Info: Security / Administration to entry

So most peoples second question (after “Why?”) is normally “How?”.

Chernobyl, and the zone of exclusion is in the far north of Ukraine. Pripyat is only a couple of miles from the border to Belarus, and the zone covers a lot of Belarus itself.

When I first started travelling to the zone, it was the case of sending your real actual passport to the Ukrainian Military - three months in advance. Then having them investigate you, and hope that they send your passport back!

With the massive increase in popularity since then, the operation is now a lot slicker and you generally just need your passport number, not the passport! You do however have to provide a wealth of information (D.O.B, Address, occupation etc. ) and undergo the investigation process all the same.

“Why all the security for a derelict town?”
It’s not for the derelict town…. It’s for the 180 tonnes of near-weapons-grade fuel still inside Reactor 4 Which has never been decommissioned. It doesn’t produce power, but it is still classed as ‘commissioned’.

With so much highly radioactive material in one place, they wanna check who’s coming in. I don’t know the extent of the investigation, or the exact criteria, but I’m assuming if you have any terror related convictions, you probably shouldn’t even bother applying!

So you’ve been given clearance… This is what the Chernobyl Visa looks like:





So you fly to Kiev, drive the two hours north, and pass through Dytakti 30Km Military Checkpoint your first stop will probably be at the Interinform Agency building which is the government department set up to administer the zone.







You’ll be given a safety briefing, and asked to sign “The Contract”


The rules:

“During your Chernobyl tour it is totally prohibited to:

Carry any kind of weapons;
Drink liquors or take drugs;
Have meal and smoke in the open air;
Touch any structures or vegetation;
Sit or place photo and video equipment on the ground;
Take any items outside the zone;
Violate the dress code (open-type shoes, shorts, trousers, skirts);
Stay in the exclusion zone without the officer responsible for the envoy.

…Foreign and Ukrainian nationals, who visit the exclusion zone voluntarily with any purpose, shall be aware of the fact that, while staying in the exclusion zone, they will be subject to external and internal exposure as a result of radioactive contamination of the environment (air, soil, water objects, and also buildings, transportation facilities, equipment, etc.).”

These are the eight fundamental rules, I’ve only broken seven of them as I have no interest in removing anything from the zone! Oh and it was my guide that had the weapon, not me guv.

I love the extensive disclaimer, shirking any responsibility for anything!

The contract would have been prepared in advance, with the corresponding number of spaces on the reverse for the visitors to sign. I was lucky enough to hire the whole of Pripyat for two of us for my 30th Birthday



I like also on the reverse there is a space to write in a maximum radiation dose, but no one has ever filled one out!

People often ask why I haven’t done an illegal, free entry into the zone. It’s just not worth it. There are radiation hotspots everywhere. And without wanting to make wild claims about how you’d get shot – it is a live nuclear facility, guarded by armed guards. Not worth the risk to me I’m afraid.

Cheers for reading, oh, here’s what a typical page of my passport looks like…