How would you like to visit the gates of hell? Without risk of actually ending up in hell, of course. The Darvaza gas crater in Derweze, Turkmenistan is exactly that! Also known as the Door to Hell, this strange eco disaster has been burning possibly for over 30 years.

The story goes that in 1971 there was a Soviet ground drilling rig that made an error by punching into an underground natural gas cavern. They were originally looking for an oil field site. The ground collapsed around it, taking the rig with it. Poisonous fumes poured out and so the Soviets set the hole on fire, as you do, in the hopes it would burn itself out. Obviously, it never did. (Fun fact, Turkmenistan is the sixth largest natural gas reserve in the world)

Some local geologists to the area though believe the incident happened in the ‘60s and the fire wasn’t lit until the ‘80s. It’s hard to be precise unfortunately as there are no incident reports to research.

Regardless, the fire continues to burn strong creating visuals at night that a giant opening to hell is alive and well in the sprawling desert. There’s nothing else around it for miles.

The door to hell is 225 feet wide and 99 feet deep. In 2013, explorer George Kourounis plunged to the bottom of the crater where he collected soil samples. His goal was to study whether life could survive down there. He had to wear a heat-reflective suit and a self-contained breathing apparatus, also a custom made climbing harness that wouldn’t melt down in “hell”. (Fun fact, Kourounis also hired a stunt coordinator to set him on fire a few times to prepare himself)

Kourounis described the bottom of the pit saying there were thousands of small fires, but no smoke, and it was so loud it sounded like a jet engine….or perhaps the screaming of demons. (He didn’t say that last part, I’m embellishing for the DRAMA of it all).

Ultimately, he did find some bacteria living at the bottom of hell that was not also found in the surrounding desert. An interesting find that scientists can use to study other planets with a similar environment.

Nearby is a 350-person village called Darvaza, and if you want to visit, they offer camel tours and you can camp in the nearby desert. So, perhaps when Covid19 has passed, and travel is allowed again – you can go stand at the gates of hell and see what happens.

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Written by Charlotte

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