Ever dreamt about camping near the famous Dharavaza gas crater? Hearing the roaring sound of the flames while enjoying the views together with a group of likeminded travelers? Well, now is your chance! Join the trip either from overland or by flying into Ashgabat.

Day 1 (September 24th): Arrival Day

Option 1: Arrival at Bajgiran border point near Ashgabat in the afternoon. Dinner
at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

Option 2: Arrival at Ashgabat International airport. Border formalities. Meet
the group and the guide. Transfer to the city and accommodation at the hotel.

Please note: there are no planned activities this day. Spend some time to relax before the trip starts the next morning.

Day 2 (September 25th): Ashgabat- Darvaza

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit The National Museum of Turkmenistan. Then proceed to Berkarar Shopping Mall to stock up with food for Darvasa. Lunch at the mall. In the afternoon drive to Darvasa (4hours). On the way stop by Yerbent village. Located about 180km north of Ashgabat, the village was founded in 19th century and now it became one of the biggest villages in Karakum desert. Proceed to Darvasa with stops at the Water and Mud Craters. The first one has neither fire nor a particularly pungent smell. Instead, it is partly filled with water, through which gas bubbles gently up. The second crater is a deep, circular hole; a metal barrier surrounds this somewhat smaller crater. There is no fire here, though it too offers a strong smell of gas. The settlement was once the site of a sulphur works, which closed in the 1980s. Prospecting for gas during the Soviet period has resulted in a curious series of sights around the area: several large, circular craters, one of which is aflame. The gas crater is roughly circular in plan, some 60m in diameter. Its floor crackles with hundreds of small fires, the flames fiercest around the edge. Dinner at the Gas Crater. Overnight in a traditional Turkmen yurt/ tents.

Day 3 (September 26th): Darvaza- Kunyaurgench- Ashgabat

Breakfast at the camp. Then drive to Kunya-Urgench (5hrs), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was once a glorious capital of the medieval Khorezmshah Empire and the biggest Muslim empire of the late 12th to early 13th centuries. On arrival in Kunya-Urgench, we will have a close look at outstanding monuments of the medieval Khorezm. We will also visit the 14th century Mausoleum of Turabek Khanum, one of the best living examples of the architecture of its period.  Other architectures includes Minaret of Kutlug Timur, a former highest minaret of Central Asia that used to form a part of the main cathedral mosque of the city, Mausoleum of Sultan Tekesh, a beautiful 12th century mausoleum with one of the earliest portals of the east and a unique cone of dome, Kyrk-Mollah mound, the fabled al-Mamun’s Academy of Sciences and the Mausoleum of Il-Arslan, a tiny precursor of unique Khorezmian Mausoleums with a pyramidal cone as its dome. Lunch at the local restaurant. In the late afternoon drive to Dashoguz city (1,5hrs) and have dinner at a local restaurant. Then transfer to Dashoguz airport to catch a flight to Ashgabat. Arrival and dinner in Ashgabat. Evening city tour with visits of Independence Park and the Monument of Independence, Neutrality Arch, Monument of Constitution, Alem Entertainment center, Bagt Koshgi (Matrimonial center) and the Olympic village of Ashgabat built to host V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 4 (September 27th): Ashgabat- Turkmenbashi

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the ruins of XV century Seyit-Jemal-Et-Din mosque. Go to the Russian Bazaar and Artogrul Gazi Mosque. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon drive to Bagyr village to explore Nisa fortress -the Sanctuary of Parthian Kings. UNESCO declared the fortress a World Heritage Site in 2007. Drive to visit the biggest Mosque in Central Asia Ruhy Mosque (Gypjak) and Mausoleum of the first President of Turkmenistan. Transfer to the train station to catch the 17:50 train to Turkmenbashi. Dinner in the train. Overnight in the train.

Day 5 (September 28th): Turkmenbashi- Yangikala

Arrival in Turkmenbashi at 08:15am. Explore the town. Visit touristic zone Awaza. Go to a local bazaar and get food for Yangikala. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then drive to the Yangikala canyons (3,5hrs) which are located 165 km to the north of Balkanabat and 160 km to the east of Turkmenbashi. The word expression” yangi kala” is translated from Turkmen as “fire fortresses”. Indeed, the sheer cliffs of white, yellow, ocher, purple and red colors, fancily carved by winds and rains, are very similar to the stone castles from a fantasy. Once, the bottom of the canyons was the bottom of an ancient sea. In addition, today you can walk there, like in a natural park of sculptures made of compressed soil, sloughing in hands. For this reason, although you can climb the variegated hills, you cannot handhold the buttress. BBQ for dinner. Overnight in tents.

Day 6 (September 29th): Yangikala- Balkanabat- Nohur

Breakfast at the canyons. Drive to Balkanabat (4hrs). Arrival and lunch in Balkanabat. Then drive to Nohur (3hrs). The village fills a small depression valley in the mountains of the Kopet Dag Range, and the houses are been built with local boulders cemented with mud. Nohur is the largest village in the mountains with just about two thousand people. Explore the village. Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.

Day 7 (September 30th): Nohur- Ashgabat

Breakfast at the guesthouse. Then drive to Ashgabat. On the way visit Kow-Ata underground lake that is located 107 km from Ashgabat. At first glance, this underground area appears like a magnificent auditorium: the overall length of the cave is 230 m, its height reaches 20 m, and its width is at some points 57 m. The bottom of the cave is covered with lumps of dissolved limestone (stalagmites), and its warm and gushing water is clear and emerald colored. The water has a constant temperature of 33-37°C. Continue to Ashgabat with a stop at a private horse stable. Get acquainted with the pride of Turkmens – famous Akhalteke horses. Arrival and lunch in Ashgabat. Hotel accommodation. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 8 (October 1st): Departure Day

Early in the morning transfer to Ashgabat International Airport. There are no planned activities this day.

THE END OF THE TOUR.