Turkmenistan Derweze Tours

How the Crater Came to Burn

The most common account traces the crater to a Soviet drilling accident in 1971, when the ground collapsed into a gas-filled cavern and engineers set it alight to burn off the methane, expecting it to clear within days. More than fifty years later it is still burning, though some researchers question parts of that origin story.

Reaching a Remote Corner of the Karakum

Derweze sits several hours by desert road from Ashgabat, and most visitors time the drive to arrive at dusk, when the glow from the pit is most dramatic against the dark sand. Simple camping near the rim, with the crater's heat replacing a fire, has become the standard way to spend the night out here.