Exploring Chernobyl: Immersive Walkthrough in Pripyat

Recently, we rediscovered a presumably lost HDD containing some technical footage of our Chernobyl explorations from past years. This video is a compilation of shots taken in 2020-21 when we were guiding small groups of visitors in the Zone, accompanied by comments about locations and their history.
What you will find in this episode:
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Driving along Lenin Avenue
01:03 - Yards of District II
02:40 - Grocery store of District II
04:27 - Convenience and furniture stores
05:43 - School №2
06:56 - Central square of Pripyat
08:05 - Ferris wheel and amusement park
09:08 - Returning to the central square
10:11 - River port and cafe
10:52 - A secret yard
12:56 - Jupiter Factory
13:48 - Driving to Chernobyl through the Red Forest.
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[@markmuir7338]

Great footage and good story telling. Really makes me feel like I’m there. A request though: can future videos like this have a voiceover instead of subtitles? It’s hard to take in the views and read at the same time. Plus we all like hearing your voice 😅.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Noted! Will make a voiceover then...)

[@AMITAWAGHADE]

"50,000 people used to live here. now it's a Ghost Town!", Cpt. McMillan, circa 2007.

[@ChernobylFamily]

)))

[@markcosens2450]

I'm moved in such a way that you can be brave and share your experience with our not really understand what you and everyone who had to be evacuated in 1986. And going back to where you lived your life with your friends and family. X . Mark cosens from the UK Newcastle small town called Hebburn.

[@darthkestis4397]

An iconic phrase from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare !

[@andrewprettyquick2070]

Not 'been' in ages, thanks for taking us around.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Our pleasure!

[@TheFanOrTheMask]

love is a strong word, we love your work, keep it up and thank you for enlightening us

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you...! This means so much for us!

[@swokatsamsiyu3590]

This is some really nice footage of the Zone. It truly is a very special place, in so many ways. Especially the "Jungle". It looks so vibrant, lush and green. You'd never know you're in a city that once housed 50,000 people. Can't wait to see what other gems you have in store for us!

[@ChernobylFamily]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RickR69]

Now it's a ghost town.

[@chriswareham]

Last year I played a great "indie" computer game called Chernobylite, which is set in the Forbidden Zone. The game's developers spent a lot of time in the area, and it's amazing to see how they accurately recreated so many real places.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Yes, I love this game, it somewhat matches my feelings on location. I guided them during their work at Duga. Cool guys.

[@JapanPop]

The mostly lack of human speech creates a solemnity and almost holy atmosphere. I like the style of this. I was 10 when the accident happened, and I watched US news with horror and amazement from my house in New York. Thank you for sharing this. It seems you were children when the first evacuation occurred. Hard to imagine my 10-year-old self in that scenario.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you for sharing!

[@ThomasBurns]

Great work, guys!

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you!

[@Damien.D]

Thanks for the guided tour. I love how nature perfectly blends with human made structures, it doesn't look abandoned at all, it looks reclaimed and inhabited by nature itself. The birds nest on the phone is a cute and perfect example. Really like the fact that these videos have no voice over. It's a perfect format. This kind of places inspire silence. (and I know the driving parts are speed up, but these empty roads with no cops or speed traps totally asks for speeding and mad driving :P Maybe an idea for yet another Fast & Furious movie ^^' )

[@ChernobylFamily]

Oh trust me, there are cops here and there is a speed limit :)))

[@roybm3124]

Amazing I always love footage from the zone ❤

[@ChernobylFamily]

More to come! Next gonna be a long exploration of Starosillya-Zymovysche-Krasno-Mashevo direction.

[@ASMRPoohbear]

Brilliant video!! ❤

[@ChernobylFamily]

Glad you liked it!!

[@Crazcompart]

The amusement park was practically brand new, only about a week or so open, when the disaster occurred!

[@ChernobylFamily]

Exactly. Most sources/inhabitants say it was never opened at all (apart test runs) to be opened on May 1st. Actually, test use before opening was a usual thing, I recall the same in the similar park in Kyiv. So you are close to truth :)

[@matej_kubala]

Nostalgia.❤

[@ChernobylFamily]

Yes...

