Adventures in Asia: Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan

The biggest "attraction" in the Karakum Desert is the Darvaza gas crater, and the yurt I stayed in was nearby the crater. 

The crater is nicknamed "the gates of hell" and was formed in 1971 when a natural gas chamber collapsed during drilling operations. In an effort to mitigate the release of poisonous gases, the crater was lit on fire. The idea was the gas was burn off in a few days, but more than 50 years later it is still burning. 

Ishan took us to it in the daylight, actually before I got to my yurt.

You can see all the individual fires burning all over the crater.

Later, I walked up to a high dune by myself to see it from that vantage point.

It is after dark, however, that the crater becomes really impressive. This was from about 21:00 when I visited after dinner.

Here is some more video.