There are places on the planet that, despite being beautiful destinations, were used as areas for nuclear testing or were the scenes of accidents involving radioactivity that still represent a public hazard due to their effects.
However, even knowing this reality and despite being counterintuitive, there are places that are beautiful travel destinations for the more adventurous travelers. Here is the list of the 7 stunning but radioactive places that tourists still visit.
#1 – Chernobyl – Ukraine
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Talking about Chernobyl is to remember one of the greatest nuclear tragedies in history. It all happened in 1986 at the nuclear power station in the city of Pripyat, Ukraine.
The explosion involving nuclear reactors killed dozens of people and forced the evacuation of thousand others from the site. In these situations, radiation cannot be contained (even though it has been declared as an exclusion zone) and millions of people have been hit by it and suffered the effects of radioactivity.
However, one of the things your airline won’t tell you is that it is possible for tourists to visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone for sightseeing. You can enter for 5 minutes in the Reactor 4 control room, where all power plant decisions were made, but you must be properly dressed.
Radiation levels in the control room are 40,000 times higher than normal, which is why visitors should wear protective clothing and industrial boots.
Chernobyl is currently an official tourist attraction of Ukraine that attracts thousands of tourists. Daily excursions to the affected area cost approximately $ 100 and there is an increasing demand for them.
#2 – Fukushima – Japan
©Voice of America
This is one of the most recent nuclear disasters and perhaps one of the most terrible ones. In March 2011, a 9.0 Richter earthquake affected the east coast of Japan and the damage was irreparable at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The tsunami left a huge trail of destruction and caused thousands of deaths in the region. The Fukushima nuclear power station was poised to face a wave up to six meters high, but could do nothing against a 14-meter wall of water that burst into the earth and destroyed its reactors, spreading radioactivity to millions of square meters.