Chernobyl - Myths & Facts
Memorial of evacuated villages which ceased to exist
Probably pointless to be describing a place so notoriously famous as Chernobyl, Ukraine.
While urbexing, there is always this dark and dreary atmosphere around, and questions like “Who lived here? Why did they leave this place? What happened here?”
In this case, there are countless publications and videos online, which will answer any ones questions easily and completely. But what will you NOT find in these sources??
(In the photo to the right is a memorial of all the villages in a 60km radius which had to be evacuated and basically ceased to exist.)
Ghost city yes or no? - In the Zone, there are up to 8000 people currently employed. Workers not only from Ukraine but from all over the world. (Mostly employees of international companies working on and servicing the current sarcophagus and companies working in the field of nuclear energetics.)
While urbexing, there is always this dark and dreary atmosphere around, and questions like “Who lived here? Why did they leave this place? What happened here?”
In this case, there are countless publications and videos online, which will answer any ones questions easily and completely. But what will you NOT find in these sources??
(In the photo to the right is a memorial of all the villages in a 60km radius which had to be evacuated and basically ceased to exist.)
Ghost city yes or no? - In the Zone, there are up to 8000 people currently employed. Workers not only from Ukraine but from all over the world. (Mostly employees of international companies working on and servicing the current sarcophagus and companies working in the field of nuclear energetics.)
New Sarcophagus
Has everyone seen the “Chernobyl Diaries”? The movie gave us some false ideas and took away the hope that there can be a quality movie made on this subject :) - (This is a thing of opinion of course...)
So once and for all, remember, there are no packs of mutated blood thirsty creatures running around Pripyat! :)
(You never know though...haha)
One of the new happenings here is the liquidation of The Red Forest. For those who havent heard about this, it was a pine tree forest in close proximity to the power plant. Shortly after the accident, the radioactive cloud passed through it, and coloured the trees red. So whoever is planning a visit and hoping to see it might be disappointed. We have found the last standing example.
So once and for all, remember, there are no packs of mutated blood thirsty creatures running around Pripyat! :)
(You never know though...haha)
One of the new happenings here is the liquidation of The Red Forest. For those who havent heard about this, it was a pine tree forest in close proximity to the power plant. Shortly after the accident, the radioactive cloud passed through it, and coloured the trees red. So whoever is planning a visit and hoping to see it might be disappointed. We have found the last standing example.
Chernobyl-4
For lot of people, the main focus of interest might be Reactor 4 itself (This is the one that caused the disaster, known as Chernobyl-4).
Not everyone might know that there is still work in progress on this reactor. The work includes not only constant repairs of the current sarcophagus but also the massive project of building a new sarcophagus right next to the old one. When completed, this structure will be transferred on custom built rails over Reactor No.4 to further seal and contain the hazardous core to make the area safe. The new sarcophagus will weigh 29,000 tons and will cost around 1.55 Billion euro! The whole European union is sharing this cost and the reactor should be encased by 2015.
Not everyone might know that there is still work in progress on this reactor. The work includes not only constant repairs of the current sarcophagus but also the massive project of building a new sarcophagus right next to the old one. When completed, this structure will be transferred on custom built rails over Reactor No.4 to further seal and contain the hazardous core to make the area safe. The new sarcophagus will weigh 29,000 tons and will cost around 1.55 Billion euro! The whole European union is sharing this cost and the reactor should be encased by 2015.
Reactor 5 & 6 (never finished)
So what should you do if you are interested in visiting Chernobyl and Pripyat?
Previously it was possible to apply for permission directly to the “State Agency of Ukraine on the Exclusion Zone Management – SAEZ” which would then decide if you were allowed or not. Now this is no longer possible. At the moment you will have to find an agency who does tours into the Zone, and they will deal with State agency and do all the paperwork for you.
Once big and mighty..
What's the epilogue? Well, even though Chernobyl has become somewhat a tourist attraction which unfortunately killed the uniqueness of it, the atmosphere is still absolutely electrifying in this place and a one day trip is only a small taste of it so if you have the time and funds, take the 2 day trip, it's definitely worth it!
We hope our photos will give you at least little bit of the feel and chill we had exploring this place.. Enjoy!
- Robot
Don't miss the Gallery below!
