A Trip to Chernobyl

Countless abandoned buildings and the wind howling through the empty streets are the only witnesses that remain in the city of Pripyat, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster site. The Ukrainian ghost town is the setting for a real horror movie. What to expect on a trip to Chernobyl, and whether it's safe at all, is discussed here.

An abandoned amusement park: The gondolas of the Ferris wheel shine in shades of rust, the individual cars of the bumper cars are overgrown with grass. As the wind blows over the grounds, creaks and groans can be heard from all directions. Vacant houses with broken windows, some already collapsed, line the desolate streets of the city. Every step, every movement echoes. When glancing over the scene, decay and emptiness are the only things that can be admired. This is the creepy description of the ghost town of Pripyat near Chernobyl. Not exactly a dream destination for the next vacation, yet since 2011 the former city of 50,000 inhabitants has officially been accessible to tourists again, attracting them, especially after the huge success of the Netflix series Chernobyl.

Pripyat was once built as a workers' city to provide housing for the employees of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Located about four kilometers from the reactor, it lies in the midst of the uninhabitable 30-kilometer exclusion zone. When the catastrophic meltdown occurred on April 26, 1986, the closest city to the power plant was not evacuated until 36 hours after the accident. Since then, it has been left to nature. It was too dangerous to let the residents return to their contaminated homes. Since then, a few residents have returned to their old places, but most avoid the area extensively.

The explosion at Reactor 4 in Chernobyl in 1986 released dangerous radioactive radiation that spread across much of Northern Europe (e.g., the Balkans, Northern Italy, Finland). Several hundred thousand people from the surrounding contaminated areas in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine had to be resettled. Even today, the effects of the disaster are still felt in the population - whole regions remain barren.

To avoid panic, the population was only sparsely informed. Only a radio announcement the day after the accident asked people to leave the city using provided buses. Following that, instructions were given to prepare for a three-day absence - an unconsidered and utterly utopian requirement. Because the residents of Pripyat were evacuated so late, they were exposed to extremely high doses of radiation, resulting in severe health issues, including all forms of cancer or even death, as direct consequences of the contamination.

Pripyat is now a ghost town that has been plagued over the years by looters and illegal visitors, despite the radiation hazards. To ensure quick access routes to the reactor in case of another accident, around 4,000 workers are still active in the area. The streets of the city have been decontaminated, meaning they are largely free from dangerous radiation. Current measurements are at 0.97 microsieverts per hour. For comparison: In Germany, we are exposed to natural radiation of about two millisieverts per year, which equals a dose of 0.23 microsieverts per hour. The amazing thing is that the animals and plants in the area seem to have adapted well to the radioactivity, even though plants can store radioactive radiation for much longer. Researchers have been studying the vegetation and development of native species for years, looking for changes - an exciting and seemingly inexhaustible topic for science.

25 years after the incident, the city was opened for tourism. Is that still related to vacation? The term Dark Tourism comes to mind. According to Forbes magazine, the contaminated city is even classified as a 'world's unique place to visit'.

To gain access to Pripyat or other villages within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, you need a valid access permit, which is only issued by Ukrainian tour operators. Trips typically start with a bus from Kiev. Trained guides lead you through Pripyat, and meetings with eyewitnesses are often offered to provide visitors with exclusive insight into past events. For those wanting an even more intense experience, multi-day Chernobyl tours are also available.

A one-day tour starts at around €80, visiting both the ghost town itself and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Long-abandoned schools and kindergartens, where toppled chairs, scattered leaves, and fallen shelves are a common sight, are part of the tour stops. In a hospital, the rusted cribs for infants are still lined up, and dolls torn apart by animals add to the gruesome image. The Ferris wheel that spins by ghostly hands and the dilapidated swimming pool give Pripyat the best conditions to be the setting for a horror movie.

The organizers point out that as participants, you should bring your own drinking water and snacks, as the water and food in the region are still considered contaminated and therefore harmful to health. A personal Geiger counter, which measures radiation levels during the tour, is also recommended. If you don't happen to have one on hand, you can usually borrow the device on-site.

If you dare to travel to the previously heavily contaminated city, there are a few things you should keep in mind during your visit. Due to the close proximity to the reactor, despite over 30 years that have passed, buildings and plants are still heavily contaminated. Therefore, the collecting of berries and mushrooms is strictly prohibited, as well as touching plants and objects, as well as the walls inside the buildings. However, according to tour operators, protective clothing is not necessary. Sturdy footwear and long-sleeved clothing are said to be sufficient for protection against the remaining radiation.

For those for whom a single tour of the ghost town of Pripyat and the area of the damaged nuclear power plant in Chernobyl is not enough, you can also come for an overnight stay in the exclusion zone. Chernobyl has been attracting tourists for two years with a hostel that has a total of 50 single, double, and triple rooms.

The cost for a night here is just about €7 - including a shower, television, and Wi-Fi. If you want to spend a night in the hostel in Chernobyl, you should contact a local tour provider. Important: Even if you are guests of the hostel, you cannot explore the ghost town on your own, but only within a guided tour.

The HBO-produced series 'Chernobyl' deals in a striking and almost documentary way with the nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine - and has sparked great interest in traveling to Chernobyl.

The filming for the series, which exposes the disaster and its consequences with brutal images, partially took place in Ukraine, with others in Lithuania, where the now-closed Ignalina nuclear power plant served as a backdrop. This level of realism resonates - the series is already being hailed as one of the most successful of all time.

Now we have come to the end of an unusual and extraordinary journey. The trip to Chernobyl has left a lasting impression on me. After all, the damaged nuclear power plant serves as a stark reminder of caution and humility, reminding us of the terrible consequences an accident like this can have for humanity and nature. Would you take a trip to Pripyat near Chernobyl? What do you think about Dark Tourism in general? Participate in the survey and share your opinion with me!