I was lucky enough to visit this incredible city and Chernobyl before the war raged through the place. I was due to return for a week to explore more but the same month the war broke out.. On the 26th April 1986 an explosion in one of the nuclear reactors in Chernobyl sent massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Over a period of a few days over 50,000 people had to be evacuated to other towns and cities.
The town still stands abandoned.. Alot of history can be found online about it. This gives you an idea of how vast the city is, I got to stand on top of the highest building and watch the sun rise while supping hot chocolate and taking in the amazing view... and total silence.. a very unnerving silence..
Because of the speed the evacuation had to take place in order to try and save thousands from the deadly radiation everything was left behind, pets included. People were asked to pack a small bag and leave in the dozens of buses that awaited them. They never returned. Ever.. The city housed everything that a normal city would.. hospitals, nurseries..
Schools.. sports halls..
shops.. leisure facilities.. summer camps..
The iconic Amusement park
Swimming Pool.. now famous for a scene in an online game call of duty..
One of the schools had a sea of gasmasks left scattered all over the floors.. The children would regularly have to do gas mask drills incase of such incidents..
Very slowly the wildlife has started to make its way back, elks, wolfs, dogs, cats and foxes can all be seen wandering around the forests.. some are looked after by the power plant workers, who are still working on containing the reactor.. they are able to live neaeby as the radiation levels are satisfactory. Everywhere you go you take a geiger metre with you and when the radiation levels rise in areas it beeps to warn you.
I was really lucky to be able to have a week here staying within the zone.. to wake up every morning and look out around me to see nothing but abandonment.. I tried to visualise what it would of been like to wake up one day and leave your whole life behind you never to return.. I can only imagine how the people felt.. 😔
I really do hope that one day when peace is restored I will get to explore more of this incredible place.
[//]:# (!pinmapple 51.41955 lat 30.05986 long pripyat the abandoned city d3scr)