Turkmenistan · Destination guide
The desert crater that has burned for decades
Darvaza — the "Gates of Hell" — is a burning gas crater in the Karakum desert, seen at night from a camp on its rim. It is the single image most people associate with Turkmenistan.
Quick facts
In the Karakum desert, a drilling rig collapsed into a gas cavern. The escaping methane was set alight on the assumption it would burn off in weeks. It has been burning ever since.
The crater is about seventy metres across, and photographs undersell it — what they cannot carry is the heat on your face at the rim, or the noise, or how completely dark the desert around it is. Which is why it is seen at night, from a camp set up a short walk away: dusk over the desert, then hours at the edge.
The camp is tents, a cooked dinner and a long cold night. That is the whole offer, and it is enough.
Plan your visit
Roughly three hours north of Ashgabat by road, the last stretch off-road by 4x4 across sand. It is not reachable independently and not reachable in a normal car.
Tents, shared simple facilities, dinner and breakfast cooked on site. Desert nights are cold in every season — a warm layer matters more than you would expect after a 30°C day.
Closing or extinguishing the crater has been discussed by the government for years and remains possible. We do not promise it will still be burning in future seasons — nobody can.
Stay back from the rim. The edge is unfenced, undercut and crumbling in places, and the heat carries much further than it looks. Follow your guide's line and do not walk it in the dark alone.