In the middle of the Karakum Desert, roughly 260 kilometres north of Ashgabat, a crater the size of a football pitch has been burning for decades. Locals call it the Shining of Karakum. Everyone else calls it the Door to Hell, and for most travellers it is the single reason Turkmenistan ends up on the list at all.
| Where | Karakum Desert, near Darvaza village, Ahal Region |
|---|---|
| Distance from Ashgabat | About 260 km north, 4 to 5 hours by road |
| Size | Roughly 60–70 m across and about 20–30 m deep |
| Burning since | The 1970s — the exact year is disputed |
| Access | Unpaved desert track off the Ashgabat–Dashoguz highway; 4×4 only |
| Best time to see it | After dark and again at dawn |
| Where you sleep | Yurt camp on the ridge above the crater |
What actually happened here
The story you will read most often is that Soviet geologists drilling for gas in 1971 collapsed the ground beneath their rig, and set the escaping methane alight expecting it to burn out within weeks. It has been burning ever since.
It is a good story, and it may well be broadly true — but it is worth knowing that the documentary evidence is thin. Soviet records from the site were never published, Turkmen geologists have given different dates, and some accounts put the collapse in the 1960s with the fire lit only in the 1980s. Nobody living can point to a dated document. We tell guests this because the certainty you find in travel articles is not really there, and the crater is remarkable enough without it.
What is not disputed is that the Turkmen government has repeatedly discussed extinguishing it — as a waste of gas, an environmental problem and a hazard. Announcements to that effect have been made more than once and nothing has yet come of them. If seeing it matters to you, we would not plan the trip for some indefinite future.
What it is like to be there
In daylight it is underwhelming: a wide grey pit in flat desert, with heat shimmer and a smell of gas. Most photographs you have seen were not taken then.
It changes completely at night. Hundreds of individual flames burn along the floor and walls, the whole bowl glows orange, and the sound is closer to a jet engine than a campfire. You feel the heat on your face from the rim. There is no barrier and no lighting beyond the fire itself, which is exactly why we would rather you were standing there with a guide than alone.
Dawn is the third version of the place, and the one most people do not expect: the flames pale against the sky, the desert around it turns pink, and the emptiness in every direction becomes visible for the first time.
Why an overnight stay is worth it. A day trip from Ashgabat means arriving in daylight or leaving before the desert cools. Staying at the yurt camp gives you the crater after dark, the night sky over the Karakum with no light pollution for a hundred kilometres, and sunrise — three completely different sights for one extra night.
How to get to the Darvaza gas crater
There is no public transport, no ticket office and no signposted turning. From Ashgabat the road runs north towards Dashoguz across open desert, and after roughly four hours a track leaves the asphalt and crosses several kilometres of soft sand to the rim. Ordinary cars do not make it; every year someone tries.
Because a tourist visa for Turkmenistan is issued against an invitation arranged by a licensed operator, essentially every foreign visitor arrives here as part of an organised programme in any case. Our drivers do this route constantly and know where the sand firms up.
The crater also sits conveniently on the main north–south axis, which is why it appears in almost every itinerary: coming from Ashgabat it is the natural first night, and coming south from Dashoguz or the Uzbek border it is the last stop before the capital.
When to go
Spring, from April to May, and autumn, from September to October, are the comfortable seasons. Summer in the Karakum regularly passes 40 °C and standing beside a fire in that heat is genuinely unpleasant. Winter is possible and the flames look their best against cold clear air, but nights at the camp drop well below freezing and you need proper clothing.
Whatever the season, bring closed shoes. The rim is loose sand and gravel, and it is warm.
What else is nearby
Two lesser-known craters sit within a short drive: a water-filled one and a bubbling mud crater, neither burning, both worth the twenty minutes. Further south towards Ashgabat lies the Kow Ata underground lake, a warm sulphur lake inside a cave, which most travellers add on the way back. North, the road continues to Kunya-Urgench and the Uzbek border.
Tours that include the Darvaza gas crater
The crater appears in most of our programmes, from short trips out of the capital to longer Silk Road routes crossing from Uzbekistan. See the full list of Turkmenistan tours, or the routes that start from Ashgabat and from Khiva. If you already know your dates, write to us and we will build the itinerary around them.
Common questions
Can you visit the Darvaza crater independently?
In practice, no. A tourist visa for Turkmenistan is issued on the basis of an invitation from a licensed local operator, and the crater is 260 km from the capital down an unmarked desert track with no transport of any kind. Even travellers on a five-day transit visa need a driver to reach it.
Is it safe to stand at the edge?
The rim is stable and people stand on it every night, but there is no railing, the ground is loose, and the heat close to the edge is serious. Follow your guide, keep back from crumbling sections, and do not attempt it after drinking.
How long do you actually spend at the crater?
On an overnight stay, as long as you want. Most guests walk down in the late afternoon, return after dark for an hour or two, and come back at first light. On a rushed day trip you get perhaps forty minutes, which is why we rarely recommend one.
Is the fire ever put out?
It has not been, despite several government announcements over the years about extinguishing or capping it. It was burning at the time this page was written and we update it if that changes.
What should I bring to the yurt camp?
Warm layers whatever the season — desert nights are cold even after hot days — closed shoes, a torch, and more water than you think. Camps are simple: mattresses in a yurt, basic washing facilities, dinner cooked on site. There is no mains electricity and no mobile signal worth the name.
Can the crater be combined with Ancient Merv or Yangykala?
Yes, and it usually is. Merv lies southeast towards the Farap border with Uzbekistan; Yangykala Canyon is far west towards the Caspian. Both add days rather than hours, so a route with all three normally runs six to eight days.
