In the Christian religion, hell is a hell where sinners go to be punished for their actions. Naturally, few people want to face this abode of the devil in real life. There is one place in Turkmenistan - the Darvaz crater, which looks like two drops of water like images of hell from old books. Many people believe that this giant hole in the ground leads directly to the underworld.
Darvaza crater - the gates of hell?
Getting there is not so easy, because the path to the road to the underworld lies through the Karakum desert - a huge desert where there is practically nothing alive. The very position of Darvaza makes her mystical, because it is possible that the gate to hell should be located where there will be as few curious people as possible.
It is difficult to meet someone here, except perhaps rare camels or shepherds, and there are no settlements for tens of thousands of meters. The nearest village is located 90 kilometers from Darvaza, and this is not a short way, given the complete absence of roads.
In the middle of the dead sands there is a gigantic crater, from which flames literally burst out, like from the underworld! This place is the Darvaza crater - "well into hell", as tourists call it. Approaching the edge of the crater is deadly - the temperature there is so high that you can simply burn to death.
Two more are located not so far from this crater, but the gas pressure in them is not so strong, and the fire is no longer burning, so they do not produce such a frightening impression as Darvaza. One of these craters has a turquoise liquid at the bottom and a light gray liquid in the other.
It looks, of course, very beautiful, but does not cause a strange awe and panic: just a picturesque well is not as interesting as real hell! Being near this place, many feel as if the Earth survived the Apocalypse, and there are no more living, and hell has opened up to swallow sinners.
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How this "well to hell" was formed
In fact, the story of the origin of Darvaza is not as romantic and interesting as it might seem. It was all very prosaic.
In 1971, geologists discovered gas in this place, so drilling work began immediately here. But there was an air pocket under the ground that filled the space, so the soil fell into the crater. The tower with all the equipment also fell into the hole, but by an incredible coincidence, no one died.
The opening was filled with gas quite quickly, and so that it would not kill animals and rare plants in these places, it was decided to set it on fire. Scientists calculated that the flame would go out after running out of fuel after a few days, but they were wrong.
For more than 40 years, the crater has been burning, burning gas, illuminating the area both night and day. It is not known when the reserves of "blue fuel" will run out, but one can imagine how much of it was destroyed just like that, although the production could be restored.
It is possible that superstitious fear and fear of a curse prevent people from making Darvaza an ordinary crater for resource extraction. Or maybe the road to hell really stretches out in the middle of Turkmenistan?..