A rapidly rising radiation reading taken from my Geiger counter as our guide urges us to quickly move away from the area.
Chernobyl is a two hour drive north from Kiev following the Dnieper river.
Once we pass through the main checkpoint, there are signs everywhere warning us that everything is contaminated.
The exclusion zone covers more than 1,000 square miles and is off limits to the general public as the area is not expected to be safe for humans to live in for the next 20,000 years.