[@MsZeeZed]

Ok, that’s actually the 1st time I’m learning of the Chernobyl NPP September 9 1982 accident, of a ruptured fuel rod and water contamination into the control rods, during a trial run of No. 1 reactor (not the one that later melted & explosively destroyed its containment building). According to KGB 2nd Directorate this manufacturing fault did not cause a high release of radiation into the assemblies 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@ChernobylFamily]

It is true, the accident was a very small one. But because of mandatory secrecy, it made a severe impact....

[@dasbo6312]

great video

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thanks!

[@eliotmansfield]

good work - very moving (hope that translates correctly ((emotional))

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you!

[@johnnyzippo7109]

As usual , ya’ll are the absolute best in this field of study .

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you! More to come!

[@Vikom07]

That's an interesting trivia about those gas and electric stoves. I knew there are the gas distribution substations only within mikroraions I. and II. but I thought that's because in the newer ones they built them underground or something, not completely ommited.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Yes, and what is crazy, that they used actually LPG. What an ineffective solution...

[@viaoutdoors]

Thank you for the video. Are there many animals around Pripyat?

[@ChernobylFamily]

In Pripyat specifically dominate birds, because urban environment is not very convenient for animals, they tend to stay in surrounding forests. However, sometimes it is possible to spot there elks (they like to hide in the park between the ferris wheel and Prometheus cinema), foxes, bunnies. Elks probably are the only big animals we've seen there, all the rest is small stuff.

[@Krahamus]

You should visit Lithuania, we have decommissioned NPP since 2009 witch is basically a sister of CNPP in terms of looks, was actually filming place for HBO Chernobyl series, as far i know reactor is different a bit, they do tours inside of it and outside, its nice place to see especially that CNPP is now covered with dome and cant be seen.

[@ChernobylFamily]

If we will survive the wаr we indeed will.

[@tomfire1972]

Hello! Very kind regards from Germany. I would be very interested in a tour, but first the Ruzze has to disappear again. It was reported that the attackers were also in Pripyat. Did they leave the city mined?

[@ChernobylFamily]

I am afraid the Army is the only who can answer this question. The city looked visually untouched, except they stole a public bathroom at its checkpoint (seriously), there was a container-based structure.

[@-r-495]

I had been planning to visit UA about 15 years ago, but life sent me in another direction. I wonder if there are guided tours again or if you could perhaps share (public!) information about the current status and outlook? Thank you very, very much.

[@ChernobylFamily]

There are no tours. Only accredited (!) press visits with very limited routes, and humanitarian aid visits, when you deliver aid. This is what we do. I hardly imagine when tours in a common meaning will resume, and if they will, they will be super strictly regulated... all things changed too much, and lessons learned.

[@-r-495]

@@ChernobylFamily thank you very much for your prompt and honest answer. this is also what it should be. eternal sanctuary.

[@sanches2]

How old were you in 1986? I was 5. It is probably a very weird mix of feelings to walk around the place you lived in as a kid and see it like that. You're probably used to it already after all these exploration trips but nevertheless... This was a wonderful video, thank you!

[@ChernobylFamily]

We never lived in Pripyat, our relatives did; but Pripyat shares a lot from Kyiv as I know it around 1991. Though, still, after hundreds of visits to Pripyat, I cannot imagine it alive. Physically unable, no matter how I try.

[@FunkyFlo]

I aint got yet a time to watch this 23 minute video, sorry man. But i saw in preview roll: TELEPHONE BOOTH :) Gosh! Thats AWESOME! Keep on doing your thing, people! My Question again: CAN ALUMINIUM FOIL PROTECT FOOD FROM ATOMIC RADIATION???? Thank you, regards, Florian

[@ChernobylFamily]

Which atomic radiation specifically? Gamma? Beta? Alpha? Neutronic? X-Ray? From alpha yes, from beta - slightly, from other - no.

[@FunkyFlo]

@@ChernobylFamily thaks for the info! :)

[@MatthewBishop64]

Great tour. Thank you. Looking forward to more videos like this. I am interested in the signs on the buildings. Some appear to be in the Ukrainian language and some in Russian. I assumed that Russian was the default/official language during Soviet times, so I was surprised to see a lot of Ukrainian signs on the buildings.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Those were for nominal purposes; Soviets declared equality of national languages in each republic, while in fact marginalized them as much as possible. Worked the best in Belarus, the least - in Baltic states.

