The Polesie State Radioecological Reserve is a radioecological nature reserve in the Polesie region of Belarus, which was created to enclose the territory of Belarus most affected by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. The reserve adjoins the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.
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Recently did a tour here. There's plenty of English speaking companies offering guided tours from Minsk/Gomel area, but I contacted the organization directly to set it up. Contact was smooth and fast. They will manage the paperwork. You only have to turn up at the administration office in Khoiniki on the day of the tour. Expect to pay around 540 BYN (160eur) for a full day tour (up to 3 people ish).
The organization initially told me there were no English speaking guides, which I took for granted since the price was low for a solo trip. Turned out the guide who accompanied me definitely did speak basic english which was a great surprise :)
The area itself is nicely set up and the tour is diverse. There's approx 700 people working there doing experiments, taking samples and doing research in the zone. There's a museum with explaination why and how, a map of isotopes, wild animals found, really interesting. You'll visit a couple of large villages, a lookout point at the Pripyat river and some collective farms, a fire station etc etc. Tour took from 9am - 16pm approx. Absolutely worth it....
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6 out of 5 stars. This place was the best choice for my vacation. I couldn’t find the station for the inside tour, but don’t worry I found a way in through the back. It was odd because there weren’t any other visitors there, but I found my way around the place. I expected them to keep better care of the place, many of the attractions were very dirty. I just went with it though thinking it was just part of the authenticity of the place. I noticed that someone had dropped their keys, I looked for them forever but could never find them, so I just gave up looking for them. I didn’t understand why there were so many danger signs all of the place. I saw no danger anywhere. Whenever I left the park people that saw me leave gave me weird looks. I didn’t understand why they gave me those looks. But anyways, this place was great,...
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I went there with cancer, and after I left, no more cancer! This place is amazing, like stepping back in time, although it is admittedly run down for a vacation spot with strange animals with two heads and / or extra limbs. Would I go there again? Yes, if I had a reliable Geiger counter, you bet ya and probably even more so now that there's reenactment war shows...
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