Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is the most isolated country in Central Asia and possibly the most surreal. Ashgabat, the capital, is a city of white marble monuments and gold-leafed statues built with gas money and political will into a place that functions more as a stage set than a city. Outside it, the Karakum Desert covers most of the country, and in its centre, the Darvaza gas crater has been burning since a Soviet drilling accident in 1971, a hole of fire in the desert floor that locals call the Door to Hell and that is, at night, exactly that. Visas are controlled and tours largely mandatory, which limits what independent travel here means.

Travel advisory Most visitors travel on organised tours due to visa restrictions. Check current entry requirements before planning travel.

Our guide is being written from the ground up, with the time this place deserves.

We are still gathering the notes that make a guide worth keeping: Darvaza crater timings, Ashgabat's marble boulevards, ancient Merv ruins and the logistics of entering a country that controls its own narrative more tightly than most.