The Door to Hell Expedition
Ashgabat → Darvaza → Mary → Merv
Ashgabat → Darvaza → Mary → Merv
Duration
5 days
Route
4 stops
Group
Private · escorted
From
€1,850 pp
The journey
Fewer people see Turkmenistan in a year than see Venice in a morning. The paperwork is the hard part — and it’s our part. Yours is the crater at midnight, when the desert is black and the Door to Hell holds the only light to the horizon.
Letters of invitation handled long before; a first drive through the white-marble capital.
⌂ Ashgabat Meals: D
Golden domes, the Tolkuchka bazaar's carpets and world-record monuments in every direction.
⌂ Ashgabat Meals: B
North by 4×4 to Darvaza — sunset dinner beside a crater that has burned for decades.
⌂ Desert camp at the crater Meals: B, D
Dawn at the crater's rim, then south across the desert to Mary's museum.
⌂ Mary Meals: B, D
The Seljuk monuments of mighty Merv with an archaeologist, then fly out via Ashgabat.
Meals: B, L
Every route is a starting point — dates, pace and hotels bend to you.
Our own offices and vetted partners, with 24/7 support while you travel.
Request-based — you receive a tailored proposal before any commitment.
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From €1,850 pp · 5 days
Request a quoteA practical guide to visiting Turkmenistan's Darvaza gas crater in the Karakum desert — access, timing, camping and what the site involves.
A season-by-season guide to Central Asia's climate across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, from spring blossom to winter's high passes.
An orientation guide to visa planning across the five Central Asian countries, with pointers to official sources and how Explore Orient supports your trip.