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Chernobyl: Vacation Hotspot? Or Mutation-Causing Wrong Turn?

by Neil Woodburn (RSS feed) on Oct 4th 2007 at 1:01PM

One place I really want to visit, but common sense tells me otherwise, is Chernobyl. No, not the power plant itself, but the nearby ghost town of Pripyat and the wasteland that surrounds it.

Apparently it's just safe enough for visitors to spend a brief time scavenging about before too much radiation mutates their brain cells. We've posted before about tours which the adventurous and/or fool hearted can take out of Kiev. And, we've posted about a rather amazing motor bike journey through the "Zone of Estrangement."

Today, however, we share a chilling video of what a city of 48,000 looks like 20 years after this planet's worst nuclear disaster. And it ain't pretty folks. It sure is tempting to visit, though. And, were it not for the radiation, I'd be climbing all over those buildings. Call me a wimp, but I think I'm staying away for another century or two.

And if this isn't scary enough for you, be sure to click here for an even more frightening video captured in the wintertime.

Filed under: Biking, Ukraine

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Allison Dec 13th 2010 10:13PM

Even scarier than a video of abandoned Pripyat is the fact that nearby reactor number 4 is housed an a makeshift containment 'sarcophagus' that is steadily decaying and currently has holes in it you could drive a van through. They are working to complete a more permanent (or at least less temporary) structure before this one collapses and spews enough radioactive waste into the atmosphere to devastate Europe and cause damage probably around the world. Projected completion is in 2012. Okay it sounds less dangerous than vacationing in D.C. but yeah... NO THANKS. Chernobyl isn't 'over' yet, not by a long shot.

MarkR Oct 4th 2007 2:15PM

I personally visited the Chernobyl area for two days in June 2006 with a friend and former resident of Pripyat. We toured the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room), several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal of my trip at:

My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster

MarkR Oct 4th 2007 2:16PM

Here is the link to my article:

http://www.nikongear.com/Chernobyl/Chernobyl_1.php

Willy Oct 5th 2007 9:06AM

jeezum, it's a ghost town...

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