Active holidays seeing the world's geysers

The geyser is one of the rarest natural phenomena in the world and these unusual erupting springs can be found in a small number of locations scattered all over the planet.

The far-eastern peninsula of Kamchatka in Russia, sometimes called the Valley of the Geysers, was up until earlier this month the area with second-highest density of geysers on the planet.

However, following a landslide on June 3rd 2007, the geysers have been seriously damaged, and its is unknown if the natural wonder will be available for holidaymakers to visit in future.

Adventure and active holiday specialist Explore is highlighting other destinations where geysers can be seen following the landslide, including Chile, New Zealand and the USA.

One of the most accessible and dramatic places to see geysers is the USA's Yellowstone National Park.

The park has around 500 geysers, bubbling mud pools, as well as wildlife such as grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk.

There are two main areas for geysers - the Norris Geyser Basin and the Upper Geyser Basin. The latter is famous for being the home of Old Faithful, which gushes 55-metres into the air every 65 minutes, while the Grand Geyser will shoot 60 metres between every eight and 12 hours.

However, this pales in comparison with the Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin, which is the most powerful in the world, hitting over 120 metres.

Explore has a four-day tour of Yellowstone National Park, departing in September costing £1,609 per person.

Other tour operators active holidays visiting Yellowstone include Trek America and Responsible Travel.

The Andes and Patagonia have a growing reputation for being a top active holiday destination, offering incredible skiing holidays, along with holiday activities such as horse riding, walking and more.

However, in Chile close to the Bolivian border, the Andes are also home to 80 active geysers in the El Tatio Geyser Field. The geysers produce constant steamy eruptions about one metre high, and are located on brightly coloured flat lands among volcanoes, mud pots, and rocks.

Explore has a 16-day active holiday with the option to visit the El Tatio Geyser Field for £2,409 per person, departing in December and January.

Other active holiday tour operators with trips to the El Tatio Geyser Field include Exodus and Steppes Travel.

In the 19th-century the Taupo Volcanic Zone on New Zealand's north island had 220 geysers, but this has gone down to 50, mostly from human damage.

Since then an environmentally-friendly viewing platform has been created, by the village of Whakarewarewa, which overlooks the seven active geysers, which erupt once an hour. The largest of these can gush as much as 15 to 20 metres into the air.

Explore has a 32-day comprehensive tour of New Zealand with a day at the Taupo Volcanic Zone for £3,744, departing from October 2007 to February 2008.

Other active holiday tour operators with tours visiting the Taupo Volcanic Zone include Archers Direct and Haka Tours.