With similar vibes to North Korea, Turkmenistan is a former soviet country that controls both the information that the country’s residences receive, as well as what visitors see throughout the country. Unfortunately, a trip to Turkmenistan is not a spontaneous feat and actually requires some meticulous planning! There are also quite a few rules and customs that are helpful to know in advance. Below is my comprehensive list of facts (both useful and somewhat useless but entertaining) to know before visiting this aloof country:

You’ll need a Letter of Invitation before getting a visa to enter the country

Yes that’s right, you actually need to be invited into the country before you can even travel there. The Turkmenistan regime is not a huge fan of journalists entering the country, as they’d like for Turkmenistan to be viewed in a positive light. The easiest way to approach this is to travel with a company (which will lead to my next fact) who will compile the necessary information and paperwork to submit to the government for approval. It took five months to hear back, not knowing until a month out from the trip whether or not I would be able to travel. This can also lead to booking some expensive flights, having to wait until a month out!

Tourists need to either join a tour company or hire a private guide to travel beyond Ashgabat

The only place in Turkmenistan where tourists are able to roam freely is in the capital city of Ashgabat. Other than that, tourists are required to have a guide with them at all times. I decided to travel with Young Pioneer Tours, as they were advertising a tour that traveled during Turkmenistan’s Independence Day, and spent 8 nights, 9 days in the country, which I felt was the perfect amount of time to explore the country. Tourists are also able to hire a private guide (usually for cheaper than a tour), which cuts out the “middle man” of paying a western tourism company. This will definitely be a method I will use traveling in the future to off-the-beaten path countries, like Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan is a meat-heavy country (good luck vegans!)

I’m a pescatarian and I had to break my dietary habits in order to feel somewhat nourished during my time in Turkmenistan. Beef and chicken were pretty common in almost every dish that was served. While I did my best to pick around the meat and eat just the vegetables (mostly onion), it was inevitable that I would eat some. Diet is a very personal choice, so for those who are not willing to temporarily change their diets should come prepared with plenty of snacks to help them through.

The internet is heavily regulated in Turkmenistan

Gmail will be your best friend since it will be one of the few internet elements that work in Turkmenistan without a VPN. I tried using a VPN upon arrival, however came across several issues. Only a few people in our group were able to use VPNs successfully. My best friend who joined me on this tour was able to send and receive SMS text messages through his normal cell service, T-Mobile, but service was limited throughout the country.

Plan at least 2 hours getting through the Ashgabat airport

You’ll need to have some patience when visiting the country overall, due the strict rules and some lack of infrastructure. However, I was a little surprised as to how long it would take to navigate through customs and immigration at the airport, especially as we were the only major group of tourists to arrive in the country at 2am.

Note I visited Turkmenistan in September 2023, where COVID testing was sort of a “thing”. I say that as it was required for tourists to take an onsite COVID test, which involved the nurse barely swabbing our nostrils, throwing it in the trash before reading the results, then guiding us towards the line to pay $35 USD for this test. Before leaving home, I was nervous about testing positive for COVID, not realizing that this was actually a “loose” requirement done for appearances. Similar to how the president of Turkmenistan claimed that the country had zero COVID cases. As of 2025, I’m not sure of the current testing requirements to enter the county.

In addition to the test, we had to wait in line to obtain our visas, showing our Letters of Invitation as proof that we were able to enter the country. As the officer collected our passports and necessary paperwork to issue the visa, we had to wait in a separate line to pay for the visas. This step took a surprisingly long time, as there were only a handful of officers who were not in a rush. Afterwards, we had to go through a set of machines to scan our passports, with only half of them working, then finally to customs to have our suitcases scanned. One of the security scanners actually went off when my friend put his bag through and the officer yelled at us to keep going! Needless to say, it takes some extra patience and a “go with it” kind of attitude.

And now for some fun (and useless) facts!

The Ashgabat airport is in the shape of a falcon

The roof to the airport is relatively new, created in 2016 to represent the national carrier’s mascot. The airport went through construction and expansion in order to serve 14 million passengers. However, with the country still being one of the least visited in the world and with how slow our experience was, I cannot even fathom this!

The Darvaza Gas Crater (the Door to Hell) has been on fire for over 50 years

The Darvaza Crater is about a 5 hour drive from Ashgabat through the desert, and is a very bumpy ride at that! But the drive is definitely worth it. Camping overnight at the crater was an experience of a lifetime. You can read more about the Darvaza Crater and my experience here.

Colored and dirty cars are illegal in Ashgabat

Only white, silver or gold cars are allowed inside the city. Dirty cars are also illegal and subject to fines. When coming back from the Darvaza Crater, our drivers went to a car wash just outside of the city to hose off!

If you read the Rukhnama three times, you’ll go to heaven

Or so the president tells the people of Turkmenistan. While I won my copy of the Rukhnama in a coin toss against another group tour participant (the vendor only had one copy in English), I still have not read through the book once yet. Also worth noting that the Rukhnama is split into two volumes, so be prepared for quite a bit of reading!

There have only been three “presidents for life” in Turkmenistan

Note these are presidents since Turkmenistan claimed independence in 1991. Saparmurat Niyazov was the first president since independence ruling from 1991-2006, when he passed away from a heart attack. Niyazov was also known as “Turknenbashy” and is the author of the Rukhnama.

The second president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, was formerly a dentist and served from 2006-2022, where he stepped down in order for his son, Serdar Berdimuhamedow to take power. Serdar Berdimuhamedow is currently the third president of Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan received its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991

Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan had been part of the Russian empire for over a century, including 67 years as a union republic, called the Turkmen Socialist Soviet Republic. However in 1990, under Niyazov’s initiative adopted a declaration of Turkmenistan’s state independence and in 1991, the vast majority of the population at 94% voted for independence, paving the way to the Republic of Turkmenistan.

Ashgabat has more Italian imported marble than anywhere in the world

The capital city of Ashgabat is often referred to as the White Marble City, due to its lavish architecture and monuments. The city holds the Guinness World Record for the highest density of white marble buildings in the world.

Ashgabat has the world’s only/largest indoor Ferris wheel which you can ride for about $1 USD

Another Guinness World Record that Turkmenistan holds is having the largest indoor Ferris wheel in the world. The Ferris wheel is also known as the “Wheel of Enlightenment”. The wheel itself measures at 47.6 metres and was opened on the 18th of May 2012 as part of the Alem Centre. Inside also includes a bowling alley, a food court, and an arcade which was eerily empty the day we rode the Ferris wheel. And speaking of records…

Turkmenistan holds a plethora of Guinness World Records

Other honorable mentions include the world’s tallest, unsupported flagpole (not sure why this is a thing), the largest building in the shape of a horse (the Ashgabat Olympic Stadium), and the largest architectural star.

Turkmenistan loves their tracksuits

At least this is what we were told and was the ultimate souvenir to get! I still love wearing my track jacket and makes for an interesting conversation starter when roaming around back home!