Pripyat is a town in Ukraine where no one lives. In April 1986, 33 years ago, a man-made technical accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant ordered 47 thousand people out of their homes to never return, and became one of the most prolific technogenic catastrophes of our time.

Chernobyl, 33 years later

The town of Pripyat (Prypyat) is still uninhabitable. You have to pass 3 check points to be arrive here for a short excursion.

The town is located within Kyiv (Kiev) region, near the Ukraine-Belarus border.

After the recent TV series “Chernobyl” on Sky UK the interest from foreign tourists picked substantially and it’s important to maintain all security protocols. It’s still a “no go” zone.

Today’s Pripyat “looks like an architect’s horrible error” with tops of trees looking over a forest — trees have grown through asphalt everywhere, Segodnya.ua reports. You can still see the old poplars that are planted in linear fashion on what used to be the streets of the town bubbling with life.

The first check point is 115 km from Kyiv in the village Diyatyatki (“Kiddies”). Getting here from the capital takes about 1.5 hours. This is where the exclusion zones begins.

The booklet visitors receive at the check point reminds about the requirement to wear full clothing. You are also not allowed to consume food on open air or leave any rubbish.

The road from the check point passes many villages with houses nearly hidden behind the 30-year forest invading every yard.

The 200-meter tall fifth power block of the Chernobyl station, which has never been finished or operated, becomes visible soon after passing the check point.

The yellow signs remind of the need to stay on road. One step off and it can literally cost you life. Radiation is still there and can be damaging to health.

Another check point is on approach to the town of Pripyat. It’s much smaller but you still need to stop.

Once passed, you are in town, although it still looks like forest.

The cars have to move slowly, since holes in roads haven’t been fixed for over 30 years.

The image of post-apocalyptic Earth

The town looks verbatim like post-apocalyptic movies. If you want to feel what the Earth is going to look like after a full-blown techno disaster with no humans in sight, Chernobyl is the perfect scene for people with little imagination. It’s scary to think the accident happened only 33 years ago and see how quick the nature took charge.

Chernobyl is a historical town mentioned in the chronicles dated 1193. The town of Pripyat, on the other hand, is very young. It was purposefully built as the service town for the nuclear power station.

In 2019 there is a Christmas tree erected in the town for the first time after many years. During the holidays before the grave 1986 disaster the Christmas tree erected in Pripyat fell over. Locals saw it as a bad omen (Ukrainians are highly superstitious), which later came true.

The highest building of the town with the coat of arms of the USSR is 16 storeys tall and visible from all points. Another object often seen in movies is the giant ferris wheel with bright yellow chairs, totally overpowered by trees and plants. The ferris wheel was part of the theme park, just as bright coloured bumper cars, also visible in many photos and videos. It must be the only theme park that attracts crowds of tourists, although it had been abandoned for 30 years.

Video: Inside the Chernobyl power plant — highly dangerous!

You may not want to wander through radiation-laden buildings of Chernobyl, but some people find it fascinating. Here is what it looks like in 2019.

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