Darvaza Gas Crater Flames — Karakum Desert Turkmenistan

The Darvaza gas crater — the Door to Hell — is a 69-metre-wide, 30-metre-deep burning crater in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan, created in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig collapsed into a natural gas cavity and engineers set it alight to prevent methane seepage, expecting it to burn out within days. It has burned continuously for over five decades. At night in the open desert, the crater's deep orange flames are visible from kilometres away, casting an eerie glow across the surrounding flat sand, and standing at the rim of the burning pit while the surrounding desert is in complete darkness creates one of Earth's most genuinely alien and disturbing landscapes. The heat at the rim is intense; the sound is a continuous low roar; the smell of combustion permeates the camp. The Karakum desert at night, with the crater as the only light source for 50 kilometres, offers an experience with no parallel elsewhere on the planet.

When

Oct — Mar

Best viewing

A vast, continuously burning gas crater glowing orange in an otherwise pitch-black desert, best experienced after dark from a camp pitched at its rim. Expect intense heat, a constant low roar, and an unmistakable smell of combustion.

About this spectacle

Standing at the rim of the Darvaza Gas Crater after dark is unlike anything else on Earth. The 69-metre-wide pit breathes deep orange and yellow flames continuously, throwing shifting light across the flat Karakum sand while absolute darkness surrounds you in every direction for dozens of kilometres. The heat is physically confronting even at the crater's edge, and a steady low roar rises from below — the sound of gas burning without interruption since 1971. The smell of combustion settles into your clothes and tent. By day the crater is dramatic but stripped of its power; at night it becomes genuinely alien, a wound in the desert floor that glows like a portal. Most visitors camp on the rim and spend hours simply watching the flames move. The surrounding desert is flat, silent, and pitch-dark, amplifying the crater's presence. There is no infrastructure — no lighting, no fencing, no café — just a burning hole in the sand and the Turkmen night.

When to go

Oct — Mar

Getting there

Nearest airport: ASB. Nearest city: Ashgabat.

Booking options

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About this spectacle

When to go

Getting there

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