Photos: Benjamin Goetzinger, CC BY-SA 4.0; Tormod Sandtorv (original picture) Hellbus (derived work), CC BY-SA 2.0; Benjamin Goetzinger, CC BY-SA 4.0; Benjamin Goetzinger, CC BY-SA 4.0; John Pavelka from Austin, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0
Darvaza Gas Crater: a Day Trip
The price depends on your dates, group size and hotels. Send a request and we will reply with an offer.
The empty Karakum would be one of the bleakest places in Central Asia if not for a sight born in the 1970s. Engineers set fire to a cavern of natural gas expecting it to burn out quickly, and fifty years later the crater still burns. This trip takes you from the marble facades of Ashgabat to the flames in the desert and back.
In the afternoon your driver and guide collect you from your hotel in Ashgabat for the drive to Darvaza (280 km, 4 hours). You arrive by evening for a stunning sunset, then watch the flames against the black sky.
Highlights
- The nomad village of Yerbent and the way of life of local Turkmens
- A photo stop at the sand dunes and camels
- The Mud and Water craters
- The fire crater, about 80 metres across and 30 metres deep
- A hot dinner by the campfire near the crater, then the drive back to your hotel
Included
- All transfers by 4x4 or minivan
- BBQ dinner at the tent camp at Darvaza
- Tableware and the necessary equipment
- Guide
Good to know
- This is a private guided excursion: no other tourists join you or your group
- You choose the order of the sights
- Pick a start time that suits you
- It can start straight from the airport or station, where our guide will meet you
