There are two authorized tour companies that offer tours of Chernobyl. Of course, a member of the Ukrainian military accompanies your tour group from the first checkpoint until the very end when you leave through the same checkpoint. When joining one of these tour groups, you must give the tour operator at least a week notice. The tour operator will take your passport information and will submit it to the proper authorities to grant you authorization to enter Chernobyl. Remember, when on the tour, you MUST have your passport on you and ready for military inspection at all the checkpoints.
When entering Chernobyl its an eerie site accompanied by a feeling of isolation. Its almost hard to imagine that this was once a place full of people working, taking care of the nuclear reactors, walking, and driving on the streets. Silence. Absolute silence. That's Chernobyl.
I was 100 meters away from the infamous reactor number four. Due to the radiation levels, that's the closest one may get safely. It was this reactor that on 26 April, 1986 exploded and ruptured making this small, globally unknown town in the Ukraine synonymous with devastation.
After seeing the infamous reactor, I went to Pripyat. Pripyat was the town adjacent to Chernobyl, the model Soviet town created to house all of the Chernobyl employees and their families.
As I was entering Pripyat, the silence grew louder. All the abandoned apartment buildings, hotel, shops, schools, and the fair ground remain untouched as if waiting for their tenants to come back. The windows from the buildings are shattered, the floors are falling apart, the roads are overgrown by trees, yet everything is still there. In Pripyat the date still remains 26 April, 1986.
While walking through the fair ground, the bumper cars lay still, the infamous ferris wheel's cars sway back and forth in the wind. In my mind I could picture the carnival only being hours away!
When entering the community center, books lay all over the floors of the lecture rooms.
When walking into the school the desks are still scattered all over the place with Soviet propaganda plastered all over the walls.
While Chernobyl and Pripyat may not be considered as a place worth visiting on your bucket list, its definitely a very interesting place that shows you up close the devastation of nuclear activity and how man's creation may very well lead to man's downfall.
Tour Company
I went on a group tour with Solo East Travel. There were about 20 of us accompanied by the owner of the company and his two sons. The tour was informative and included lunch. The pick-up was in downtown Kiev. If you would like a pick-up from your hotel, give them advance notice. The tour, including roundtrip driving time and lunch was approximately 9hrs. Prices vary. Visit their website.
www.tourkiev.com
Hotel
I stayed at the Intercontinental Kiev. This is one of Kiev's most exclusive hotels. Located downtown across the street from the Kiev Police Headquarters, making this a very safe place to stay. The hotel is beautiful with a very rich, warm, elegant atmosphere. The staff are approachable, but lack in efficiency, although the concierge was very friendly and knowledgeable. She arranged for me, on short notice, to have a private guided city tour of Kiev. The rooms are elegant and fairly large for European standards.
Transportation
Boryspil International Airport is about 45 minutes to an hour away from downtown Kiev. English isn't widely spoken so I recommend arranging an airport pick-up/drop-off through your hotel.
Getting There
Boryspil is serviced by many carriers. Passengers from the USA will most likely have to connect through major European hubs, although Aerosvit offers nonstop service from New York and Delta offers seasonal nonstop service from New York.
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| Reactor number four. |
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| Inside the community center. |
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| Lecture Hall inside the community center. |
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| View of Pripyat from the rooftop of one of the many abandoned buildings. |
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| Bumper cars in the fair ground. |
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| The famous ferris wheel that was never used. |
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| One of the many abandoned apartment buildings overgrown with trees. |
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| Classroom. |
