A Fiery Crater “Door to hell” has been burning in the Karakum Desert, Know the Interesting Story

The Darvaza gas crater or ‘Door to hell’ is a 60 m wide and 20 m deep hole in the heart of the hot Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. This crater has been on fire for the last 40 years. The large crater is a result of a Soviet gas exploration accident that occurred in 1971. Technically known as the Darvaza gas crater, locals know the crater as “The Gates of Hell” or ‘Door to hell’. its fiery glow can be seen for miles around.

The Karakum area of Turkmenistan is rich in natural gas. It is said that while drilling in 1971, the Soviets oil rig tapped into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall inside the crater. To prevent the escape of poisonous gas into the atmosphere, geologists decided to set the pit on fire. Geo-scientist hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a few days, but the supply of natural gas below the crater is near infinite. The gas-fed flames continue burning to this day.

The Soviet drilling rig is believed to still be down somewhere, on the other side of the “Door to Hell.” It is burning with a tremendous amount of flame and the smell of burning sulfur can be detected from a distance that becomes quite strong as you near the hot edge of the crater. “Day or night, it is clearly burning. Visitors can hear the roar of the fire if they stand at the edge. There are thousands of little flames all around the edges and towards the center.

‘’Door to hell’’ is the favorite destination for Geo-tourist. People can trek into the desert to witness the site in all its blazing glory. Turkmenistan government hopes it’ll become a tourist site. The nearby desert has already become a popular place for wilderness camps.

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