Turkmenistan is a fascinating Central Asian nation known for its surreal marble-clad capital Ashgabat, the mesmerizing Darvaza Gas Crater (Gates of Hell), and ancient Silk Road cities. This mysterious country offers a unique blend of Soviet-era grandeur, traditional nomadic culture, and vast Karakum Desert landscapes.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Kow-Ata Underground Lake
Kow-Ata is a natural cave lake fed by a warm sulfur spring, reached by descending a long flight of steps into darkness until the water opens up beneath a high rock ceiling. The water sits around body temperature year-round, so swimming is comfortable even when it's cold outside, and the smell of sulfur and the bat colonies overhead make it clear this is a real cave, not a spa. It's a swim-focused outing rather than a sightseeing one: most of a visit is spent in or around the water.
Highlights: Swim in 33-37C mineral-rich underground lake · Dramatic limestone cave with stalactites · Therapeutic sulfurous waters · 267 steps descent to the lake
Nohur Village
Nohur is a mountain village in the Kopet Dag range, home to the Nohurli, a Turkmen subgroup with customs distinct from the rest of the country - most visibly, wild goat horns fixed to gravestones in the village cemetery, a practice not seen elsewhere in Turkmenistan. The village itself is a cluster of stone and mudbrick houses terraced into the hillside, surrounded by walnut orchards. It's a trip about a specific rural culture rather than any single monument, so what you get out of it depends on walking the village and its cemetery, not ticking off sights.
Highlights: Mountain Turkmen village with distinct culture and dialect · Unique wolf-head grave markers in village cemetery · Traditional apricot orchards and mud-brick homes · Panoramic Kopet Dag mountain views
Anau Ruins and Sultan Sanjar Mosque
Anau sits just outside Ashgabat and combines an ancient settlement mound with the remains of the Seyit Jemaleddin Mosque, a 15th-century building whose most famous feature - a pair of dragon reliefs on the entrance portal - was largely destroyed in the catastrophic 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. What's left today is fragmentary: broken walls and portal remnants rather than an intact building, so it appeals more to those interested in what the earthquake erased than to anyone expecting a grand monument. Because it's so close to the city, it works well as a short add-on rather than a dedicated day.
Highlights: 15th-century Timurid mosque ruins with mosaic dragons · Ancient Anau burial mound settlement over 8,000 years old · Working local bazaar in Anau town · Easy half-day excursion from capital
Kunya-Urgench UNESCO Site
Kunya-Urgench (Konye-Urgench) was once the capital of Khorezm, a major Silk Road state, and its surviving monuments - minarets and mausoleums scattered across a wide archaeological zone - are what earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. The Kutlug-Timur Minaret is the standout structure, one of the tallest surviving minarets in Central Asia, and the mausoleums nearby (including Turabek-Khanum) still carry substantial decorative tilework. Given the distance from Ashgabat, this only works as a genuine day trip if you're already based in or near Dashoguz; from the capital it's really an overnight excursion.
Highlights: UNESCO-listed medieval Islamic architecture · Gutlug Timur Minaret tallest minaret in Central Asia at 62m · Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum with turquoise cone · Ruins of ancient Khwarezm capital
Ashgabat Hippodrome Sunday Horse Racing
The Hippodrome is where you see the Akhal-Teke, Turkmenistan's national horse breed, prized for its slender build and the distinctive metallic sheen of its coat, actually racing rather than standing for photographs. Sunday race days draw a genuine local crowd rather than a staged tourist event, with heats running through the afternoon. It's a short, accessible outing given how close it is to the city center, and works well combined with other in-town sights on the same day.
Highlights: Watch the legendary Akhal-Teke golden horses race · Major social event for Ashgabat families · Photography of the world most beautiful horse breed · Festive atmosphere with local snack vendors
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
- Tours
- Organized day tours to Kow-Ata and Nohur from $60-80/person; Darvaza overnight tours from $100-200/person — all include transport
- Private
- Hire car with driver from $40-80/day for Ashgabat-area destinations; 4WD with driver required for Darvaza and desert destinations from $120/day
- Public
- State buses serve Geok Tepe ($2, 1 hour) and Anau ($0.50, 30 minutes from Chandybil bus station); intercity trains serve Mary and Dashoguz for Merv and Kunya-Urgench
- Rental
- Self-drive rental not recommended for foreigners in Turkmenistan — very limited options and checkpoints require local driver knowledge; hire car with driver strongly preferred
Multi-day tours from Turkmenistan
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
Browse multi-day tours from TurkmenistanWe may earn a commission from bookings made through this link.
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Start early — all desert and outdoor sites are best visited in the morning before heat builds; aim to leave Ashgabat by 8AM for day trips
Arrange permits in advance for sites near the Iranian border — a licensed local agency handles this but needs 24-48 hours notice
Carry sufficient water for any trip outside Ashgabat — minimum 4L per person for desert destinations
Bring your passport on all day trips — road checkpoints between cities may request documents