Chernobyl's Ghost Cities
Visit the abandoned towns left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time
The center square of Pripyat, once home for 50,000 people. After 22 years of neglect, nature has started to seep through the concrete
Source wikitravel.org Click to Enlarge
Category Disaster Areas, Cultures and Civilizations , Incredible Ruins
When one thinks of Chernobyl, vacation spot is certainly not the first thing to come to mind. However, more than two decades after the terrible reactor meltdown, tours of the contaminated towns surrounding the infamous reactor are gaining in popularity.
On April 26, 1986, during a test to see how much power was needed to keep the No. 4 reactor operating in the event of a black out, the Chernobyl Nuclear Station exploded, releasing extremely dangerous amounts of radioactive chemicals into the air, which over time contaminated millions of square miles in dozens of European nations. It is estimated that thousands of deaths were directly caused by the explosion, while still more suffered from illnesses brought about by radiation exposure.
The town closest to the No. 4 reactor was Pripyat, a city of 49,000 founded in 1970 to house workers from Chernobyl. Only about three kilometers from the plant, the entire city was forced to evacuate.
Two decades later, this ghost town is a freeze frame of the Soviet Union in 1986. Communist propaganda still hangs on walls, personal belongings litter the streets and abandoned buildings. The hammer and sickle decorate lampposts, awaiting May Day celebrations that never took place. Toys are strewn about a schoolhouse where they were last dropped by children who are now fully grown. All clocks are frozen at 11:55, the moment the electricity was cut.
To tour Pripyat, Chernobyl, and the surrounding villages, one must first obtain a day pass from the government. These passes can be obtained through the touring companies located in Kiev, about 110 kilometers from the blast site. There are five well-known tour agencies that take visitors to Pripyat. However, due to the lack of repair, the buildings and other structures in the town are becoming increasingly dilapidated. Because of this, many tour companies will not let visitors into the buildings.
Besides the crumbling buildings, safety is not a major concern. It takes between 300 to 500 roentgens per hour of radiation to deliver a lethal dose. Levels on the tour range from 15 to several hundred micro-roentgens per hour. All tours end with a screening for radiation levels.
Already, after only two decades of abandonment, these cities are beginning to be swallowed up by the surrounding forest. Someday soon, they will no doubt be completely overgrown.
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- Hours Check with individual travel agencies listed for tour dates and times.
- Address Chernobyl, Ukraine
- Cost Each agency charges a different amount, usually about 300-500$ per person, but rates go gown if there are more people in a group.
1. <strong>Hostel Ukraine Kiev Backpackers</strong> http://www.hostelukraine.com/en//kiev/disaster.html This is the only hostel in Kiev to offer a tour. 2. <strong>Hamalia</strong> http://www.hamalia.ua/Incomming/Tour_to_Chernobyl/ This travel agency has been voted Ukraine's best travel agency over the past 5 years, but requires additional time to book a tour because official registration and permission is needed. 3. <strong>SoloEast Travel</strong> http://www.tourkiev.com/chernobyl.php 4. <strong>SAM Travel Company</strong> http://www.ukrcam.com/tour/tour_3.html 5. <strong>Lupine Travel</strong> http://www.lupinetravel.co.uk/ This agency allows for an overnight stay in a Chernobyl hotel if requested. Though each tour differs slightly in the itinerary, most run a few hundred dollars per person, with the price going down due to the more people added in the group. This price also includes a lunch for every tour, and some even cover lodging. As stated before, each agency has a slightly different itinerary, but all the tours will visit roughly the same sites. 1. <strong>Chernobyl</strong>: The site of the explosion (all tourist must stay at least 200m from the Number 4 nuclear reactor sarcophagus, which was built to contain any further spills of the radioactive debris). There is a visitor center with a model of the reactor however, and questions about the explosion will be answered there. 2. <strong>Pripyat</strong> is also on the list. Sites to see include the public schools, a hospital, a never opened fairground complete with ferris wheel, and many homes and apartments, all abandoned. However, most tours do not allow people inside buildings due to their unsound structural instability. 3. Up until April 2008, visitors were also taken to the <strong>vehicle scrap yard</strong> where military machines used during the radioactive clean up were dumped. The Ukraine government has deemed this vehicle cemetery unfit for visitors due to it still lethal dose of radiation. Vehicles included helicopters, trucks, and ambulances. However, some tours take visitors to a safer abandoned shipyard instead. Some tours include trips to other abandoned villages around the area and optional survivor guides upon request. Lunch for all tours is provided by food from outside the contamination zone.
Comments
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Anonymous
August 9, 2009
I read this article while searching through the internet for details on the zone, its some guys report of his experiences, very interesting - http://firesuite.com/ Chernobyl link is at the top The article is well worth a read. -
Anonymous
July 14, 2009
Radiation exposure is still a concern. Short visits are relatively safe, but people who work in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone typically work there for 2 weeks and then must spend the next 2 weeks outside the Zone. The toys and other items in Pripyat are generally not where they were left at the time of the evacuation. The city has been hit hard by vandals who have caused a lot of damage and moved items around. Some photographers have also moved items around to help produce more "emotional" images. I personally visited the Chernobyl area for two days in June 2006 with a friend who is a former resident of Pripyat. We toured the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room), several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal of my trip at: <a href="http://www.chernobylee.com/articles/chernobyl/my-journey-to-chernobyl-1.php">My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster</a> -- Mark
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Anonymous
July 13, 2009
If you have interest in such things but cannot afford a trip to the Ukraine, come visit us in Detroit. Many of our older structures have striking similarity to those found in Pripyat. -mcx
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Anonymous
July 13, 2009
These photos are creepy but cool.
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Anonymous
July 12, 2009
These pictures are something like you only see in movies or video games like Fall Out 3, this would be an interesting place to visit.
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FYI, the above comment is me. I just stumbled on this site & like it so much I signed up!
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Anonymous
July 12, 2009
Lol! I like how your first comment led to a nice rant there! And how it was totally off-topic. I used to get ingrown toenails on my big toe too, until I learned to cut it long. My girlfriends always give me crap because my huge toenail scratches them when were cuddling in bed, but screw 'em! (no pun intended). O yeah, the article! I've always wanted to visit Pripyat! I think it would make the perfect location for a sweet horror movie!
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The music contained within the Pripyat YourTube video cracks me up also... ...it reminds me of the relentless pain and discomfort experienced from the ingrown toenails I had given myself on both my big toes as a teenage boy. The ingrown toenails developed because I was clipping my toenails one day after my daily shower, and being the PERFECTIONIST that I am, I made a bad habit of clipping my nails too close to the cuticle. Don't learn things the Hard Way; LEARN FROM SOMEBODY ELSE'S BAD EXPERIENCE. DON'T CUT YER TOENAILS TOO SHORT. You will hear the same goofy "DUN! DUN! DUN!" soundtrack of relentless pain until you get yourself over to the Toe Fetish Doctor specialist, who will basically remove most of the rest of your ingrown toenail OFF, and then perhaps as with MY doctor, will give you a free nad examination while under local anesthesia. Kidz, YOU DO NOT have to learn all life's lessons the Hard Way. There is no virtue in always having to learn things the Hard Way. The moral of these two stories, mine and Chernobyl's, is...LEARN THE HARD LESSONS OF YOUR ELDERS SO THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WASTE PRECIOUS TIME, EFFORT, MONEY AND EMOTION IN SOLVING PROBLEMS.
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This ghost town reminds me somehow of an ingrown toenail.
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