As a tourist, Chernobyl is one of the most haunting, unique, and fascinating places I’ve ever visited. It definitely falls under the category of ‘dark tourism’ and might not be for everyone. However, I appreciated learning more about the history and our guides from SoloEast did an incredible job showing us around and making us feel safe. This was another stop on my fabulous tour through the Ukraine with Cobblestone Freeway Tours!
Chernobyl is a 90-minute bus ride from Kiev and made for an interesting day trip. In order to visit, you must have a guide and also need security clearance which can take a few days so be sure to plan ahead. For those who aren’t familiar, Chernobyl was the site of the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment in history. This catastrophic nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat. The data often varies, but this disaster ended up killing and affecting the health of hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions. It also created a zone of nearly 20 miles that had to be evacuated due to the dangerous radiation levels. This radiation won’t go away for hundreds of years!
Since 2011, Chernobyl has been a tourist attraction and sees almost 40,000 visitors a year. We used a geiger counter during our visit which is an instrument used for measuring the radiation levels. We measured our levels in Kiev before leaving and it was .15. Upon arrival, you pass through several security checkpoints.
Quite surprisingly, there is still a working hotel inside Chernobyl exclusion zone, The Desiatka Hotel. It hosts tourists who are on official guided tours. There are more than 3,000 workers still active in the Zone, living in Chernobyl town during 4-day and 15-day shifts. They commute daily to work at the Chernobyl plant from their new homes in Slavutych.
We saw a monument which showed us all of the towns that were evacuated after the disaster. The were around 80! It really started to sink in just how tragic this event was. Not only were people in extreme danger, but the thought of leaving your home forever is completely heartbreaking.
While driving through the forest, the geiger counter started beeping and I immediately noticed the trees. They had this red color to them from the radiation that they were exposed to. I almost felt like I was in another world.
Upon entering the 30km radius Exclusion Zone, we were briefed on what we would be seeing. One of our first stops was a huge radio tower called the Duga radar, known as the Russian Woodpecker. It was an over-the-horizon radar system designed to warn of an impending nuclear attack. It is now part of the nuclear wasteland.
It was especially difficult visiting the abandoned schools, apartments, and hospitals. As you can see from the haunting photos, this isn’t your typical tourist attraction. Throughout our tour, we would use the geiger counter to measure the radiation levels, or it would start beeping to alert us that it had risen.
There were a few hot spots during our tour, but the highest radiation reading was closest to Reactor Number 4 where my geiger went up to 1.14, and we couldn’t stay long.
The hospital was another place with high radiation level readings. When the accident occurred, the firefighters who were stationed outside the nuclear reactor were the first ones to arrive. They weren’t dressed in protective gear so they were exposed to very high levels of radiation. When they were hospitalized, their clothes were buried in the basement of the hospital.
The abandoned town of Pripyat and its iconic fairground is probably the most well known image of Chernobyl and it’s definitely the most eerie. This is a true ghost town, except it’s not something you watch on TV or in movies. I had to remind myself of that quite often during the tour because it’s almost unbelievable.
Chernobyl has a vast population of radioactive animals which include over 250 stray dogs that roam the grounds. Because of this, the fox shown below thinks its a dog and was exploring the area and coming up to people in search of food! I also noticed bees and ants that were absolutely enormous because of the radiation. It was fascinating and also a little bit creepy.
Throughout the tour, you pass through many radiation checkpoints. At the very end, we went through the detectors one last time to make sure we didn’t have any traces of radiation on us or our belongings. Luckily, everyone in our group had the green light and we headed back to Kiev in the early evening.
I will never forget my visit to Chernobyl. Like many dark tourism sites, this isn’t the easiest place to explore but I think it’s important to learn about what happened and pay your respects to those who once lived here. Big thanks to SoloEast Travel and Cobblestone Freeway for organizing this special experience!
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Catherine
August 31, 2017 at 6:42 pmSuch a fascinating post Carmen! I’ve been wanting to visit Chernobyl for years – think I’m finally gonna make it happen in 2018 🙂
C x
Carmen Edelson
September 1, 2017 at 7:20 amThanks so much, Catherine! I hope you get to go.
Tam Warner Minton
September 1, 2017 at 8:44 pmDark? Yes, very dark. I think I will skip this one! But it was interesting to see.
Carmen Edelson
September 2, 2017 at 9:47 pmI learned so much, it was very interesting experience!
