How to visit the Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan

Most travel ads promise you Heaven on Earth, but it turns out that tours to Hell are available, too. All you have to do is get a visa for Turkmenistan and head to one of its top destinations: Darvaza Gas Crater, known locally as The Gates of Hell.

Learn the story of the Gates of Hell before you get there

Although the sight and the smell of the crater will make you feel like you're at the doorstep of the real Hell, you shouldn't be afraid to step right up close. Darvaza has been burning since 1971, yet still no demons have ever emerged from its fiery maw. In fact, it was not some religious fanatic who dug out the fiery pit but a group of Russian workers searching for oil back in the '70s (now they know it's gas, not oil, that keeps the eternal flame burning).

During the initial phases of the search, the drilling rig set to measure the quantity of oil was suddenly swallowed after the ground under it collapsed into a gas pocket. The workers were worried that the gas might poison the nearby villages, so they decided to set it alight in the hope it would burn out. Today, more than 45 years later, it is still burning.