Travel in Turkmenistan: when to go, places and advice

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.

Capital: Ashgabat
Currency: Manat (TMT)
Language: Turkmen, Russian as lingua franca
Direct flight: No direct flight, via Istanbul
Time difference: +4 hr in winter, +3 hr in summer

Itineraries

Our trip ideas in Turkmenistan

The itineraries in Turkmenistan are in the works: the day-by-day programme, named hotels, tickets to book flagged in advance. Leave your address to be notified when they come out.

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The right season

When to go in Turkmenistan?

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.

January : In-between
February : In-between
March : Pleasant
April : Ideal
May : Ideal
June : In-between
July : Avoid
August : Avoid
September : Ideal
October : Ideal
November : Pleasant
December : In-between

Ideal
Pleasant
In-between
Avoid

Quick guide

Understanding Turkmenistan

Getting around

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.

Money

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.

Language

Turkmen, with Russian remaining the lingua franca of the cities. English is rare outside the guides: a few words of Russian do real service.

Useful apps

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.

Accommodation

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.

Etiquette

Photograph neither the official buildings nor the police, omnipresent in Ashgabat. Turkmen hospitality is real: tea and bread are hard to refuse, honour them.

The iconic places

Darvaza Crater

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.

Merv

Mary

One of the greatest cities of the Silk Road, which rivalled Baghdad before Genghis Khan. Clay mausoleums and citadels, UNESCO.

Konye-Urgench

Daşoguz

The former capital of Khorezm and its Kutlug-Timur minaret, 60 m of 14th-century brick raised over the steppe, UNESCO.

Yangykala Canyons

Balkanabat

Cliffs striped pink, white and ochre plunging towards the old bed of the Caspian. The Turkmen grand canyon, without a single visitor.

Nisa

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.

Tap a dot, or browse the list below the map.

Darvaza Crater : The Gates of Hell burning since 1971
Ashgabat : The white-marble capital
Nisa : The Parthian fortress, UNESCO
Merv : The great city of the Silk Road
Konye-Urgench : Minarets of Khorezm, UNESCO
Yangykala Canyons : Pink cliffs above the Caspian
Kow Ata Cave : An underground lake of warm sulphurous water
Awaza : The Caspian seaside zone