Derweze is a small village in Turkmenistan of just around 350 nomadic inhabitants. But this is not what interests most of the visitors to the town. Instead, people come to visit the so-called “Door to Hell.”

In 1971, geologists were drilling in the area when they accidentally discovered a pocket of natural gas. Quickly, the land beneath the drilling rig began crumbling and it collapsed, leaving a hole of 230 feet in its wake. To ensure that toxic fumes were not released (such as methane) they set the pit ablaze. Typically a fire like this would last a few days, but this fire is still burning to today. No one has been successful in stopping the fire.