Ahal Region, Turkmenistan

Ahal

Turkmenistan's south-central heartland, where the Karakum Desert meets the Kopet Dag Mountains and Silk Road ruins.

Best seasonApril–June and September–October

Ahal is the south-central province of Turkmenistan, stretching from the Karakum Desert sands to the Kopet Dag Mountains along the Iranian and Afghan borders. It cradles the marble capital Ashgabat and a landscape that swings from gas-flame craters and underground lakes to cool mountain gorges and ancient walled towns. Its most famous sight is the Darvaza gas crater, the "Door to Hell" that has burned in the heart of the Karakum for decades and glows hypnotically after dark. Just outside Ashgabat lie the ruins of Old and New Nisa, capitals of the Parthian Empire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while the 15th-century Anau Mosque is remembered for its rare dragon mosaic. Nature is equally dramatic. At Kow Ata (Bakharden Underground Lake) visitors swim in a warm sulphur lake deep inside a cave, while the gorges of Firuza and Chuli offer mountain streams and clear desert air. The highland village of Nokhur preserves distinctive felt-making and silk embroidery, and the Karakum oases of Erbent and Damla keep Teke and Yomud nomadic traditions alive. Layered with proto-cities like Altyn-Depe and Namazga-Depe, caravanserais, fortresses and medieval mausoleums such as Meane Baba, Ahal is a region where every valley hides millennia of history.

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