra was our guide. Coordinated everything from 4 am
Wake up call through the stops.
Review provided by Viator
Alfred_l
Nov 25, 2022
Wonderful Experience - Wonderful experience! Ivan, Layra and the rest of the Horizonte team were extremely communicative (English speaking guides available), knowledgeable and professional regarding our tour. My husband and I even learned a thing or 2 about geysers. The company provided us a list of things we needed the day prior (I.e. extra layer of clothes!) and communicated everything via WhatsUp. We ran into Ivan the following day while on another tour, and he offered to take our picture (Thanks Ivan! You’re the best!). We would highly recommend this tour and company to others!
Review provided by Viator
Nycgirl74
Nov 24, 2022
Great tour for the value - Great tour! Early start but worth it. Our guide Ivan was accommodating and well versed in the local area and scientific knowledge pertaining to the geysers. He and his team had a great energy and kept the tour interesting.
We stopped at El Tatio, spent a few hours, then had breakfast prepared by our tour guides, followed by a stop at the wetlands to see the vicuña and flamingos. Breathtaking views of volcanoes and the borders of Bolivia.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Drmueller
Nov 13, 2022
Highly recommded - Worthwhile experience. Highly recommend. Worth getting on a tour bus at 5 AM. Only complaint is the lack of legroom on the bus. I think my knees are visibly bruised as a result.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laurie_c
Oct 16, 2023
Good Tour Company, unimpressive geysers - The guide was knowledgeable about the geysers and area. Sebastion, our guide did a good job answering questions. We stopped at other interesting sites on the way back. I live only a few hours from Yellowstone National Park in the USA, so the El Tatio Geysers themselves were not impressive.
Review provided by Viator
Fromfloripa
Dec 27, 2023
Upon return, they left us in a different location than the one agreed. - It was ok, but contrary to what was agreed, they didn't leave us at the hotel on the way back (as well as any customers). They also unnecessarily brought the departure a little earlier (30 minutes).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
