We all know about the catastrophic fate that befell of Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, an incident so lethal and massive that it was recognized as the greatest nuclear disaster in the history of mankind.
For many years Chernobyl was kept in quarantine, with dozens of signs alerting everyone who approached, the danger they might find, however, the thieves change and it seems that not everything is forever because a couple of years ago Chernobyl began to be visited again by many people, who can be considered either very brave or very naive.
This April, it will be 34 years since that accident happened and although Ukraine has many other interesting places to visit, Chernobyl has undoubtedly become extremely popular.
It took more than two decades for Chernobyl to become a somewhat “safe” place to receive visitors, as radiation levels managed to decrease sufficiently in certain areas. Despite this, precautions must always be taken as Chernobyl remains a place with a dark past and potential dangers, which is why tourism is well regulated, and visitors must sign a formal application before starting any legal tour.
Even though the surroundings look calm and settled, you made an invisible enemy: radiation. By taking the tour, you will be equipped with a personal radiation detector, which will constantly indicate the levels of radiation and you will know yourself when you are close to crossing the red line.
For example, in 2014 the radiation levels of Reactor 4 were still so high that this area was completely off-limits to visitors, but over the years certain areas within this reactor decreased their radiation levels: this was the case of the control room of Chernobyl’s Reactor 4, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
You can also visit some locations that are close to the area where the disaster happened, such as Pripyat a city that was home to 49,000 citizens before it was evacuated following the meltdown.
The city has become a popular icon from Chernobyl’s Disaster, due to its eerie and spooky-looking surroundings. In addition, most of the buildings found in Pripyat have drastically deteriorated, some areas are off-limits due to poor structural integrity or high radiation levels.
Before determining the tour and leaving the Chernobyl area, you will have to perform several radiation tests to make sure everything is in order. If the alarm bells ring, you will need to go through decontamination to get out.
Would you like to take a tour around Chernobyl?