One of the least visited countries in the world keeps Silk Road treasures: the Darvaza gas crater burning for half a century in the middle of the Karakum desert, the ruins of Merv and Konye-Urgench, the pink canyons of Yangykala and Ashgabat, a white-marble capital of surreal records. The trip takes preparation: a demanding visa, a compulsory guide for most itineraries, but the reward is absolute otherworldliness, far from any mass tourism.
Itineraries
The itineraries in Turkmenistan are in the works: the day-by-day program, named hotels, tickets to book flagged in advance. Leave your address to be notified when they come out.
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Itineraries available in Asia
We don't sell an itinerary in Turkmenistan yet. Here are the ones already on sale, for other countries.
Classic
Four days in Tokyo, one night in Hakone, five in Kyoto with a day trip to Nara, and a last one in Osaka, by train, subway and on foot.
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Classic
The northern island in two weeks: Sapporo, Otaru, the Furano hills, the Shiretoko Peninsula, the eastern lakes and Hakodate.
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Classic
Japan's hidden side in two weeks: Kinosaki Onsen, the Tottori dunes, Izumo, the Shimanami Kaido and the Iya valley.
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Module
Five days in Gyeonggi province: the cosmopolitan port of Incheon and the futuristic city of Songdo, the border island of Ganghwa and its dolmens, the UNESCO-listed fortresses of Namhansanseong and Hwaseong, the folk village and Everland.
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The right season
April-May and September-October frame the summer: 20 to 30 °C, a passable desert, superb light on the canyons. At the height of summer, the Karakum tops 45 °C and makes the stages punishing. Winter, cold and windy, keeps an austere charm in Ashgabat but complicates the nights in camp.
Quick guide
The itineraries are done by 4x4 with a driver, the only way to reach Darvaza and Yangykala on the Karakum tracks. Trains and domestic flights exist, slow but very cheap.
The manat (TMT). Foreign bank cards barely work at all: bring new dollars for the whole stay and change as you go. Everything is paid in cash.
Turkmen, with Russian remaining the lingua franca of the cities. English is rare outside the guides: a few words of Russian do real service.
The internet is heavily filtered and slow: download offline maps, a translator and your documents before arrival, and warn your family you will be hard to reach.
State hotels in Ashgabat, yurts and camps under the stars at Darvaza: the contrast sums up the country. Comfort is simple everywhere outside the capital.
Photograph neither the official buildings nor the police, omnipresent in Ashgabat. Turkmen hospitality is real: tea and bread are hard to refuse, honour them.
Must-sees
Karakum
The Gates of Hell: a 70 m gas crater aflame since 1971 in the middle of the desert. The night in camp facing the flames is unforgettable.
Ashgabat
The white-marble capital, Guinness records for fountains and an enclosed Ferris wheel, golden statues and deserted avenues. Fascinating strangeness.
Mary
One of the greatest cities of the Silk Road, which rivalled Baghdad before Genghis Khan. Clay mausoleums and citadels, UNESCO.
Daşoguz
The former capital of Khorezm and its Kutlug-Timur minaret, 60 m of 14th-century brick raised over the steppe, UNESCO.
Balkanabat
Cliffs striped pink, white and ochre plunging towards the old bed of the Caspian. The Turkmen grand canyon, without a single visitor.
Ashgabat
The Parthian fortress at the gates of the capital, cradle of an empire that stood up to Rome. A UNESCO site at the foot of the Kopet-Dag.
Pick a point on the map, or browse the list below.
Also on the map
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