In the past week, the notoriously secretive nation of Turkmenistan has made headlines, as speculation grows over whether its most famous tourist attraction could soon disappear. CNN recently published an article on the potential closure of the Darvaza Gas Crater, better known as the “Gates to Hell,” which also raised questions about the future of Turkmenistan’s tourism industry.
As one of the leading tour operators in Turkmenistan—a country that has historically attracted even fewer visitors than North Korea—we’re well-positioned to address these rumours and provide insights into both the crater’s history and what its future might hold. YPT was also the first company to return post-COVID, so we have been fortunate to have visited the Darvaza Crater frequently over the past few years.
A (brief) history of the crater:
Like any good story involving the Soviet Union and things going a bit wrong, many of the details are rather sketchy. Then, when (some) of the truth finally appears, it’s often weirder than fiction.
The most popular version of events is that, in 1971, the Soviets were drilling in the desert while trying to access Turkmenistan’s vast natural gas resources. Whilst doing this, they hit a large pocket of natural gas, which caused the earth to collapse around this. Worried that the methane would leak into the atmosphere and poison local villages, they set the sinkhole on fire with the assumption that it would burn out before long.
“Before long” turned out to be “never” – the crater outlived the nation that created it, and it has burnt ever since.
Another rendition of the story is that the sinkhole was formed in the 1960s, but was not actually set on fire until the 1980s. This would certainly make sense – the Soviets probably would rather have poisoned a few villages instead of alerting the world to them screwing up so badly.
Regardless of which story is true, the end result is the same – a massive hole in the desert that’s on fire.
Wow! There must be lots of tourists who visit!
Not exactly… Turkmenistan is one of the most isolated countries in the world. It receives around 6,000 visitors a year and famously got fewer tourists than North Korea before the pandemic.
Most of the tourists who end up in the “Motherland of Neutrality” do so to visit the Gates to Hell, and also see how one of the most bizarre and isolated countries on earth functions. 6,000 visitors over a year, however, averages out to around 16 a day – smaller than most of the groups that we bring!
The Turkmen government has an effective monopoly on the country’s tourist sector. Therefore – as you can tell by the lack of even a road to the crater – they have clearly decided that it is not in Turkmenistan’s national interest to develop this industry. We’ll discuss why in a moment.
The nature of how Turkmen society works means that the informal sector cannot just step in to fill this gap, which is the reason why many of the world’s other tourist attractions are surrounded by touts and bad tourist infrastructure.
In other words, it is not as if local babushkas can turn up and start selling tea to tourists by the side of the crater, even though we would be the first to support this.
This does, however, have its positives – especially as a company that famously offers “group tours to people who hate group tours.” The Gates to Hell has none of the hideous development, five-hour lines, $50 souvenir photos, and fighting children that blight everywhere from Paris to Phuket.
But wait, what about these rumours?
Rumours about whether Darvaza will be extinguished have circulated for years, rather like your best friend’s on-off relationship that they keep promising to end.
In 2010, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov detailed plans to stop the fires from burning. However, things then went rather quiet… until a 2019 video was released of him doing stunts in a 4×4 while driving around the crater’s rim.
Fast-forward to 2022 and putting out the Gates to Hell was again firmly on the political agenda. Berdymukhamedov asked that his country’s top scientists “find a solution to extinguish the fire.”
However, it’s not as simple as dumping some sand lying around in the crater or finding the world’s largest fire extinguisher.
The fact that there are two other sinkholes nearby – albeit smaller and filled with water and mud – suggests that if Darvaza was filled in or extinguished, the gas would be displaced and create a similar-sized crater nearby.
Great! I don’t need to rush coming to Turkmenistan, then?
Well, it’s complicated. The natural environment may have beaten (or collaborated with) the Turkmen Government in dealing with the Darvaza “problem.”
Over the last couple of years, the brightness and size of the flames at the crater have reduced significantly. While impossible to measure exactly, the “intensity” of the Gate to Hell is around half what it was before the pandemic.
It is possible that after having burnt for 50 years, the nearby gas stores have simply been used up. In effect, the Gates to Hell have burnt themselves out.
It is more likely, however – as has been suggested to us by several sources – that the government has started mining places around it. This would make sense on several levels.
By doing this, the gas pocket in the region surrounding Darvaza would be diverted, effectively extinguishing the fires over time. Then, Turkmenistan can go ahead with more natural gas explorations in the area.
The only thing this would kill off is the proceeds from visitors – which are negligible anyway. Why would you have us pesky tourists giving you limited income when you can have gas money? As a revenue source, it is much larger and logistically easier to control.
While the flames aren’t going to be gone tomorrow, it’s also unlikely that they will be there in ten years times. But when exactly they will finally pitter out for good is anyone’s guess.
Okay, so how can I visit Darvaza?
Thankfully, YPT is one of the largest providers of tours to Turkmenistan! Every year, we offer an average of 5 standalone trips to the country and 3 of our legendary “Five Stans,” which you can check out here. All these itineraries include a visit to the Gates to Hell – it would be rude not to!
We’ve been working in Turkmenistan for over a decade, so it’s no exaggeration to say we know the country like the back of our hand. You can trust us to plan a private itinerary that includes visiting the Gates to Hell should your dates not align with our group tours – or if you just want a more bespoke experience!
The death of Darvaza, regardless of how it happens, will not mean the end of tourism to Turkmenistan. People will still come here to experience one of the most isolated and unique societies on earth, and we hope to keep playing our part in making that happen!
See you in Hell – while we can!
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