Excursions to Chernobyl: how is the rest in the Exclusion Zone

Against the background of the growing popularity of the series "Chernobyl", we decided to tell you what the main object around which the narrative is being conducted looks like now — the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Let's find out who, how and why regularly visit these God-forsaken places, and how much such an extreme vacation costs.

With the release of the HBO project "Chernobyl", the tourist flow to the exclusion zone increased by more than 50%. And this is not surprising, because many fans want to see with their own eyes the places where the footage of the series they loved was filmed. This is the same as walking through the picturesque edges, reminiscent of the scenery of "Game of Thrones", for fans of the cult saga.

For a long time, the 30-kilometer zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was closed to all outsiders. Fortunately, now fans of industrial tourism have all the opportunities to get here. However, to do this, you need to adhere to a few simple rules, for example, be sure to have a dosimeter with you.

Excursion buses to the abandoned city of Pripyat and the active Chernobyl (shift workers live here) run every day. During such a trip, tourists can hear the history of these places from the mouth of an experienced guide, have lunch in an authentic institution, take dozens of photos and even buy souvenirs.

One of the main Ukrainian tour operators specializing in this direction is the Chernobyl Tour company. The company offers various types of excursions (more recently, even a "TV series tour"), prices for them start from $ 99 (6,400 rubles) for foreigners and $ 49 (a little more than 3 thousand rubles) for Ukrainians.

A few days before the trip, the client contacts the office, provides his passport details and makes an advance payment. Since the CHZO is a regime facility, the special services can prohibit entry to a person who does not cause them confidence. For all others, the tour operator issues passes, which will need to be presented at checkpoints. There are only three such objects on the way to the station.

Tourists gather at a previously agreed place in Kiev, from where the bus takes them to the territory of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Group tours, as a rule, begin with a detailed inspection of one of the abandoned villages.

Once there was a lot of life here — children grew up, families were built, people went to work, did housework. Now — everything is covered with a layer of long-term dust, the streets are empty, and the lights have not been on in the houses for a long time.

Then tourists are taken to lunch at the 19th canteen of the Chernobyl Nuclear power Plant. It was here that the workers of the power plant ate at one time. After the accident, the canteen treated the builders of the safe "confinement" — the dome that covered the fourth power unit.

There is also a cafe "Ten" and a dining room "Pripyat" in the city, so tourists will definitely not stay hungry.

Those who have chosen multi-day excursions can check into one of the local hotels (there are two of them) or a hostel. At the end of the tour, the bus takes tourists back with a lot of impressions from what they saw.

The company also offers air tours over Chernobyl and individual tours for those who want to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of what is happening. For example, by ordering such an excursion, a tourist will be able to visit the Chernobyl NPP from the inside and even walk along the famous "golden" corridor — a place connecting the administrative building with four power units, which is sheathed with special golden-colored panels that protect against radiation.

Naturally, illegal recreation is also actively flourishing on the territory of Chernobyl — the so-called stalker attacks. According to one of the guides Kirill Stepants, for the entire existence of the NPP there have been only three waves of increased interest from illegal travelers. The first was in the 90s, when "three and a half crazy marginals" penetrated here, wandering around the territory with knives and pistols. The second was during the period of popularity of the game "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: The Call of Pripyat". The third is after the release of videos about outings on YouTube.

Illegal immigrants, as a rule, spend the night in abandoned houses, bring food with them, and bypass the checkpoint field. Prices for such a holiday vary greatly, as they are set by the guides themselves. The program is made up depending on the client's wishes.

According to the guide, this type of recreation is popular, and this can be explained. Going to this place, a tourist expects to see a dead city with abandoned houses and deserted streets, but instead sees crowds of the same tourists with cameras.

However, illegal excursions have one obvious disadvantage — for entering the Chernobyl zone, you can get a lot of problems with the police, fines or even five years in prison if you find some object (no matter what it is) from a closed territory.

So let's go back to a safer, but no less exciting way to visit this place, and learn about the basic rules for tourists.

There are no strict requirements for the health of tourists. The organizers of the tour assure that during their stay in the territory of the Black Sea area, tourists receive a dose of radiation no more than for one flight by plane. The minimum age of a group member is 18 years. The exceptions are air tours — even minors can see the "ghost town" and the power plant from a bird's-eye view.

As in the case of illegal and legal excursions, travelers are strictly prohibited from taking any items from the Chernobyl zone. According to the law of Ukraine, this is equivalent to the movement of radioactive waste and is considered criminally punishable.

Also, all members of the group must wear closed clothes and shoes. Smoking on the territory of Chernobyl is allowed only in specially designated places, sitting down or lying down on the ground, eating berries and mushrooms, drinking water from puddles (you never know) — it is strictly prohibited here.

Finally, we want to show you some more photos from these lonely places.

Well, if photos are not enough for you and you want to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of that terrible tragedy even more — take friends, come to Ukraine, book an excursion and enjoy the unique views. Just don't forget to look at the dosimeter!