TOURISTS GO FOR NUCLEAR OPTION
IN April 1986 it was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident. Unbelievably though, Chernobyl is now a holiday destination for thrill-seekers and lovers of the macabre – and you can get there in just a few hours from Cardiff airport.
Daring adventurers will be able to witness first hand the abandoned schools, playgrounds and streets that, in the intervening decades, have been gradually reclaimed by nature – an eerie stillness now replacing the hustle and bustle of when some 50,000 people once went about their daily lives in the northern Ukraine city.
All you have to do to get there is to fly to Kiev, where you’ll be taken by bus – prebooked through the tour company’s website – to the exclusion zone of one of the most haunting places in the world.
Upon arrival you can have a one or two-day tour – in a group or privately – around the 30km exclusion zone, including the now overgrown ghost city of Pripyat, originally founded to house the plant workers and their families.
You will also get up close to the powerplant itself and meet residents who survived the explosion.
You can also look around a former Soviet missile base 40m below ground. Tours are conducted by local experts, often Pripyat’s former head of police.
And don’t worry – 48 hours in the h Chernobyl Ch b l exclusion l i zone will result in the body only receiving a dose of radiation comparable to that of a routine X-ray, or to several hours spent on board an aeroplane – and there’ll be a geiger counter on hand to make sure.
For prices and information go to chernobylwel.com more www.