[@KarinaMilne]

I would love to see the map you used!

[@ChernobylFamily]

That is a map I made a few years ago... thinking to turn it into a poster.

[@leopiipponen7693]

Pripyat was beautiful city... before accident.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Still, it has a beauty, just a very different one.

[@leopiipponen7693]

Nature takes everything back... :)

[@BananaBalintYT]

I saw few videos on prypiat with a place with many gas masks and puppets

[@ChernobylFamily]

School 3 next to the seimming pool, that is a staged thing... staged 25 years ago.

[@wdiermen1]

The subtitles disappear too fast making it hard to read.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Noted! Next will be with a voiceover.

[@ggrisha87]

Про запах таких крамниць це ти точно написав! Якась суміш запаху землі, вологи та капусти 😁 Ще пам'ятаю запах у квіткових магазинах совка.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Землі, вологи та гниючих овочів.

[@fullraph]

Love the video! If I can just do a recommendation, it would be better with a voice over. The text is going by too fast and takes your attention away from the video itself.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thanks for the tip

[@bmstylee]

I assume you have a dosimeter with you. What kind of levels were in the zone when you were there? Hopefully the Russia/Ukraine conflict gets resolved sooner rather than later. This is a place I would love to see.

[@ChernobylFamily]

There is no average. There are places where I encountered nearly 1 mSv/h, there are where I got 1uSv/h. It is like a patchwork.

[@andrewprettyquick2070]

possibly archaic but I prefer the plural Rooves to roofs.

[@ChernobylFamily]

Noted, thanks

[@metallurgico]

It feels like something between Metro 2033 and Half Life 2

[@ChernobylFamily]

Might be :)

[@KarinaMilne]

My heart breaks that I cannot be here to explore myself. Two visits cancelled because of covid and Russia after a lifetime of planning. One day

[@ChernobylFamily]

Well, we may go there together when the time comes...)

[@KarinaMilne]

@@ChernobylFamily absolutely, it might take me a while but I will get there

[@xcvbcxvb]

это место гибельного разложения

[@ChernobylFamily]

Местами. Новой жизнм там немало. Правда.

[@sergeypeshkov4478]

What about the story of russian troops were in the power plant or something?

[@ChernobylFamily]

We have a video about this. Check it out; we came there in a couple of weeks after the liberation, seeing the damage scale was... impressive. Well, a long story short, in a month they breached all possible and impossible safety protocols, stole tons of equipment and damaged everything what was not possible to loot. Two years passed, still repair/restoration work is ongoing, we quite often buy and deliver aid to Zone's enterprises - still no visible end.

[@FunkyFlo]

atom test

[@Libellula_Rap]

Get out of here Stalker!

[@ChernobylFamily]

I said come in, don't stand there!

[@Libellula_Rap]

За Монолит!

[@Speeddemon3]

I love this series. It must've been devastating to have leave and be lied to about the conditions and never return. Is it bad that I get a nice feeling when I hear that a Russian tank line been taken out of action or a Russian chopper's been shot down and the Ukrainian armed forces have made advancements. Putin needs to go!

[@ChernobylFamily]

Thank you for all your support!

[@ethanfisher5789]

Either you watch the video or read the subtitles. Subtitles are not up long enough to do both👎

[@ChernobylFamily]

Well, it is a known issue. Still did not find a better way if the task is to keep it immersive.

[@ethanfisher5789]

@@ChernobylFamily what the fuck are you talkin about?

[@ChernobylFamily]

You have an interesting way of talking to people. I meant that using e.g. a narration would dirsupt environment sounds in the video. Hence, subtitles used. Not optimal way, I know, but I did not find a better one so far. Suggestions?

[@ethanfisher5789]

@ChernobylFamily in the first place i wasnt saying that having subtitles was bad, genius. Its the fact that said subtitles are there and gone before they're able to be read. So like i said its either watch the footage or read the subtitles because you dont have time to do both. And i talk how i feel like talkin. What? You cant handle the word fuck? Aww poor fuckin baby😭😭😭 i dont give two fucks about anyones delicate sensibilities👍 cry to someone else