Turkmenistan: Derwaza Crater – Overnighting in Yurts

An added bonus of capturing Derwaza Crarwr in the middle of nowhere is staying in traditional Turkmen Yurts. Years ago when I first visited Derwaza, the camping was a primitive tenting, but now it’s really glamping in comfortable yurts. And at night, the sky was glowing spectacular red from the burning crater! Also, we got super lucky with a nocturnal visitor at our yurt camp in Derwaza – a super cute Desert Hedgehog. One of the smallest hedgehog species in the world, the desert hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus) thrives in the harsh environment of Karakum desert in Turkmenistan (in fact 70% of the country is desert). Desert hedgehogs thrive in temperatures that can exceed 50C (122F), they conserve water efficiently, producing highly concentrated urine and dry feces to minimize water loss. Unlike other hedgehog species, desert hedgehogs can enter both hibernation in colder months and estivation (a summer dormancy) during extreme heat – their metabolic rate drops significantly to conserve energy, allowing them to survive long periods without food or water. The spines of desert hedgehogs are also different – they are soft and bendable – meant not for defense but rather as a cushion for drops in rocky terrain. They are strictly nocturnal and mostly solitary. They’re surprisingly agile, capable of running at speeds up to 10 km/h, as out hedgehog clearly demonstrated when we released him.