| Official Name: | Derweze |
| Native Name: | Derweze |
| Other Name: | go, Russian: Дарваза |
| Pushpin Map: | Turkmenistan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Turkmenistan |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name: | Turkmenistan |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ahal Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ak bugdaý District |
| Population As Of: | 1989 census |
| Population Total: | 1,683 |
| Coordinates: | 40.2526°N 58.4394°W |
Darvaza (from Persian: دروازه, Turkmen: Derweze) is a rural council (village council) in Ak bugdaý District, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan of about 2 thousand inhabitants, located in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 km north of Ashgabat. The rural council consists of three separate villages: Derweze (formerly Aeroport) (the administrative center), Ataguýy, and Böri.[1]
Darvaza's inhabitants are mostly Turkmen of the Teke tribe, preserving a semi-nomadic lifestyle. In 2004 the village was disbanded following the order of the President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, because "it was an unpleasant sight for tourists." The village was reestablished, by the renaming of "Aeroport" village to Derweze on 28 April 2016.[2]
The Darvaza area is served by the Ashgabat-Dashoguz Automobile Highway and the Içoguz station on the Trans-Karakum Railway. A landing strip for small cargo aircraft is located at the village of Derweze.[3]
See main article: Darvaza gas crater. The Darvaza area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas.[4] [5] The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70m (230feet) at . The fire may have originated from a local Soviet decision to avoid poisonous gas discharge, by burning off the gas,[6] [7] and while geologists had hoped the fire would consume the fuel in a few days, the gas is still burning fifty years later.
Locals have named the crater the "Door to Hell".[8]