Turkmenistan

Overview

Turkmenistan is the least visited country of Central Asia and, for many travellers, the most intriguing. Four fifths of it is the Karakum Desert, and its cities sit on the oases around the edge: Ashgabat under the Kopet Dag range on the Iranian border, Mary and ancient Merv on the Murghab delta, Dashoguz and Konye-Urgench on the Amu Darya in the north. It was a land of horse-breeding Turkmen tribes, of the Parthian kings who fought Rome, and of Merv, which in the 12th century was among the largest cities in the world. Three of its sites are on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Ancient Merv, Konye-Urgench and the Parthian fortresses of Nisa. ## Regions worth knowing - Ashgabat and the Akhal oasis: the white-marble capital, the Parthian citadel of Nisa, Akhal-Teke stud farms and the warm underground lake of Kow Ata. - The Karakum Desert: the Darvaza gas crater, the 'Door to Hell', with yurt camps for a night under the stars. - Dashoguz and the north: Konye-Urgench, the ruined capital of Khorezm, just across the border from Khiva. - Mary and the east: Ancient Merv, a whole landscape of walled cities from the Achaemenids to the Seljuks, and the Bronze Age site of Gonur Depe in the desert beyond. - The Balkan region in the west: the striped walls of Yangykala canyon and the Caspian coast at Turkmenbashi. ## Combining Turkmenistan with Uzbekistan There are no direct flights between Tashkent and Ashgabat, so travellers combine the two countries overland. Two crossings do almost all the work. Shavat (Dashoguz on the Turkmen side) is about an hour's drive from Khiva and leads to Konye-Urgench and the desert road south to Darvaza. Alat (Farap on the Turkmen side) lies about 100 km from Bukhara and leads to Turkmenabat, Merv and Ashgabat. The Khojeli crossing near Nukus is closer to Konye-Urgench but its use for leaving Uzbekistan is uncertain. Typical add-ons are: - Two days, one night: Khiva to Shavat, Konye-Urgench, a night at the Darvaza crater and back to Khiva. - Four to five days, the classic loop: enter at Shavat, see Konye-Urgench and Darvaza, two nights in Ashgabat with Nisa, then Merv and out at Farap for Bukhara. - The same loop in reverse, from Bukhara to Khiva. ## Visas and entry Almost every visitor needs a visa, and Turkmenistan has no visa-free arrangement for tourists from Europe, North America or most of Asia. The usual route is a letter of invitation (LOI) obtained through a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan; it takes two to four weeks to approve, sometimes longer, and refusals are not explained, so apply six to eight weeks ahead. The LOI fixes your dates and your entry and exit crossings. The visa is then issued at the border or Ashgabat airport, with fees paid in clean US dollar notes. On a tourist visa you travel with your agency's guide or driver outside Ashgabat, and hotels are booked by the agency. A five-day transit visa without a guide exists but is issued at embassies and often refused. An e-visa portal opened in October 2026; check current rules before relying on it. ## Getting around Distances are long and roads uneven. Dashoguz to Darvaza is about 270–300 km, four to five hours; Darvaza to Ashgabat about 260 km. Domestic flights on Turkmenistan Airlines link Ashgabat with Dashoguz, Mary, Turkmenabat and Turkmenbashi and save a day on the longer loops. Your agency arranges all transport. ## Safety, etiquette and money Turkmenistan is safe for visitors, with very little street crime, but it is tightly controlled. Do not photograph government buildings, the presidential area, police or military sites, and follow your guide's lead on where cameras are welcome. The internet is slow and heavily filtered, and foreign SIM cards do not roam reliably. Dress modestly at shrines such as the Najm ad-Din Kubra mausoleum and the Askhab tombs. The currency is the manat (TMT); international cards are of little use, so bring the cash you need in new, undamaged US dollar notes and exchange it through official channels as your agency advises. TourEast is an Uzbekistan operator: the Turkmen part of your trip must be organised by a licensed Turkmen agency. We plan the Uzbek side around it, with nights in Khiva or Bukhara and transfers timed to meet your Turkmen guide at Shavat or Alat.