Archive · 20 Aug 2026
Turkmenistan's Door to Hell Has Burned for Over 50 Years
The Door to Hell is a large hole in Turkmenistan's desert that has been on fire for over 50 years.
It started when the ground collapsed during a gas-drilling project.
Natural gas began escaping from the hole.
Engineers set the gas on fire because they thought the flames would stop the leak.
They expected the fire to go out after a few weeks, but it kept burning.
The crater is about 70 metres wide and can glow brightly at night.
People now visit it as an unusual tourist attraction.
The government has tried to find ways to put it out, but the fire is still burning.
The Darvaza gas crater began burning after a Soviet drilling site collapsed in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert.
Engineers ignited leaking methane to prevent the gas from spreading, expecting the fire to last only weeks.
The crater is approximately 70 metres wide and 20 to 30 metres deep.
Its underground natural-gas reserves have kept the flames burning for more than five decades.
Government efforts in 2010 and 2022 to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, while the site became a tourist attraction.
- Who
- Soviet gas-drilling engineers started the fire; Turkmenistan's government later sought to extinguish it, and tourists visit the site.
- What
- The Darvaza gas crater, known as the Door to Hell, has been continuously burning for more than 50 years.
- When
- The fire began more than five decades ago; attempts to extinguish it were made in 2010 and 2022.
- Where
- The crater is in the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres north of Ashgabat, near the village of Darvaza.
- Why
- Engineers ignited leaking methane to prevent the gas from spreading to nearby villages, expecting it to burn out within weeks.
Reasons to Extinguish the Fire
Reasons the Site Remains Significant
Environmental and gas concerns
Reasons to Extinguish the Fire
Turkmenistan's government has cited environmental damage and wasted natural gas when asking officials to extinguish the flames.
Reasons the Site Remains Significant
The fire continues because natural gas reserves beneath the site keep feeding it, and no successful alternative to the flames is described.
Industrial accident versus tourist landmark
Reasons to Extinguish the Fire
The crater began as an unintended consequence of a collapsed Soviet gas-drilling site and an attempt to contain leaking methane.
Reasons the Site Remains Significant
The burning crater has become an unusual landmark that attracts travellers to the desert.
- Official name
- Darvaza gas crater
- Nickname
- The Door to Hell
- Location
- Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres north of Ashgabat
- Approximate size
- Around 70 metres wide and 20 to 30 metres deep
- Cause of fire
- Methane gas leaking after a drilling site collapsed
- Expected duration
- Engineers initially expected the fire to burn out in a few weeks
- Extinguishing attempts
- Turkmenistan's leadership sought solutions in 2010 and 2022, but neither attempt worked
- Notable exploration
- George Kourounis became the first person reported to climb into the crater in 2013