Frozen in time, a former model city crumbles into the earth. Pripyat lies in the Chernobyl exclusion zone found in the northeastern corner of Ukraine. On April 26, 1986, reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant abruptly exploded, flinging nuclear particles into the air.
The destruction caused by the nuclear power plant explosion near Pripyat, Ukraine meant the end of the city and surrounding region. It remains one of the most catastrophic nuclear accidents to this day.
After visiting the beautiful Christmas markets in Kiev, Ukraine, my husband and I set off to explore the exclusion zone. However, this zone can only be entered via guided tours to Chernobyl for safety reasons. We booked our tickets with the tour company, Chernobly Tour, a week beforehand for a day trip to Chernobyl.
The day of our trip, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at one of the quaint restaurants in Kiev. We then set off to meet with our group at 7:30 am, arriving near the Central Railway Station off of Ivan Ohiienka Street. It was a brisk January winter morning, and we were bundled head to toe in warm clothing for what lay ahead. Winters in Ukraine are extremely cold, and the tour included a considerable amount of walking outside in the exclusion zone.
Next, we checked in with our tour guide, and hopped inside the spacious heated van. At 8:00 am sharp, our group set off to the Chernobyl Exclusion zone.
The beginning of the tour
From Kiev in the Ukraine to the Chernobyl zone of exclusion, it was about a two hour drive. The van was extremely spacious and had plush black leather seats for a comfortable ride.
While we were in the roomy van, we watched a documentary on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion. The film went into detail about the nuclear accident, stating that over 50,000 people where living in the nearby city of Pripyat during the explosion. When the explosion happened, evacuation of the town didn’t occur till 36 hours later.
The magnitude of the crisis wasn’t fully comprehended at the time, and when evacuation orders hit, hundreds of buses entered the city to be boarded by the members of the town.
People boarded the buses empty handed as they weren’t permitted to bring any personal items because those items were potentially contaminated. Similarly, these quick evacuations left the town untouched and abandoned, resulting in well preserved ghost town.
At last, we arrived to the Chernobyl exclusion zone just moments after the video ended. Inside the zone we made a coffee pit stop to warm up from the brisk morning, had our passports checked, and then began our tour through the zone.
Side note: You are allowed to bring travel snacks with you, but they are only permitted in certain areas. Your tour guide will know, so don’t be shy to ask! My husband and I packed an abundance of healthy travel snacks for this trip.
Stops made near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Here some of the areas we on our tour through Chernobyl: (If you are planning a visit you will receive a Chernobyl map, so you will know geographically where each area is.)
- decontaminated Red Forest
- empty town of Pripyat
- Pripyat swimming pool
- abandoned schools
- Duga-1 (a secret giant radar facility from the Soviet Union),
- the brand new Pripyat amusement park that was never fully operational
- outside of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
- various others villages in the zone
Here are some of my fascinating Chernobyl pictures from the trip.
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This is a tour that I’ve always wanted to go on – it looks really interesting!
This is such an interesting insight to a place I’ve wanted to visit for a while now. I was 4 when this happened and in the UK so it was a big thing where they were talking about how far any of the effects would travel, and I always remember my parents talking about it. But to see the photos is incredible. It’s like the ultimate ghost town
What an interesting tour! Love your pictures. Chernobyl looks really eerie but it would be so cool to see in person!
Wow! This is such an interesting place to visit. I’m sure it was very eerie walking through there. I will definitely keep it in mind when I eventually visit Ukraine.
This is so awesome!!!! This has been on my bucket list for a while and people just DO NOT GET why I would want to go here – but it’s SO fascinating!!!! Thanks for the inspo!
It’s heartbreaking what happened here but it would be amazing to take a tour to learn more.
This is heartbreaking and terrible and yet I wanna visit this place sooo much!!!
It really is!