The center of a gas-rich area in the heart of the Karakum desert attracts travelers from all over the world because of its unique burning crater, that offers a spectacular view in the dark.

In the early seventies, an underground cavern filled with natural gas was identified here, remained unexploited, and therefore today looks like a large sinkhole with a diameter of 70 m with hundreds of fires burning inside, some of them with flames up to 10-15 m high.

Previously, tourists had to travel about 300 kilometers from Ashgabat to this area, and after admiring the magnificent spectacle for a while, return to Ashgabad for the night. Now our tourists admire the gas crater for delightful hours from dusk to dawn, because Owadan Tourism has a unique glamping site near the Darwaza gas crater.

Owadan Yurt (Yurts are circular, framed, tent-like structures) Camp in Darwaza is located ~300m away from the burning gas crater of Darwaza. There are 20 yurts divided between 2 camping areas–the first, bigger camp has 15 yurts and the smaller one (located ~200 m south-west) has 5 yurts and available to accommodate for small private groups.

Our yurts are decorated with carpets and felt (koshma), which were purchased from the neighboring village. This is our goal to help local villagers to have a job and increase their earnings and income.

The yurts are equipped with beds and mattresses, warm blankets, pillows, bed sheets, towels and coverlets made by lady staff of our Company in this period of low tourism season.

All yurts are heated with wood-burning stoves and use small solar panels to provide a modest but sufficient electricity supply.

There are 4 western style toilets, 1 shower cabin with non-heated water, 5 water tabs on the territory of a yurt camp.

The camp has an outdoor chayhana with reed canopies, trestles, wide wooden tables, and there is also an indoor dining room in case of poor weather. By special request, dinner can be arranged for guests near the crater. In addition, in the yurt camp you can watch national dishes in tandoor or chargrill are cooked.

Dinner, which is in most cases included in the tour price, will be prepared in the big kettles over an open fire and meat to be grilled on BBQ nearby, and is usually shashlik style chicken; fresh bread, fresh salad, and for vegetarians in particular: grilled vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, onion and sweet pepper. We also serve hot tea and coffee and fresh fruit after the meal.

Breakfast: buffet style selection of hot tea and coffee, packed yogurt, bread, jam, cheese, sweet cake, eggs.

We are trying to cut down on the use of small plastic water bottles by our clients and have a water-bottle filling equipment in our camp. We suggest our clients to fill in their small reusable bottles with water from these 20 L canisters. We cut down on the use of straws, disposable plastic serving-ware, and paper plates at our yurt camp. We have replaced single portions of cereal, yogurt, and jam for our breakfast with big reusable containers to further reduce the carbon foot prints. We shop for food products for our yurt camp from nearby growers and providers. In this way we support local farmers while also reducing the carbon emissions caused by transportation the food from a distance. Menu selection incorporates sustainable offerings, including vegetarian options and other preferences. In addition, guests of the yurt camp can see a paddock with horses, pets and camels, as well as a small vegetable garden in which various vegetables and even melons are grown! Three shepherd dogs, which we call Alabai, are guarding the territory.

If you want to get the most out of a trip to a gas crater, admire its flames enough, and also spend the night in the desert - the Darwaza yurt camp is perfect for realizing your desires!

5 Hidden Places to Visit in Turkmenistan

5 Hidden Places to Visit in Turkmenistan