Journey into the Door to Hell.
This fiery pit has become known as the Door to Hell, and with thousands of flames
that lick continuous heat all day and night it certainly lives up to its name.
We take a journey to one of Earth’s most unusual and visually stunning sights
- found in the Turkmenistan desert; it’s far from easy to get to and not one of your normal tourist destinations.
Getting to the crater is an off-road ride and drivers have been known to get stuck in the desert dunes
or lost in this dusty barren wilderness. Also known as the ‘Gates of Hell’, the Darvaza Gas Crater is in fact
a natural gas field that collapsed into a cavern located near the since abandoned village of Derweze.
Its foreboding name was given by locals, referring to the fire, boiling mud, and orange flames
in this large eerie looking sinkhole. Its name really takes on a meaning at night, as if the
underworld had risen from the depths of the Earth to burn bright against the complete darkness of the desert.
Found in the isolated Karakum Desert, the gas reserve found here is one of the largest in the world,
burning high pressure methane gas. The crater covers a huge 5,350 sqm (57,587 sq.ft.).
Its diameter is 70m (230 ft.), and its depth is 30m (98 ft.).
There are no records of the events that led to its formation and so the details are disputed by locals.
The story most often told is that of Soviet engineers who, in 1971, identified substantial oil fields here and set
up a drilling rig to assess the quantity available. Soon after the preliminary survey found a natural gas pocket,
but the fragile ground beneath couldn’t support the weight of the equipment and it collapsed
into a wide crater and was buried. It’s said that you can still see metal pipes sticking out of the ground
amongst the fiery torches that bear witness to this man made creation.
Expecting releases of dangerously flammable gas in the vicinity of nearby villages and potential harm to wildlife,
the engineers decided to set it alight and burn off the methane gas. They estimated that the gas
would burn out within a few weeks, but were about as wrong as anyone could be,
since it has instead continued to burn for half a century and, while it is expected to keep on burning,
it could suddenly extinguish tomorrow or keep going for 100 years – nobody can be sure
just how much gas is feeding the fires. You won’t be surprised to hear that the crater has become a
spectacular tourist attraction to feature in geographical television programmes.
Many brave the difficult journey to witness the incredible crater and experience a once in
a lifetime camping experience – quite an incredible place to enjoy a BBQ against the backdrop
of such a huge furnace like crater. Nevertheless, the intense heat and fumes that rise from the crater
can get the better of even the most intrepid explorer. Visitors bold enough to stand on the crater’s edge
say that temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
But what’s more stunning is that someone has actually descended into the depths of the crater,
where temperatures must be upwards of 1000 degrees Celsius (1832 degrees Fahrenheit).
On July 16th, 2014 explorer George Kourounis (aided by months of training,
a fire proof suit and breathing apparatus), became the first person to brave the heat and flames
to set foot at the bottom and gather soil samples. Incredibly, analysis of the samples revealed bacteria
thriving in this methane rich environment, demonstrating life exists
in this extremely harsh and yet magnificent fiery pit.