Surprisingly, a lot of tourists want to visit the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for its screaming curiosity and post-apocalyptic vibe. You may or may not have heard of the ghost town of Pripyat in Eastern Europe’s Ukraine. Chernobyl today is a photographer’s candy store so to speak.
Before visiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, more commonly referred to as just “Chernobyl,” it’s important to know that it is one of the most significant disaster zones of the late 20th century because it was blasted with 400 times the radiation of the bomb of Hiroshima.
A Recap of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
As you plan a visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone you should understand its history. It is the site where, on an evening in April of 1986, a singular event happened near Pripyat in the then USSR (now Ukraine).
Unbeknownst to the residents at the time, this event would shape their lives and thousands of others in the area for generations to come.
All thanks to a human error at the Chernobyl site, which caused a steam explosion in Reactor No. 4. This released a small percentage of the reactor’s core into the air, which caused enough radiation to induce a full evacuation of the surrounding towns. As well as the creation of an exclusion zone for 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi) around it.
The residents of the town of Pripyat, which is closest to Chernobyl, didn’t know that they were never to return.
It’s a horrible story, with enough photos taken of the ghost town to give anyone a feeling of dread. Yet, it’s precisely this shuddersome