A few days ago we shared on our page of Facebook video of The Gate of Hell in Turkmenistan. We were there in 2010, and for those who think they've seen almost everything, the Darvaza Crater is proof of our planet’s immense capacity to surprise us, although there is a price to pay, an inevitable toll.
The trip was limited to ten days along the Ashgabat–Mary–Derwaza route and the Dashoguz border crossing into neighbouring Uzbekistan, and we can only comment on the small part of the country we visited: a strange place—Martian might be the word—where Dubai-style development coexists with rural traditions that seem almost medieval, such as the age at which girls marry.
The landscape is dominated by steppe Central Asia, and contact with the local population is not simple; possibly because of an obvious language issue.
Overall, it was not the trip of a lifetime, but it was worth it to discover one of the most extraordinary places we know: Derwaza's Gas Crater.
Some personal notes about what we found in our trip to Turkmenistan:
The beautiful Ashgabat
Broad avenues, gardens of artificial plants, astonishing architecture mixing marble and neon, and a weekly market selling camels, kilims and the essential traditional Turkmen hat.
The City of Mary
Here lie the ruins of ancient Merv, an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Essential according to the travel guides, it left us indifferent (that is, the history of Central Asia is quite alien to us, and archaeology is not one of our hobbies either).
Darvaza Crater
Something unique. If anything similar existed elsewhere in the world, there would probably be a fence 5 metres from the crater keeping visitors out for safety reasons. Here, the heat is currently the only limit. Anyone who wants to see it should hurry: a couple of years ago, the president decided to blow it up and bury it.
In short, a good destination for lovers of unconventional sites (Albania, Mongolia, North Korea…) which combines very well with its neighbour Uzbekistan. A trip we do not list on our website but can arrange at short notice. We recommend speaking to us first: for this type of destination, it is important to understand what you are looking for and what you can expect.