In April 1986, Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. As the result of a design flaw on the Chernobyl 4 Reactor, the plant exploded and burnt down, releasing radioactive materials into the surrounding environment and further afield in Belarus and Ukraine. Around 350,000 people were evacuated, deserting entire towns and villages. 

Since the area is uninhabitable for at least another 20,000 years, much of the exclusion zone sits abandoned, besides a few residents who decided to move back to their villages shortly after the disaster. While some workers live in the nearby town of Chernobyl, the soviet purpose-built city of Pripyat just three kilometres away from the reactors is a complete ghost town. 

Chernobyl town itself is quite old, with its first mention dating back to 1193. It has a lot of history in Kievan Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Russian Empire, and was occupied by German forces in WWI and again in WWII. Finally the area was chosen to be the site of a nuclear power station and the Duga over-the-horizon radar. 

After passing through the checkpoint, we're given a personal dosimeter to measure radiation in the areas we visit. We're also advised to not eat or drink anything outside of the van, to stay on the path and to not touch the ground. While the area is pretty safe, radioactive particles are still present in the top layers of the soil. 

Many of the villages that were evacuated were so contaminated that they were simply buried instead of demolished, since demolishing them would only release more dust into the air. You can see mounds in the landscape where buildings once stood. 

While most villages were completely abandoned and have fallen into disrepair, some villages around Chernobyl were preserved and a few residents have returned to their homes. Around 130-150 people are currently living in the exclusion zone, despite it being illegal to do so. Many are elderly farmers who wish to live off the land.

The town of Zalissya had a population of around 3200 before the disaster. It was one of the first villages in the exclusion zone to be evacuated in May 1986. You'd have no idea that 3200 people lived here, as there are only a few buildings and remnants of human life left.

While we were advised to not go inside the buildings or touch anything, our tour guide didn't seem to mind and let us do what we wanted. The British lads on our tour took especial advantage of this by touching everything and going inside every building. 

Palaces of Culture were very typical in the Soviet Union. They were basically just club houses for towns and villages; a place for sports, theatre, ballet - pretty much anything you can think of probably happened here.

The Zhiguli, called a Lada in the west due to the apparent difficulty of its original pronunciation, was a highly sought after car in the Soviet Union, since it was reliable, affordable, and uniquely Soviet. It was so sought after that many people were put on wait lists to actually receive the car after they ordered it - some families even waited for up to 10 years. 

After visting Zalissya, we headed closer to the site of the disaster, stopping at a kindergarten in a village once called Kopachi. Only the kindergarten and one other building remain here - the rest were either buried or bulldozed.

It actually turned out that while burying these buildings stopped radioactive dust from being released into the air, the radiation actually seeped into the water table instead, driving the toxins deeper into the environment. The kindergarten has become an infamous symbol of the disaster. 

At several points on the tour, our guide would stop to show us the geiger counter readings at certain "hotspots". The one above was outside the kindergarten, directly below where water would drip off the roof. 15.00 μSv isn't actually that much - you're exposed to 40 μSv by hopping on a plane and going overseas. The average citizen (outside of Chernobyl) is exposed to around 3,600 μSv per year. However, a normal reading of the ground should show around 0.12 μSv​​​​​​​.

The New Shelter that covers Reactor 4 is legitimately huge - this photo was taken from around two kilometres away.

This new structure also covers the original (and hastily built) temporary shelter structure, known as the sarcophagus. The New Shelter is designed to confine the radioactive remains for the next 100 years, and is supposed to dismantle parts of the old sarcophagus and the Reactor. However, due to a gap in funding, the dismantling of the old structures has come to a stand still.

When residents were evacuated after the disaster, they weren't allowed to bring their pets with them. While many of these pets were shot, some survived and now there are many stray dogs in the area. Due to the levels of radiation they are exposed to, many have shortened life expectancies and struggle to survive in the harsh Ukrainian winters.

Local workers have made small shelters for them to sleep in and the dogs can always count on visitors to provide them food. There are currently three veterinary clinics in the area that make sure the strays are neutered, vaccinated and (somewhat) healthy.

A glass mosaic wall inside the cinema, the way to Kiev, a (probably purposely placed) gas mask

The photos above are from the town of Pripyat, probably the most infamous place in Chernobyl. Founded in 1970 (though only proclaimed as a city in 1979), Pripyat was one of nine secret nuclear Soviet cities. It reached a population of around 50,000 people shortly before it was evacuated in 1986. 

Many of the citizens were Soviet scientists, engineers, plant workers, and their families - there are a lot of details about the city I could get into, but I honestly recommend reading the Wikipedia page. 

After the disaster, the hotel was used to house liquidators to sleep and coordinate their actions. Here is an impressive photo of how the hotel looked before Pripyat was evacuated and abandoned. 

Much of the furniture from inside was either burned, buried or sent to nearby Slavuytich. You might also recognise the hotel from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to enter any of the buildings due to safety concerns (most of them are falling apart and some people have been seriously hurt). 

Above are some propaganda posters that were left in a room connected to the Theatre. I believe the two men were up for election as city mayor. 

And finally, two of the most iconic symbols of Chernobyl - the amusement park that never opened. While liquidators washed the concrete down to remove radiation, moss that has grown in the area has been found to have some of the highest levels of contamination in Pripyat.

Finally, the last stop on the tour is the Duga Radar, a "Soviet Over-the-Horizon" system, which was used to detect incoming missiles from the US. In operation from 1976 until 1989, this radar was also sometimes referred to as the Russian woodpecker, due to the sharp tapping noise it emitted through the radio. This is probably one of the largest structures I've ever seen - there was an effort to demolish it, but the Ukrainian government ran out of money and decided to leave it as is. 

Thanks for reading!