Darvaza gas crater from Uzbekistan: a night by the Karakum fire on the way to Khiva

The pit is about 70 metres across and some 30 metres deep, and it sits in the middle of the Karakum, roughly 260 kilometres north of Ashgabat. You arrive in the late afternoon, wait for the sun to go down, and then the crater floor lights up. Around it is sand, the 4×4s that brought you and the yurts of the camp where you spend the night.

We are a tour operator in Tashkent, and Darvaza is closer to Uzbekistan than most people think: the day after the crater, you can be in Khiva. Here is how the trip works, and which of our tours include it.

What the crater looks like today

The crater is a former gas exploration site, and gas has burned in it for decades. Its official name in Turkmenistan is the Shining of Karakum; most travellers know it as the Door to Hell.

The fire is smaller than in the photographs from ten years ago. In June 2025 the Turkmen gas company Turkmengaz said the flames had shrunk nearly threefold because the gas under the crater is running out. Where older pictures show a solid ring of fire, today you see tongues of flame across the floor and the walls of the pit. It still glows after dark. Before your trip we tell you how it looks that season, so you know what to expect.

Come after sunset. In daylight the crater is a grey hole in the sand; the show starts when the sky goes dark.

From Ashgabat to Khiva through the desert

On our Merv, Darvaza and Khiva tour you fly into Ashgabat and see Turkmenistan first: the Parthian fortress of Nisa just outside the capital and Ancient Merv near Mary, both on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On day four the 4×4 vehicles take you north into the Karakum, about 285 kilometres and some five hours, and you reach the crater towards evening.

The next morning the cars go on to Dashoguz, about 275 kilometres and six hours. The Dashoguz – Shavat border crossing closes at 17:00, so we plan the day to get there with time to spare. Your Turkmen guide walks you to the exit control, and on the Uzbek side at Shavat our team is waiting to drive you to Khiva. That evening you check in near the walls of Itchan Kala.

From Khiva the route continues by high-speed train to Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, so there are no more long drives. If you want to know what that leg looks like, read our guide from Khiva to Bukhara.

The night in the yurt camp

The camp is near the crater. Dinner is a barbecue, and you sleep in a yurt. One 4×4 takes up to three guests, and we carry bottled water for the whole desert leg.

Desert nights are cool even in spring and autumn, so pack a warm layer and a torch for the walk around the crater after dark.

The Turkmen visa: we file it for you

Since 1 October 2026 Turkmenistan issues tourist visas only through its e-Visa system, and tourists no longer need a letter of invitation. We file the application for you: you send us your details, a scan of your passport and a photo, and the visa fee goes into your tour invoice. Standard processing takes up to 10 working days, urgent up to 5. At the border you show the e-Visa on your phone and the officer scans the QR code.

For Uzbekistan, many nationalities need no visa at all. We check the rules for your passport before you book.

When to go

The best months are April–May and September–October. The Karakum is very hot in summer, and winter nights are cold, while in spring and autumn the days are warm and the evening by the fire is comfortable with a jacket.

On a longer trip, Darvaza is also part of our 23-day Great Silk Road tour through all five Central Asian countries. All routes with Turkmenistan are in Turkmenistan tours.

In short

• Darvaza is a gas crater about 70 metres across in the Karakum, some 260 km north of Ashgabat; go after sunset.
• The fire is about a third of its old size, but it still burns, and we tell you how it looks before the trip.
• The night by the crater is spent in a yurt camp, with a barbecue dinner; bring a warm layer.
• The next day you cross the Dashoguz – Shavat border, and our team meets you on the Uzbek side and drives you to Khiva.
• We file the Turkmen e-Visa for you; the full route is our 10-day Merv, Darvaza and Khiva tour.