Project Description
On the Internet, a large popular photos and video with the mysterious name "Gateway to Hell", which show, as the middle of the desert from the ground fire erupts. flame View, burning among yellow desert sand, It fascinates and intrigues even seasoned travelers. But few know, how there was this miracle of nature, located in 266 kilometers north of Ashgabat.
AT 1971 year in Karakum desert, near the small village Darwaza, whose name is translated from Turkmen means "gate", We started to drill an exploratory well in the presence of gas. During the drilling of an incident: geologists accidentally uncovered an underground cavity, which failed all the equipment together with a drilling derrick and transportation. People were not injured, but the cavity broke natural gas. In order not to bring problems to local residents from the same village Darwaza, geologists decided to burn the gas, hoping, it will burn out completely in a few days. As the weeks passed, months and years, And the fire still burning, not abated. AT 2004 by order of Turkmenbashi village was moved to a different location, and the gas crater Darwaz continued to glow. He lit today. Nobody knows, how long it will last, whether runs, finally, gas reserves or fire pit will eventually be covered with, because gas - a valuable resource, and here he spent "idle" for several decades. However, gas crater Darwaz remains one of the most interesting and mysterious attractions Turkmenistan, attracts many tourists.
If you drive up to the "gates of hell" clear day, you seem, that is the usual hole in the ground, not worthy of the dark mystical names. Only coming closer, you will see hundreds of tongues of fire, glowing in the twenty-meter crater. Gas sees through sandstone surface and ignited, further fueling the already heated air. If you examine this attraction early evening, you can fully enjoy the fascinating spectacle of slowly sinking into the darkness of the crater and orange flames – and all this against the backdrop of the setting sun. Around the crater has a few more failures, one of them is filled with liquid turquoise. Dips better inspected before dark and very carefully: the edges are strongly crumble, besides good feel too close elevated temperature and odor of natural gas.
Gas Darvaza Crater is very different from many natural attractions worldwide, first of all a sense of calm and pristine: there is no paid parking, footpaths, fences and stalls, selling souvenirs. Around only desert, and for many kilometers there is not a soul.
Only the nearest cafe, where you can eat, It located a few kilometers south of the crater. The nearest shops can be found only in the village Erbent, which is located in 90 kilometers from the crater.
When traveling to the gas crater should be considered, that regardless of the level the road without potholes, which runs from Ashgabat, the last few kilometers are on the sandy segment, which can be reached only on the SUV.
