Chernobyl

The village of Chernobyl in Ukraine had a long and colorful history before the nuclear reactor explosion in 1986, but that’s obviously not what any of these articles is ever about. Instead, the focus is on the fact that the town has been almost completely evacuated for nearly three decades. And is still a little radioactive..

Authorities in Ukraine tell tourists that the relative safety of the Chernobyl area has increased over the years since reactor #4 exploded on April 26, 1986. And since 2010, there have been tourist visits to this tragic disaster site.

The resident population was evacuated soon after the explosion, but scientific inquiry goes on today in the area, exploring the effects of long-term radiation in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone--an area within a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) radius around the damaged reactor site. The danger from radiation still exists, but effects are now deemed to be limited to long-term exposure. And the guided tours are brief, one-day events.

Making it happen

A state agency currently manages the Exclusion Zone, and the Ukrainian Tourist Board oversees guided tours that include visiting the concrete and steel sarcophagus that contains the exploded reactor. There were six reactors in all, two of which were still under construction at the time of the disaster.

Traveling to the Exclusion Zone by car, visitors can see the amazing repopulation of the area's wildlife and reforestation. And there are also scenes of rural life by local residents, scenes that have not changed in many years. As visitors get nearer to the disaster site, all traces of human activity vanish, and a guard post halts progress for inspection of validated entry passes. Tourists are not permitted individual access, and the guides maintain strict rules about staying within the group.

On the site the evidence of devastation and sudden evacuation are clear and striking. If you have the stomach for this disaster scene, there is enough to maintain your interest to the conclusion of your one-day tour.