Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan · Desert Adventure

3-Day Turkmenistan Highlights Tour from Farap with Darvaza Crater

3 Days Round trip from Фараб Easy pace

View all 12 photos

The journey

Trip highlights

01 Explore Ancient Merv, a UNESCO World Heritage site
02 Visit the early Bronze Age Gonur Depe ruins
03 Witness the spectacular Darvaza Gas Crater at night
04 Discover Ashgabat's white marble landmarks and parks
05 Tour Kunya-Urgench's historic mausoleums and minaret
06 Experience traditional life in the village of Erbent

Embark on a 3-day journey through Turkmenistan from the Farap/Alat border, exploring Ancient Merv, the Bronze Age site of Gonur Depe, and the Mary History Museum. Continue to Ashgabat to discover its white marble landmarks, parks, and the UNESCO-listed Old Nisa Fortress. Travel onward to the spectacular Darvaza Gas Crater, with a stop in Erbent to observe rural Turkmen life in the Karakum Desert. The tour concludes with the architectural monuments of Kunya-Urgench before crossing the border to Uzbekistan.

Powerful gas exhausts at various intervals emit huge tongues of red-blue flame several meters upward, creating the illusion of something unreal and otherworldly.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 3 Days

Tour type Private

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Included · Budget

Transport Included

Wheelchair access Yes

Cities Ashgabat, Dasoguz, Kunya Urgench, Turkmenabat, Mari, Darvaza

Languages Azerbaijani, English, Russian, Turkish

Day by day

The itinerary

Day 01

Farap Border Crossing, Mary and Ancient Merv

Meet your local guide at the Alat/Farap border point. The meeting time depends on when you cross the border.
After crossing the border, you may need to take a COVID test, which costs $35 USD.
Upon arrival at the border point, complete customs procedures and drive for 1 hour to Turkmenabad International Airport to catch a flight to Ashgabat. The trip will take approximately 6 hours by car.
Upon arrival in Mary, visit Ancient Merv, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important archaeological site in Central Asia that played a significant role in the development of the Silk Road for more than 2,000 years.
Drive to Gonur Depe, an archaeological site dating from 2400 to 1600 BCE, located about 60 km north of Mary (ancient Merv), Turkmenistan. It consists of a large early Bronze Age settlement and is considered the "capital," or major settlement, of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC).
Drive to Mary and visit the Mary History Museum.
Enjoy a city tour and visit shopping places such as the Green Bazaar.
At 23:00, transfer to the railway station.
At 00:50, depart from Mary to Ashgabat, where you will spend the night in an air-conditioned sleeping car.

Day 02

Ashgabat City Tour and Darvaza Gas Crater

08:00: Arrival in Ashgabat.
Excursions include an Ashgabat city tour and the Old Nisa Fortress. The Sanctuary of Parthian Kings, Old Nisa, was the capital of the Parthian Empire, which lasted 600 years and was the greatest enemy of the Roman Empire.
After the excursion to Old Nisa, continue with a sightseeing tour of Ashgabat. The tour includes the Health Trail in the mountains, the Monument and Park of Independence, the Neutrality Tower, the Ferris wheel, and the Wedding Palace. Everything is white and dressed in expensive white marble - that is why Ashgabat is called the white marble capital.
If you look at Ashgabat from a bird's-eye view, you can see two main colours - white and green. White is marble, and green comes from the many parks throughout the city. Ashgabat residents are rightfully proud of their parks, in the coolness of which, on hot summer evenings, residents of all ages relax and stroll.
15:00: Trip to Darvaza Gas Crater, a substantial flaming crater located 270 km north of Ashgabat, with a drive of about 5 hours. On the way to Darvaza, visit the village of Erbent or Bahardok to observe the rural life of Turkmen people. Erbent, located in the heart of Turkmenistan about 4 hours north of Ashgabat, is a destination for those interested in the traditions of Turkmen nomads. Felt products and carpets, camel milk, yurt life, hunting dogs, superstitions, and magical beliefs make up pastoral life in Erbent. The word "oasis" becomes less and less appropriate as the sands of the Karakum Desert take over the village. Soon it will be swallowed whole.
Continue to the water, clay, and gas craters. Enjoy the spectacular and fascinating view of the Gas Crater in the evening. To truly enjoy this end of the world, it is best to arrive before sunset. Only in the dark is the full beauty of this phenomenon revealed. Powerful gas exhausts at various intervals emit huge tongues of red-blue flame several meters upward, creating the illusion of something unreal and otherworldly. People have always been attracted by the light of fire and everything unusual, but this spectacle gives rise to new feelings of something supernatural.
Stay in a camp with tasty catering - dinner picnic-style, the perfect way to enjoy this highlight. Observe the fantastic view of the crater during daylight and at night, feel the heat, and listen to the sound this giant oven creates. Overnight at the camp.

Day 03

Darvaza to Kunya-Urgench and Border Crossing

6:00 AM: Breakfast at the camp.
7:00 AM: Drive to the northern province of Turkmenistan to visit the architectural monuments of Old Urgench, which is 270 km away and will take 5-6 hours.
Kunya-Urgench served as the capital of Khorezm in the 10th-12th centuries.
1:00 PM: Visit the Mausoleum of Najm al-Din al-Kubra, Tyurabek Khanum, Il-Arslan, Tekesh Ibn Hadzhibey, and Kutlyg Timur, the highest minaret in Central Asia.
3:00 PM: Transfer to Dashoguz, to the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border point (1-2 hours). Cross the border.
End of the tour.