The Chernobyl Experience

3 Nights / 4 Days

Day 1: Head to the town of Ivankiv, villages of Sukachi and New-Ladyzhychi (built for the former residents of evicted Ladyzhychi village in the Chernobyl Zone):

Recreation base “Ecopolis” at the bank of Teterev-river: amateur museum of local lore (optional, on request of the group)
Site of the field camp of the 25th brigade of radiation, chemical, and bacteriological protection
(30-km-) Zone checkpoint “Dytyatki”
Bypass road to the NPP around the town of Chernobyl, built during the first month after the accident
10-km-zone checkpoint Level
The abandoned village of Lelev
Site of former vehicle decontamination depot Lelev
Eliminated village of Kopachi (buildings of post-office and farms; ancient beehive, made from a tree trunk)
Site of former vehicle decontamination depot Kopachi
Decontaminated Red Forest, located on the trace of the worst, the first release of the radiation directly after the explosion
Town of Pripyat, which had a population of 50 thousand before the evacuation – introductory visit

Chernobyl NPP: Visit the Sarcophagus and New Safe Confinement (“Arch”)

Observation lot and a visit to the observation building
Fire station at the NPP; its crews arrived the first to extinguish the fire at the NPP after the explosion
Park and monument near the administrative building used to be an enormous parking lot in 1986: thousands of people arrived there daily for NPP decontamination, Sarcophagus construction, and other works
The NPP cooling pond (feeding giant catfish – depending on the season)

Town of Chernobyl:

Helicopter pad
Place of a former parking lot for armoured vehicles of radiation reconnaissance
Exhibition of vehicles which participated in mitigation of the accident
Fire station of Chernobyl town: its crews arrived the third to extinguish the fire at the NPP after the explosion
Monument to Chernobyl heroes: a floral tribute
St. Ilya orthodox church
Historical blocks and buildings of the town
Jewish history of Chernobyl-town: the building of a synagogue, graves of Chernobyl zaddiks (place for pilgrimage of Judaists from all over the world), Jewish cemetery, the grave and monument for the Holocaust victims

Back to the hotel and dinner in Chernobyl-town.

Day 2: Breakfast in Chernobyl-town, and then:

10-km-zone checkpoint Lelev
Photo session at the stele of Prypayt-town
Grave of the antifascist guerillas of World War 2 near the bridge to Prypayt-town

Town of Pripyat: Detailed acquaintance and photo sessions:

Main bus station
A barbed-wire fence, built by the liquidators around the town
The building of fire station, which crews arrived the second to extinguish the fire at the NPP on the night of explosion on April 26, 1986
A hospital, which accommodated the firemen and NPP workers, badly affected by the accident
Main square: Palace of Culture, soviet supermarket, restaurant
Amusement park with the Ferris wheel
Unique natural phenomenon – a moss, which collects and concentrates radiation
Debunking of radiation myths: “a mutated pine tree”
Sports stadium: its football field turned into a forest
Town police station
The quay at the river Pripyat, café “Prometheus”
Cinema theatre “Prometheus” and place of the evacuated monument to Prometheus etc.
The Novoshepelichi village: acquaintance with their way of life, providing aid

Dinner in Chernobyl-town and a presentation and discussion about Chernobyl and radiation accidents, their mitigation and survival.

Day 3: Breakfast in Chernobyl-town and then:

the left bank of Pripyat river, acquaintance with the river flood plain and estuary: nature and self settlers
the cooling towers of the third stage of the Chernobyl NPP
abandoned experimental station of radiation biology of animal subjects
the railway station “Yanov”
the secret soviet object Chernobyl-2 (radar “DUGA-1”)
ChNPP and town of Pripyat: final photo sessions
the western sector of the Zone: nature, peculiarities of contamination, abandoned villages, self settlers
zone checkpoints “Dibrova”, “Ovruch” and “Polis’ke” (exit from the Zone)
quick “decontamination shot” at “The Hunter’s hut” restaurant (optional, on request of the group)

Dinner in Chernobyl-town and back to the hotel for your last night.

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