4-Xtremes – Part 33: At the scene of the nuclear disaster – an expedition through Chernobyl

Since the moment the Ukraine landed on our route plan, one thing has been certain: we will visit Chernobyl. Following the nuclear disaster on 26 April 1986, the authorities of the former Soviet Union declared a 30-kilometre radius around the damaged reactor block 4 a prohibited area. More than 160 villages and towns were evacuated or razed to the ground. Today the abandoned town of Prypyat is known the world over as the embodiment of a "lost place".

If you want to visit the zone, you must book a guided tour. We find a hostel whose owners will look after Aimée for a day. Our tour guide, Julia, is waiting for us at a checkpoint. Our passports and the drone are inspected, then we are given dosimeters to measure radiation – and ordered to keep them on us at all times. And then the barrier is raised for us and the Axor.

People are still working here.

To our amazement the road is brand new and so we reach Chernobyl quickly. The town is located outside the 10-kilometre-zone – the inner circle of the prohibited area. Many of the buildings have been renovated and serve as lodgings for the workers and engineers of the old Prypyat power plant. Scientists, soldiers, police officers, fire-fighters – there are in fact still a lot of people working here, although on a rota basis, so always only for a certain length of time. A good infrastructure, sunshine and autumn-coloured trees on the day of our visit: the pleasant atmosphere could easily belie the danger that this place still represents.

We see the New Safe Confinement over reactor block 4 and next to it reactor block 3 which continued to provide electricity until 2000. We are only allowed to stop and take photos in certain locations. Another checkpoint and we are in the 10-kilometre-zone, in Prypyat. The town then with a population of 50,000 was cleared very quickly. For 35 years now everything has been at a standstill and nature is recapturing Prypyat.

Exit only after a strict inspection.

Then things get serious: before we can leave the prohibited area, we have to pass two checkpoints with full-body scanners. The Axor is also inspected for radiation. The dosimeters are sent to a lab for evaluation. If the readings are too high, you are informed and must undergo a medical examination and if necessary treatment. We are spared that. And so we continue our world tour – one memory richer; that of an oppressive but extremely exciting day.

Photos: 4-Xtremes