Turkmenistan's Gates of Hell may face extinction amid environmental concerns

CNN highlights that the Darvaza Gas Crater, a striking and unexpected tourist attraction in Turkmenistan, may be facing a significant transformation.  

It’s unusual for an industrial mishap to transform into a major tourist attraction, but that’s exactly what happened with the Darvaza Gas Crater. Over 50 years ago, a Soviet drilling team exploring for natural gas in Turkmenistan inadvertently triggered a series of events that led to the creation of this massive, fiery pit.  

Known as both the “Gates of Hell” and the “Shining of Karakum,” the crater is characterized by flames fueled by methane gas escaping from numerous vents in its floor and walls. Visitors standing around the crater’s edge can feel its intense heat, and the sight is particularly spectacular at night, with fiery tongues of flame illuminating the dark sky. Nestled among dunes and rocky outcrops in the remote Karakum Desert, the Darvaza Gas Crater is a must-see on nearly every tour of Turkmenistan. When tourism to the site first began, visitors had to bring all their supplies for an overnight stay, as there were no facilities.

Today, the area features three permanent camps offering accommodation in yurts or tents, along with meals and motorized transport to the crater’s edge for those who prefer not to walk.   The crater measures approximately 230 feet (70 meters) in width and 100 feet (30 meters) in depth, with steep vertical walls leading down to a field of rocky debris at the bottom. In 2018, a safety fence was installed to prevent visitors from getting too close to the dangerous flames.  

Author Ged Gillmore, who discussed the crater in his book “Stans By Me: A Whirlwind Tour Through Central Asia,” notes, “It’s essentially a collapsed gas cave, which might sound unremarkable, but there’s something quite eerie about it. I found it somewhat unsettling.”   There are concerns that the crater might not remain in its current fiery state much longer. The Turkmenistan government has periodically hinted at the possibility of sealing it off, and long-time visitors have observed that the flames have diminished significantly over the years.

Dylan Lupine, whose UK-based Lupine Travel was among the first to bring tourists to Turkmenistan, notes, “I’d estimate the flames are now burning at about 40 per cent of the intensity I observed in 2009. Back then, a much larger portion of the crater was engulfed in flames, and they were significantly higher.”   A local guide, who asked to remain anonymous due to lack of media authorization, corroborates this observation. He has noticed a decline in flame height and coverage over the past seven years and his roughly 40 visits to the crater.

“The flames have diminished, likely because the gas reservoir is depleting,” he explains.   Despite this, the crater remains a captivating spectacle, especially when sandstorms sweep in, leaving only the flickering flames visible against the darkened pit.   The exact origins of the crater remain unclear, as Soviet-era records are either missing, incomplete, or still classified. Canadian adventurer and television host George Kourounis, the only person known to have explored the crater’s interior, comments, “There’s a lot of debate and conflicting stories about how it began. It’s hard to discern the truth with so many myths surrounding the place.”  

Kourounis adds that the prevailing theory suggests the crater formed in 1971 and was subsequently set alight shortly after. “While I was in Turkmenistan, we had two veteran geologists from the government join us at the crater. They informed me that the crater likely formed in the 1960s and was bubbling with mud and gas for some time before it was ignited in the 1980s,” Kourounis explains.   The exact cause of the initial ignition remains unclear. “Some people say it was due to a hand grenade,” Kourounis notes. “Others suggest the Soviets simply tossed a match in. I’ve even heard a story about a drunken farmer accidentally driving his tractor into it.”   The local guide proposes another theory: “There used to be a village nearby. I’ve heard that locals set the crater on fire to prevent the smell and toxic gases from affecting their health. They believed it would burn out in a few weeks.”  

Aside from the excitement of exploring a blazing crater, Kourounis was on a National Geographic-funded scientific mission to investigate lifeforms capable of surviving in such harsh conditions. During a 17-minute descent in 2013, equipped with an aluminized suit, Kevlar harness, and Technora ropes used in NASA Mars missions, he collected soil samples for the Extreme Microbiome Project. Analysis later identified simple organisms like bacteria and thermophiles that can endure the extreme temperatures inside the crater. The gas crater is located a four-hour drive north of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. 

Given the rough two-lane highway and sandy desert roads leading to Darvaza, a four-wheel drive vehicle is strongly recommended. Along the way, you’ll often see wandering camels.   Once you leave Ashgabat, the only places to pick up supplies are general stores in the remote desert villages of Bokurdak and Erbent.   Darwaza Camp is the most luxurious of the three available accommodations. Situated about a five-minute walk from the crater rim, the camp offers yurts with beds and chairs, a shaded dining area, and basic porta-potty-style toilets.  

On the other side of the crater, Garagum Camp provides yurts equipped with futon-style floor pads on traditional Turkmen carpets, solar-powered lighting, and evening barbecues served at outdoor tables. Garagum is approximately a 10-minute walk from the crater rim and even closer to a small rocky outcrop offering a panoramic view of the Gates of Hell.   “Arriving at Darvaza at night is definitely the best experience,” says Gillmore. “After hours of driving across the desert, seeing it from a distance with no other lights around makes you truly feel like you’re at the gates of hell.”   Nearby, there are two other accidental craters created around the same time by similar drilling mishaps. Although they are as large as Darvaza, they are less dramatic.

One is a gas crater with smaller flames near the intersection of the highway and the sandy road to Darvaza, while further south, another crater is filled with water and gas bubbles but lacks flames.   There have been ongoing discussions about whether the Turkmenistan government will convert Darvaza into a natural gas production site by extinguishing the flames. In 2022, the state-run newspaper Neytralny Turkmenistan reported that the president had instructed his cabinet to consult with scientists on how to put out the flames and potentially close the site to tourism.

Reasons cited for potentially closing the crater include the loss of a valuable natural resource, environmental damage, and health concerns. Despite extensive discussion about the crater's possible closure, there is no solid evidence that the government plans to extinguish the flames in the near future.   There have been rumors that the government might have already drilled a nearby exploratory well to siphon off significant amounts of gas, which has reportedly reduced the flames' intensity.

However, the local guide mentions, “These are just rumors. There’s no official information about any closure,” and questions how such a process might be implemented. “They could fill it with cement or foam, but the gas would just escape elsewhere. We’re unsure about how or if it will actually happen.”  

CNN Travel has contacted government officials for their views on the crater’s future.   Dylan Lupine, who visited the site earlier this year, shares concerns that Darvaza may indeed face closure. “Locals think there might be another attempt to extinguish the flames,” says Lupine. “There’s significant anxiety among the residents, as they fear that if the crater is put out, tourism in Turkmenistan could suffer dramatically, potentially leading to job losses.”   In the meantime, the Darvaza Gas Crater continues to captivate visitors who undertake the challenging journey across the Karakum Desert to witness this accidental natural marvel.