Turkmenistan holidays

Turkmenistan is Central Asia's most-closed country — strict visa-on-arrival-only-with-tour requirements, surveillance-heavy government, and a capital (Ashgabat) made entirely of white marble that's in Guinness World Records for the most marble per square metre. Yet the country holds genuinely extraordinary travel experiences: the Darvaza "Gates of Hell" gas crater (a 70m-wide, 30m-deep crater that has been burning continuously since 1971, the surreal flaming visit-by-night is unforgettable); the UNESCO ancient Silk Road city of Merv (one of the largest cities in the medieval world, now atmospheric ruins); the carpet-weaving heritage of Turkmen tribes; the Akhal-Teke horse-breeding tradition (the world's oldest cultivated horse breed, the "golden horses" of Central Asia); and the Karakum Desert's isolated landscapes.

A 7-10 day Turkmenistan trip is necessarily with a registered local tour operator (independent travel not possible): Ashgabat (2-3 nights — the marble city, the Independence Monument, the Akhal-Teke equestrian centre, the Tolkuchka Bazaar at Berkararlyk) → fly to Mary for Merv UNESCO Silk Road ruins (2 nights) → drive across the Karakum Desert to Darvaza gas crater for overnight camp (1 night, the night-time flame visit is the trip highlight) → Konye-Urgench UNESCO Silk Road ruins on the Uzbek border (1 night) → exit to Uzbekistan via Khiva. The Lebap region in the east is rarely visited but holds the Yangykala Canyon and the Caspian Sea coast.