Linda
September 3, 2017 at 2:43 amThank you very much <3
I was 14, when this happened. I think at that age, I didn`t realize what had happened. But your pictures are really impressive (in a dark way) and show the dimension of the accident…
Thanks, Linda
Carmen Edelson
September 3, 2017 at 4:42 pmThanks for your lovely comment, Linda!
Roxanna
September 3, 2017 at 10:41 amHow eerie, and surreal. Dark tourist places have that strange attraction for me. If I am going to be in the area, I must go, perhaps to try to understand, to pay respects. I have not visited a nuclear disaster site, but i have paid respects at a concentration camp, and Pearl Harbor, an Irish workhouse. I think Chernobyl needs to go on the list. Thank you for the fascinating photos.
Carmen Edelson
September 19, 2017 at 3:10 pmI wasn’t to keen on going at first, because I was scared of the radiation. It’s quite the site to see, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go see it first hand.
Michelle W
September 3, 2017 at 6:28 pmWow, this is so fascinating! Kudos to you for being brave and daring enough to go there! My husband has been wanting to go for years, and I’m sending him your post now. Not sure if I will join him- but you may have just convinced me 🙂
Carmen Edelson
September 5, 2017 at 1:53 pmThanks for your lovely comment, Michelle! Surreal is a great word to describe this experience. I wasn’t worried after seeing all the different checkpoints and how we measured the levels wherever we went. The tour company does a great job!
ASA
September 3, 2017 at 9:17 pmI’ve been wanting to go and visit. It’s great to see and hear it from your perspective. Thank You~
Carmen Edelson
September 5, 2017 at 1:54 pmYou’re very welcome! I hope you get to go.
Angela @ Dang Travelers
September 4, 2017 at 1:47 pmA very surreal and dark experience I’m sure. Historically speaking, I would love to go but from a personal aspect it would be hard to visit. I agree though, it is important for us to remember our past so we can learn from it.
Carmen Edelson
September 5, 2017 at 1:54 pmSurreal is the perfect word to describe this place, Angela!
Brianna
September 4, 2017 at 2:24 pmI would love to visit Chernobyl. It’s such an eerie place, definitely sounds up my alley
Carmen Edelson
September 5, 2017 at 2:20 pmI hope you get to visit, Brianna!
Laura @ Sometime Traveller
September 5, 2017 at 8:25 amGosh, it does look eerie doesn’t it. How sad for the people who had to leave, knowing they would never be able to return home.
Carmen Edelson
September 5, 2017 at 6:46 pmI know, it was absolutely tragic.
Skye
September 5, 2017 at 9:17 pmGoodness this looks like such a sad yet fascinating place to visit. It’s almost like it’s frozen in time with all of those people’s lives still evident there. I would love to visit one day and get a real feel for it in person. It must have made a real impact.
Carmen Edelson
September 6, 2017 at 1:27 pmIt really is frozen in time!
Nic
September 6, 2017 at 11:09 pmWe visited last year. It was so heartbreaking and yet at the same time on of the most amazing places I’ve been too. We do a lot of urban exploring and so this has to be the Mecca. Add in my love of soviet history and it was just such an eerie but interesting place to visit. Would go again for sure.
Carmen Edelson
September 8, 2017 at 5:20 pmSo glad to hear about your experience! We are on the same page.
Kerri
September 7, 2017 at 2:50 amI was in highschool when this happened and I remember talking and learning about it. It’s such a fascinating but sobering place to visit no doubt. Very interesting to hear that you had to do the radiation check and I couldn’t believe the comments about the ants! A very worthwhile place to visit.
Carmen Edelson
September 8, 2017 at 5:22 pmI totally agree, Kerri! Very worthwhile and sobering.
Nina Danielle
September 7, 2017 at 10:21 pmWow, I had no idea that this was a place you could visit. It looks totally apocalyptic in the buildings. Good to know about the need to book ahead! I remember reading about this event in a textbook… so devastating.
Carmen Edelson
September 8, 2017 at 5:23 pmApocalyptic is right!
Sarmand
August 1, 2019 at 2:44 amI was 2 years old when this happened,,,but I read lots about there,, my uncle said, the Radiation reached to our city Erbil, from Iraq…..
I always pray for the martyrs, Prof. ValerLegasov Commander Boris Shcherbina, Ulana Khomyuk, Fire Fighters, Those 600,000 liquidators, That three Volunteers dived to the water inside the Nuclear reactor to close the hose….?? God bless them, and bless the patients….
Carmen Edelson you are great because at least you share some of their suffering……
Carmen Edelson
August 6, 2019 at 3:10 pmWow, thank you so much for sharing!