Good morning it is 5:00 a.m. it is freezing outside. Now we are on our
way to me to El Tatio Geyers which is the number one thing to do in Atacama on
TripAdvisor. The reason we're up so early is because
the geyers weirdly don't erupted during the day it's only at sunrise so we're
going up 4,000 something meters. is 4,200? [Simon] 4,200 meters for sunrise.
We are the only ones on the road at the moment but apparently it's gets busy
The drive was probably the most difficult of our six-day trip not
only because it was pitch black with no road markings but the off-road track
really was a boneshaker and at times it felt like the car was
going to fall apart. If there is one trip you might want to consider doing
on a tour, then it's this one. But if you can keep your nerve and concentrate it
will be really rewarding on the way back so keep watching to find out!
So we're here we've arrived at the Geyers it's taken about two hours to get here
it was quite a bumpy ride, very dark, lots of dust, vehicles passing and it's just
just taken a long time but we've made it before the sun's come up over the
mountains. Loads of people here it's 10,000 Peso to get in, per person. It's a bit
of a mission to get in as well but we're in now. Is absolutely freezing I think
it's about -5 or -6 at the moment so you do need to remember even
though down in San Pedro it might be 4c or 5c up here it is very
cold until the Sun comes up and then it will warm up. So let's have a look around.
Apparently there's a lava flow underneath this area and the cold water
coming down from the mountains on the andes reaches the lava flow and then
as the to touch it creates the steam creates the 84, 86
geyers that I think are here. It's quite something to see, I mean if you've
been to Iceland then, they're not as big they're not as good as that,
but it's definitely worth the trip to come see.
El Tatio which means "oven" or "grandfather" is the third largest geezer field in the world
and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It's amazing to think that
just below the surface there's plenty of action going on with the earth's crust
bubbling and boiling, belching out steam releasing the pressure on the ground.
[Simon] Are you cold? [Will] Yes?
The sun's just coming up over there. Just coming over the brow.
[Simon] Is the ground hot touch? Can you try see?
No just wet
It's important to remember that you are at 4,300 metres 14,000 feet
above sea level, so this trip should only be tackled after you've had a few days
to acclimatize. If you've not seen our other Atacama videos check them out for
details for the best things to do before this trip.
So we're now at the second part of the tour and things you can do here at the
geyers, there's a hot spring and if you want to go in and have a swim you can do
it's about 30 Celsius, so some of the some of the people here today are doing
that and looks very nice too. We're not going to do that.
Suns kind of properly up above the mountains now and temperatures kind of
of alright, I think it's still about -4 but yeah way more manageable now
it was freezing earlier.
[Simon] My favorite, this one.
[Will] Waters ready for the spagetti
[Simon]Pasta mumma mia
It's cooled down now, then it stops!
It has it's moment.
Back in the car for the return journey this part of the trip turned out to be a
real surprise. Having driven in near darkness and no idea of the terrain we'd
been on, the wonders of this region appeared in all their magical glory.
Volcanoes, Desert moonlight landscapes and green frozen wetlands pass you by on
this incredible two-hour drive. This is why our self-drive is so rewarding you
can just pull over wherever and whenever you like to enjoy the wonderful changing
colors landscape and wildlife.
A few kilometers outside of San Pedro town on a good afternoon trip after the
early start for the geysers is Mars Valley or Death Valley as it's also known.
Here you can rent a sand board, cycle go on horse riding tour or as we did just
park up and walk over the stunning landscape imagining that you've just
landed on Mars.
Sunset is supposed to be the best time to visit as the colors go deep red as
the sun fades away. Tickets a 2500 pesos each.
The walk from the carpark is a good 45 minutes and it's quite strenuous so make sure you
carry some water with you.
Another hiking area with some really interesting rock
formations is The Devil's Throat. Entrance is 3000 pesos each
and access is by car or you can cycle from San Pedro but it is about a 28km
round trip
There is a labyrinth of caves, trails and stunning rock formations to lose
yourself in for an hour or so. The area is silent, barren and devoid of sound
which makes it a magical mystifying place to be.
Over the last three episodes we have driven the Atacama Desert and shown you
how easy and rewarding the self-drive tour of the region can be. We hope you
found this guide helpful in planning your atacama adventure let us know in
the comments. Please support us by giving us a like and hopefully subscribing as
we grow this channel, thank you. We hope you enjoyed our atacama videos remember
to check out our other Chile videos but until next time happy travels from the
Memoryseekers