Trek to the heart of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert and you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled upon the gates of the underworld itself. Locals and travelers call the surreal crater the “Door to Hell” — an apt moniker for the Darvaza Gas Crater, which has been perpetually burning for nearly half a century.

There’s no official report for the mysterious fire pit that’s about as big as a football field, although it’s widely believed to be the product of a drilling mishap, according to a report from National Geographic. Purely through word of mouth, the story is that the ground under a drilling rig collapsed and Soviet scientists tried to set it on fire in an attempt to burn off noxious gases in the early 1970s.

Needless to say, it proved to be ineffective, likely because of the massive amounts of fuel that are underneath. After all, Turkmenistan possesses the sixth largest natural gas reserves in the entire world. Instead, the “Door to Hell” is still aflame, a perpetually burning hole lighting up the typically dry and empty desert.

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