Like in the movies, huge flames leap out from the massive crater. The temperatures had plummeted to -2°C, still warm as I stood by the glowing hole. The jagged edges were threatening to give way. Middle of the Karakum desert, the Darvaza gas crater has been illuminating the night sky for the last three decades, creating an orange glow that can be seen for miles.

Turkmen of the Teke tribe in the nearby village call it the door to hell. I set up my tent close to the crater. Once the sky had descended into darkness, it was absolute bliss. In the middle of all the nothingness, a city boy long way from home found solitude on a moonless night.

Day 20

A solo overland across Central Asia,

Turkmenistan