The highlight of my trip to Turkmenistan would definitely have to be visiting the Darvaza Gas Crater, better known as the Gates of Hell, a pit of perpetually burning fire in the middle of the desert. This is a place you need to stay in overnight to truly appreciate, and I thought I’d share what my overnight trip experience to Darvaza Gas Crater is like so you know what to expect.
You can read my other post about planning a trip to Turkmenistan.
What’s so special about Darvaza Gas Crater
Darvaza Gas Crater also known as the Gates of Hell is a pit in the middle of Turkmenistan’s Daravza Desert that is perpetually burning. Now I’ve seen phenomena like this in Taiwan but on a much smaller scale, so I was pretty curious to see what a whole pit of flame looks like in real life.
The Darvaza Gas Crater was apparently created completely by accident. Back in the early 1970s, the Soviet scientists in Turkmenistan were looking for oil and gas sources in the desert. One of their machines placed atop the crater was too heavy and created a sinkhole, which in turn also released all the natural gas that was trapped in the hole.
Back then there were villages around this area, and the release of gas was very harmful and interfering with daily life, so the plan then was to use fire and burn off all the excess natural gas more quickly and return to normal life. However, they didn’t realise how much gas there was, and to this day the fires ignited remain burning, and has now become a tourist attraction of sorts.
Where is Darvaza Gas Crater located?
Darvaza Gas Crater is located in the middle of the Darvaza desert. It takes about 4 hours of driving northwards from Ashgabat in a 4 wheel drive. The roads in Turkmenistan are not always in the best condition, particularly as you head further out of the capital city, and the asphalt roads got progressively more pothole-y on this journey, and as we hit the desert, became dirt/sand tracks, so expect a very bumpy ride.
There was one gas station stopover point along the way, here’s where you fuel up and use the toilet because there aren’t a lot of options along the way!
Darvaza Gas Crater by day
You could do a day trip to see Darvaza Gas Crater if you really wanted to, but the long drive out from Ashgabat means you should at least do an overnight trip, but also because the crater is at its most magnificent at night.
Darvaza Gas Crater by day is essentially a very large but not particularly deep hole in the ground in the middle of the desert. There is a fence around it which most people ignore, because you do need to get a bit closer to better see the small fires burning around the edges and in the middle of the floor of the crater.
One would imagine from the name ‘Gates of Hell’ that this would be a pit with flames bursting forth like a bad nightmare, but in reality it’s a lot less fiery overall. That said, while you’re standing at the edge of the pit, you can still feel the heat of the little fires, and see some pools of clear fuel oozing out of the holes, and those with sensitive eyes might find their eyes stinging from all the smoke and gas in the air.
Still, a random pit with perpetually burning fires is still pretty weird, which is why Darvaza Gas Crater is one of the main reasons people come to Turkmenistan though it can be quite difficult to enter.
Gates of Hell by night
Darvaza Gas Crater is cool in the day but truly impressive in the dark when night falls upon the desert. The crater with its flickering fires takes on a deep orange glow, and it’s not hard to see why people nicknamed it the Gates of Hell because it does look a bit eerie from far if you have no context at all.
We pop down to the gas crater after dinner for a better look, and I don’t know if it’s because flames are just more visible in the dark, but it feels like the fires were bigger at night and the heat more palpable.
We were lucky to have the whole crater to ourselves for a bit before other tourists came down to snap photos. In the quiet of the desert, you can hear the flames popping, but also the sound of gas hissing – it’s pretty surreal.
Our group took plenty of pictures – we did go beyond the barrier, but I would advise caution regardless as you do not want to be falling down into that hole. It might not look too deep but the sides are pretty steep, and you do no want to be breathing in all that gas up close.
The guys had a lot of fun creating their own Backstreet Boys karaoke MTV (“You are my fire~” – the other song I had stuck in my head that night was the Prodigy’s Firestarter which probably gives you guys a sense of the era we were born (lol).
Overnight at the Darvaza Gas Crater Yurt Camp
We arrived at the gas crater at about 530pm and after spending some time at the crater, headed over to our overnight digs for a rest. There are 2-3 yurt camps set up around the crater for guests to sleep in overnight. These camps are not particularly luxurious, but you only really need to tough it out for one night, so let me show you a bit more about what it’s like to stay overnight in the Darvaza Gas Crater Yurt Camp.
Our camp was called the Garagum (which means desert) Yurt Camp. There are a few rows of yurts that are built here, and apparently each tour agency has a handful of yurts assigned to them – there are little plaques at the entrance of each yurt, and these can either have beds in them or a floor to lay out a mat or sleeping bag.
Because we had a group of 5, I shared a yurt with my friend and her partner, while the other couple took the other yurt. Our yurts had 3 beds in them, quite barebones and a rather thin mattress. We had sheets provided that we had to lay ourselves, as well as a blanket and additional sleeping bag for warmth because the temperatures do drop quite drastically at night (I decided to just sleep in my fleece and down jacket).
There was also a small foldable table and something like a gas heater in it though it didn’t seem to be functioning. There were solar panels for the room lights, but I definitely recommend bringing a fully charged battery pack with you.
There is a separate dining tent with tables and chairs, but all the meals here were provided for by our agency – our 2 drivers brought the ingredients with them and prepared our meals on site upon arrival at the camp. As there is only one main kitchen, it means those who come earlier get the chance to eat first.
The toilets nearby are apparently assigned based on tour agency as well, as we were directed to only use the toilets that belonged to our group. These were more portaloo situations – we had 2 toilets that were pretty narrow and cramped even if they were clean enough. There seemed to be a shower as well but ours was locked so we just used wet wipes to wash up that evening. The sink outside had water which was freezing cold at night!
Given it’s a desert, expect that the plumbing doesn’t always work as well as you hope! And also if you need a midnight pee, those lights are solar-powered and don’t work in the middle of the night, so bring along a torch or your phone!
Other craters nearby
The next morning, we washed up and had breakfast which was also prepared by our drivers, before packing up and driving back towards civilisation. We had a bit more time to stopover at some other nearby craters for a peek, though these are obviously not the highlight of this area.
The first is another smaller gas crater – this one only had a lick of flame within.
There was also a crater where instead of igniting the gas, they filled with water instead so it’s almost like a cenote. I spotted a bird sunning itself in this crater. But we didn’t spend too much time at these spots as we prepped for our long return drive where instead of Ashgabat, we turned eastwards towards Mary/Merv.
How long will Darvaza Gas Crater keep burning?
My guide was an older guy from the Soviet era, and he remembers Darvaza Gas Crater having much bigger flames a decade ago, so perhaps the gas is finally running low after over 50 years of burning, but it is unknown at this stage how long the flames will last. There’s also been talk about wanting to extinguish the fire, but given that the tourists are coming here to see it, they might just leave it as is for now.
Have you seen Hell’s Gate for yourself? Tell me what intrigues you about Darvaza Gas Crater! Check out my other Turkmenistan posts:
