5 Reasons To Visit Chernobyl

Chernobyl is an off-the-beaten-track destination that is slowly becoming more and more popular with tourists. The 1986 nuclear disaster has left this Communist Ukrainian ghost town perfectly preserved. Here are five reasons why Chernobyl is one for the bucket list.

It’s safe

Despite being the site of the world’s biggest ever nuclear accident, radiation has now dispersed and the levels are now low enough to allow tourists into the region.

It’s like entering a Soviet time capsule

The accident happened 30 years ago, at the height of the cold war. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and had to leave everything behind. Stepping back into the town today, you will see newspapers from 1986, USSR hammer and sickle signs adorning the buildings and school books and registers left lying around in abandoned school classrooms.

You can wander around an abandoned amusement park

Shortly before the accident, a new amusement park was finished and was scheduled to open a few days later. The grand opening never happened and the attractions have been left, the iconic ferris wheel rusting and creaking more and more by the year.

The chance to visit and climb up Duga 3 aka The Russian Woodpecker

A huge radar system was also built by the Soviets at Chernobyl. For years it was the source of much speculation about its use, including stories that it was used for Soviet mind control. The area was highly restricted until last year since when it’s possible to apply for special permission to visit.

See the largest movable structure ever built

After the accident in 1986, the Soviets hastily built a sarcophagus to cover up the reactor and stem the leaking of radiation. The reactor had been crumbling for years, but finally in November 2016 a new sarcophagus was finished. At the cost of $2.5 billion dollars a gigantic lead confinement unit was constructed. It was constructed at a short distance from the reactor and finally moved slid into place on specially constructed rails. The new sarcophagus has a 100 year shelf life so it will be safe to continue to visit Chernobyl for many years to come!

Lupine Travel are running daily tours to Chernobyl for £109 and also offer occasionally 2 days tours (including staying overnight in the exclusion zone) for £319.