For those who got sick of standart excursions with boring guides and always the same routes – a 4-day walking tour to Pripyat.
The Zone of Alienation (or simply the Zone) of the Chernobyl NPP is a closed area exposed to the pollution of long-lived radionuclides as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The village of Gubin is a perfect place for illegal entry to the Zone. Here is only one row of barbed wire which is very easy to walk through.
The closer to the Zone, the uglier the trees. The average background radiation is 30-40 mcR/h.
As in any forest, here is a great number of mosquitoes and gnats. A lot of wild animals and their tracks (paw prints and excriment). The lack of people allowed them to breed in a massive scale.
Most of the forests are artificial, planted in neat rows, separated by cuttings. Some cuttings are fresh, some are piled with garbage and branches. In general, the places are very beautiful.
Countless power lines stretch throughout the entire area.
23 km to Pripyat. The village of Yampol and the first night in the forest.
25 years since the Chernobyl accident did their job – now this place is inhabited by different hosts. Houses, sidewalks, lampposts, streets – everything is in the power of plants. A dosimeter shows minor deviations from the norm.
Inside of some houses you can still see stoves and the remains of the interior.
The first serious obstacle is the bridge over the Uzh river. Only 100 meters of straight road, excellent visibility, very heavy traffic and a zero possibility to jump into the bushes in order not to be noticed.
The water in the river is amazingly clear. Soft sand at the bottom and the background is only 51 mcR/h. Very hard to resist the wish to bathe.
The remains of a destroyed village and a fire tower.
Chernobyl grapes, om nom nom nom. Only 37 mcR/h.
Apples, 47 mcR/h and a sea of vitamins.
A nice picture not far away from the cemetery.
The hills in the picture are buried houses the background of which exceeded the norm.
And this is 100 m genius of the Soviet radio engineering – the over-the-horizon radar system “Duga”.
It’s better not to pick up mushrooms here…
The cemetery of the locals.
A herd of Przewalski’s Horses.
The entrance is strictly forbidden!
Background – 80 mcR/h.
A building near “Duga”.
About 300 meters in length.
Huge antennas.
100 meters in height.
Familiar landscapes.
Such wastelands are often met in this pine forest. Its background is 250-300mcR/h.
The moss is also radiactive. In general, the background in the forest is 2 – 2,5 times higher than on the wastelands.
The remains of channels for land reclamation (in this case it’s a narrow strip of water 4 meters wide) can turn out to be serious obstacles.
The territory of the red forest which some time ago was cut down, buried and planted with new trees. The background in this place is 2200 mcR/h. Just 110 times higher than normal.
The place of burial is fenced with relatively fresh barbed wire.
Very close to Pripyat.
Houses and half ruined barns.
Many hills with protruding from them plates.
The so-called “Bridge of Death” received a large dose after the accident. Now its background is about 60 mcR/h.
The beginning of a railway station.
Pripyat welcomes you with its ragged five-story buildings and overgrown streets.
The view of the station.
The sixteen-story house is the highest in the city.
The main entrance is overgrown but it’s still easy to find.
Spending the night on a roof with the great view of the Chernobyl NPP, a Soviet emblem on the building, the setting sun and the background of only 45 mcR/h… What can be better?
Location: Pripyat
via leprosorium.ru
Surprising
This is a great research area for the show after people.
Amazing pictures, thank you!
Dozi meter is made in Russia! ! ! ! !sensor shows less radiation and what will happened to “eco tourists” i can just imagine that. R I P
An answer for the question under the last pic:
The leftovers from Chernobyl demolished,gone,and a big
new powerplant using solar,some good music,a beer or wine,non-poluted,and more green!!
The picture with the living tower is great,the plants gives a natural flow of serenity,i would life in such place…under other circumstances.
Great pics!
Real life S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S
Interesting pics! Thanks!
I would’ve spent all my time exploring “Duga.”
Even with low background radiations, radioactive particles that are inhaled or ingested are cause for serious concern. The liquidators didn’t get it all.
Right, pripyat isnt a forbidden zone for fun. Then these guys comes back and their wifes will wash the dirty clothes and get also some radiation.
Cooooolnesss!!!!!!
I knew it was Pripyat without even reading. More doll heads per square km than anywhere on earth.
Some of these powerlines are still in use, or at least were up to a few years ago. Ukraine has a backbone of 750kV lines that connect the main power plants and Chernobyl was a node of this grid. Cutting off lines in Chernobyl area would cause major problems in energy transmission, as these 750kV monsters carries thousands of MW power. A new substation was supposed to be built to divert these lines out of the hot zone but don’t have information if is already completed (or will be completed, one day)
Was this an illegal visit to the Zone? It seems like it, so I cannot give this my support.
Plan on visiting someday. Such an awesome place.
Bad idea to eat that apple. Just because a regular Geiger counter shows no high level of radiation doesn’t mean it’s safe. For example mushrooms and berries in German forests still show up to 7.000 Bq radiation. A Geiger counter doesn’t detect this level at all. People still eat them, but the safety limit for food that can be sold on a market is 500 Bq. Now, Germany is some thousand kilometers away. So how many Bq will an apple from the Zone have? Some twenty thousands?
Love it, looks so beautiful, wish there were more articles and photos like these! Looks so nice, wish I could go there too.
And if you did get caught doing this, what would the punishment be?
Wow, just Wow! Have you been caught for this yet? LOL!