Nathan's Insights

Thursday 01 June 2023
Highlights: The amazing Darvaza Gas Crater (Gates of Hell) at Dawn, Hiking in the Karakum Desert, Exploring Ashgabat at night

Waking up at 5 am I did a short walk from my yurt to the Darvaza Gas Crater for another look at the unique phenomenon.

I returned to my yurt for a little more sleep before our 8 am breakfast. This was my third yurt stay of the trip and they are all very different but one thing is no shower the next day!

As we started our journey in our 4 wheel drive vehicles we did a few stops, once more at the Darvaza Gas Crater and next at some sand dunes for a short walk.

We also stopped at a mud crater (with a small fire) and a water crater both in the Karakum Desert.

The roads to Ashgabat were must more pleasant and less bumpy and hair raising. Around 4.5 hours of driving we arrived in the marble city with his enormous and numerous monuments.

We checked into our final hotel to rest up and freshen up with showers. I found time to use the hotel pool that was almost overrun by children jumping in and running around.

We left for dinner at 7.30 pm with the weather dropping to around 25-26c. The drive to the restaurant gave us a good view of the city. We ate at a place called Central Park on a 7th story structure on the balcony. A great way to eat and see the city light up.

After dinner we went on a night drive city tour for around an hour. Ashgabat is both massive and beautiful.

The city obviously doesn’t worry about the cost of power.

Around 11 pm we arrived back at our hotel for a night’s rest.