The closest thing to hell on Earth lies in Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert. There, a fire pit known as the Darvaza Crater earned the name “Gates of Hell”—or “Door to Hell”—because it ...

It is a crater in the middle of the Karakum desert, 70 meters or around 300 feet wide and about 30 meters or 98 feet deep. It is a hole in the depths of the earth that emits flammable gases.

The Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor is a key section of the Silk Roads in Central Asia that connects other corridors from all directions. Located in rugged mountains, fertile river valleys, and ...