Darvaza Gas Crater

    Turkmenistan

    A collapsed natural gas field that has been burning a mesmerizing fire in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

    Warmest month is July at 39°C on average. Coolest is January at 6°C.

    Costs and travel essentials

    • CoffeeWorld Bank PPP baseline
      $1.25 (~$1.25)
      Country-level price estimate for Turkmenistan, 2026-07-11. Scaled from a US baseline, not a local survey.
    • BeerWorld Bank PPP baseline
      $1.75 (~$1.75)
      Country-level price estimate for Turkmenistan, 2026-07-11. Scaled from a US baseline, not a local survey.
    • Flight timeMethodology
      6h 30m from London Heathrow
      Great-circle plus routing overhead.
    • Flight CO2eDEFRA 2024 factors
      1,754 kg return from London Heathrow
      DEFRA 2024 economy factors, includes radiative forcing.
    • Tap waterCDC / WHO guidance
      Do not drink from the tap; use bottled or treated water.
    MonthAvg highDaily spreadRain days
    January6°13°C·
    February10°16°C·
    March17°16°C·
    April24°15°C·
    May31°13°C·
    June37°9°C·
    July39°9°C·
    August36°8°C·
    September30°10°C·
    October21°13°C·
    November13°15°C·
    December6°14°C·

    What to do

    • Camp nearby to watch the crater glow against the midnight sky
    • Walk the desert perimeter to experience the intense heat
    • Explore the nearby bubbling mud and water craters
    • Drive off-road through the surrounding desolate Karakum Desert

    How we know this

    Values are the average of the last ten calendar years of daily readings from Visual Crossing, snapped to the destination cluster. Daily spread is the width between the 10th and 90th percentiles of daily highs, not a forecast error margin. Rain days count any day with at least 1 mm of precipitation.