El Tatio is ringed by volcanoes and fed by over 80 gurgling geysers and a hundred gassy fumaroles. Contrary to popular opinion it is not the world's largest geyser field, but the third largest. The best time to see the geysers is 6am, so make sure you wipe the sleep from your eyes if you want to experience the awesome spectacle.
Watch your step – in some places, visitors have fallen through the thin crust into underlying pools of scalding water and suffered severe burns. Dress in layers: it's toe-numbingly cold at sunrise but you'll bake in the van on the way back down.
