Atomic Lake And Underground Nuclear Test Site
About this tour
Atomic lake
Bunker from where underground tests were controlled
Silo of underground laboratory
Destroyed missile launchers
History of nuclear energy industrial use in USSR
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Semey, Kazakhstan
Since Y'1962 USA and USSR signed an agreement about stopping nuclear tests in 3 mediums: land, air and water. Since then all test went only underground. In Balapan test site USSR conducted 351 explosions. We will see one of the most impressive results of such work - artificial lake named Atomic. It is impressive from technical prospective. The economic ideas behind it were also very big and daring. Besides the lake we will visit the bunker, from where tests were controlled, silo for underground laboratory and several destroyed missile launchers.
What's included
Permission from local authority is included in the price. Be careful about hiring local entrepreneurs or company doing this tour illegaly. An organizer of such tour must have a license to work in such place and a person to run radiation safety control + individual safety kits for each traveller. Picnick style lunch in the bunker is included.
This tour can be comfortably combined with Telkem site due to close location. Telkem is another site, where 2 underground test have been conducted in Y'1968. They were technical preparation to turn Siberia rivers to Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The aim of those tests was creation of long deep trenches that would become new rivers.
What to know
This tour can be customized. Please get in touch with me. Although the cost is high, sometimes it is possible to find travel mates, who share the cost. This tour can be extended in a way of visiting the site of building long trenches. Trench technology was demanded to redirect waters of Siberia rivers to the Caspian Sean and Central Asia. One of two (in total) tests resulted in making 140 meters long and 16 meters deep trench, made by small capacity nuclear charges (just 240 kg of TNT equivalent).
Route & locations
Semey, Kazakhstan