Chernobyl Tour | Ukraine and Belarus side of exclusion zone | Pyala Travel - Travel Program

Day 1 arrival Minsk

Arrival at Minsk National Airport, meeting with your guide and transfer to a hotel. You can already start exploring Minsk. This city is fast moving foreward, from a dull Soviet city it has now become a very pleasant, vibrant city. Due to the political situation in Belarus, where as one of the few countries, all the old Soviet elements have not been removed, but are still being restored, you can look here for the old Soviet past. Lenin is still on its pedestal, the streets are still named after Lenin, Marx and English, the hammer and sickle are visible in many buildings. Along the Praspect Niezaleznasci (Independence Avenue) an enormous amount of Stalinist architecture. And many monuments that recall the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War).

Looking for hipster Minsk? Then go to Oktiabrskaja street. A district with old abandoned factories, now filled with breweries, hip cafes, mobile restaurants and art galleries. You'll also find a lot of street art here, many walls are painted with beautiful murals.

Day 2 Minsk - Khoiniki

Today you will travel to the small town of Khoiniki. This town is located on the border with the Ukraine and is the gateway to the exclusion zone of Chernobyl, the PSRER. The town itself is a typical Belarusian town, with Lenin on the central square proudly on his pedestal, the workers of the month are exhibited a little further away. In the town itself old apartment buildings with Soviet slogans, interspersed with old wooden houses. As soon as you leave the town you will see the signs of old kolkhoz and sowhoz's. In the town itself you can visit a museum dedicated to the Chernobyl disaster.

Day 3 Khoiniki / excursion PSRER

On 26 April 1986, the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) took place. One of the greatest nuclear disasters in the world, the consequences of which are still not entirely foreseeable. Not at all at the time. Initially, the reaction of the administrators was mainly defensive, but the seriousness of the disaster was soon recognised. A few days later, the city of Pripyat and its surroundings were evacuated.
Now, more than 30 years later, Pripyat is becoming a tourist attraction (partly due to the HBO film about Chernobyl). It is terrifying and fascinating to see, a step back in time. Abandoned cities from the Soviet era in desolate surroundings. 
Much less known is that Belarus was actually the main victim of the disaster, as the wind was directed northwards and the nuclear reactor is located 5 kilometers from the border with Belarus. Most of the radioactive precipitation ended up here.  Here, too, an entire area was evacuated, with dozens of villages. But only a few days later, they did not want to disturb the 1st of May celebration. After that, the inhabitants of the villages were told to leave the house for three days and to bring only the essentials with them. The authorities knew that these people would never return, but were afraid that if they told them so, the evacuation would be a lot more difficult.
This evacuation zone has become the PSRER, the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. 
Abandoned since May 1986. And, unlike Pripyat, it only became accessible at the beginning of 2019. Here too, a step back in time, overgrown villages, rusting agricultural machinery, abandoned classrooms, concert halls where the memories of the last 1-May celebration are dusting, a rusty ferry that used to bring passengers to Kiev.

The area has barely been visited, less than 100 foreigners have been here. But like Pripyat and Chernobyl on the other side of the border, it has everything to become a major attraction. The radiation to which you are exposed during a visit of several hours is comparable to that of an intercontinental flight.

You will make a day trip through this area, accompanied by a guide. In an old Soviet van, you will drive through the exclusion zone. You will visit a small museum, some old vehicles used in fighting the disaster, several (overgrown) villages, old factories, the old port, sovkhoz, an old school, the culture house, a watchtower (overlooking Chernobyl). It is a special experience to travel around this disaster area, taking a step back in time.

In the culture house you can still see the memories of the last 5 May celebration in 1986. Ancient Soviet pamphlets, slogans and banners are the silent witnesses of this last celebration. Two days later, the inhabitants were evacuated.

Day 4 PSRER safari / transfer Homel

The exclusion zone is now also one of the largest nature reserves in Europe. Because no people have come here for more than 30 years, many wild animals have settled here. Bison, wolves, moose, deer, bears, lynxes. This has become a unique area, where nature has gained the upper hand over mankind.In the morning you will go on safari through this area in search of large game and birds (including black storks and various birds of prey). Please note that in the winter months you are much more likely to spot wildlife. 

In the afternoon you will travel to Homel to spend the night there.

Day 5 Homel - Chernobyl - Kiev

You get up early to drive to the Ukrainian border. From here we will drive direct to the exclusion zone, but now on the side of the Ukraine.
You will arrive at the checkpoint 'Dytyatki' (30 km zone). Here, entrance tickets and passports are checked, you will be given a radiation meter and you can enter the zone (which in its totality is about as large as Luxembourg). At checkpoint 'Lelev' you approach the 10 km zone and visit the ghost town of Pripyat. Pripyat was once a Soviet model city for workers in the nuclear power plant. You will be introduced to a city whose 50,000 inhabitants have been evacuated within 24 hours. Everywhere you see symbols of the old Soviet Union. In Pripyat you will visit several buildings and places, including the central square with abandoned hotel, restaurant and supermarket. A little further on you will find the 'amusement park' with by now well-known bumper cars and the ferris wheel. You will also visit the school, the culture house and the swimming pool. In the afternoon you will visit the (former secret radar station) Chernobyl-2, also called Duga 1. The function of Duga 1 was to follow the launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles - the Cold War was in full swing. You will also visit the nuclear power plant itself. You will see the huge sarcophagus built around it and the other reactors. You cannot enter the plant itself.

In the evening transfer to Kiev (two hours drive), where you will spend the night.

Day 5 depart Kiev