The Darvaza Gas Crater

The Darvaza Gas Crater, marooned in the vast emptiness of the Karakum desert, is Turkmenistan's most famous and surreal sight, known ominously as the Door to Hell. This huge, fiery pit, some 70 metres across, was reputedly created when a Soviet gas-drilling rig collapsed, and the escaping gas was set alight to burn off, only for it to keep blazing for decades since. By day it is a smoking hollow, but after dark it becomes a mesmerising spectacle, a great cauldron of roaring orange flames glowing against the black desert night, best experienced camping beneath the stars beside it.

What you actually see

• The burning crater - the vast pit of roaring orange flames.
• The night view - the fiery glow against the dark desert.
• The desert camping - the overnight stay beside the crater.
• The Karakum sands - the vast surrounding desert.

When to go

Spring, April to May, and autumn, September to October, for the mildest desert weather, as summers are scorching and winters cold; the crater is at its most spectacular after dark, so an overnight camping trip is the classic way to experience its full, fiery drama under the stars.

Honest expectations

Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed and tightly controlled countries, with difficult visas and travel almost always requiring an official guide and tour, so reaching the crater takes real planning and expense; it is a rough desert drive from Ashgabat with only basic camping. There has also been talk of extinguishing the fire. As a genuinely surreal, unforgettable natural-and-human spectacle, though, the blazing Door to Hell is extraordinary.

Nearby

The capital Ashgabat and the Karakum desert surround it.