Head into
the Andes Mountains of northern Chile and you'll find “El Tatio” a geyser field
at 4,320 meters above mean sea level. El Tatio is among the highest-elevation
geyser fields in the world, and has more than 80 active geysers, making it the
largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the
world. El Tatio, name comes from comes from the Quechua word for oven. The
geysers erupt to an average height of about 75 centimeters, with the highest
eruption observed being around 6 metres.
This place is a major tourist
attraction, and tourists usually arrive at sunrise when each geyser is
surmounted by a column of steam that condenses in the cold air. The steam
plumes disappear as the air warms up, and possible to bathe in the hot geyser
water in a small pool. Though the nearby population center to the El
Tatio Geysers is Calama, a beautiful ancient town with a small but developing
tourist sector, the vast majority of visitors come on day trips from San Pedro
de Atacama.
Moreover,
there’s wreckage at the site from an old project for harnessing geothermal
power. The exploration of El Tatio is controversial, because this site is a
popular tourist attraction, and receives more than 100,000 visitors per year,
and is the principal attraction of nearby San Pedro de Atacama; that the
geysers are in an indigenous zone and people put value on and show to the world.
Well, if you want to see the see this place, then the best time to see the
geysers is 06:00, so make sure you wipe the sleep from your eyes if you want
experience the breathtaking display. So be careful, and watch your step,
because in some places, tourists have fallen through the thin crust into
underlying pools of boiling water and suffered severe burns. Dress in layers:
it's toe-numbingly cold at sunbreak but you will bake in the van on the way
back down.
The area is also home to a number of hot springs, you’ll find pools
with waters at comfortable temperatures or if you’re willing to brave
undressing in the cold high-altitude air. The ground takes a while to reach
16ÂșC after the chill of the night has passed, but the experience is worth the
wait. Source: Charismaticplanet.com