€£$
по-русскиen Español (pronto)
enter
1159places to visit
in the world62places to visit
in Ukraine28places to visit
in Chernobyl

Cooling Pond Channelin Chernobyl, Ukraine

#4of 28 places to visitin Chernobyl

Adventure Rating in Chernobyl

TOP-14 adventure's step-by-step
recipes & lifehacks
How to feed giant catfish in ChernobylHow to see the giant secret station Duga-radar in ChernobylHow to see animals living in the ghost town in ChernobylHow to climb to the secret station Duga radar in ChernobylHow to climb up the the roof of 16-story building in ChernobylHow to climb onto the abandoned port crane in ChernobylHow to see ghost houses in the exclusion zone in Chernobyl
14 things to doin Chernobyl

Take local guide

You can visit this place in one of our tours.Choose
An artificial reservoir built to cool the reactors of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is the habitat of the giant catfish.
Cooling Pond Channel, Chernobyl
The artificial pond of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and its channels were created to cool its reactors. During the accident at the station in the cooling pond, fragments of the exploded reactor as well as many other contaminated elements were thrown away.

Now the level of water pollution in the pond has significantly decreased - radioactive nuclides have settled to the bottom and covered with bottom sediments.

Cooling pond canal near the Pripyat and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Photo: Cooling pond canal near the Pripyat and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, © Timon

Nowadays, from the bridge over the canal, plant workers and visitors feed fishes including huge catfishes, some them weigh from 70 kilograms and reach a length of three or more meters!

Things to do here 1

DMARC CheckGet instant DMARC check on DmarcDkim.comadvertisement

DMARC allows you to discover, monitor, and fix weak spots in your email setup, prevent email spoofing, and increase email deliverability. Is your domain vulnerable?

#1Feed giant catfish in ChernobylFeed giant catfishДарья Слепакова

Chernobyl cooling pond is the habitat of one's of the most giant catfishes. Do not miss the opportunity to feed these creatures!

FREE
Know more things to do?Guest

Share your ideas of what to do in Chernobyl with other travellers — together we'll make our travellings more interesting!

Cooling Pond Channel on the map

Location: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
← Abandoned cargo port#3 of 28
TOP-28places to visit
in Chernobyl
Exclusion Zone →#5 of 28

Tours & excursions 3

#4Cruise on the ship to Chernobyl and PripyatCruise on the ship to Chernobyl and Pripyat

Get a sea of thrills from a boat trip to the lost world of a dead city.

UAH 335000/tour
#2One-day private tour (Chernobyl + Pripyat) from KievOne-day private tour (Chernobyl + Pripyat) from Kiev

One day in the Exclusion Zone and you will learn everything about this desolate tragical place.

UAH 1794+/person
#3Urgent one-day tour (Chernobyl + Pripyat) from KievUrgent one-day tour (Chernobyl + Pripyat) from Kiev

The most horrifying post apocalyptic picture of Chernobyl and Pripyat in one day

UAH 3999+/person

Reviews

Guest15 June 2025

More places to visit in Chernobyl

#18Lenin monument in ChernobylLenin monument

The monument in honour of the first Union of Soviet Socialist Republics leader is still located in the deserted dismal Chernobyl city.

#6USSR 16-story building in ChernobylUSSR 16-story building

One of the few sixteen-story buildings built in Pripyat. if you rise up here, you can see the city as on the palm of your hand.

#17Music school in ChernobylMusic school

This school is a true example of the post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the gloomy, dark, abandoned Pripyat ghost town.

#5Exclusion Zone in ChernobylExclusion Zone

The most contaminated with radiation area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was named a 30-kilometer exclusion zone.

#25Pripyat Sign in ChernobylPripyat Sign

At the entrance to Pripyat the impressive size sign with the name of the city is located. It looks like the monument, but for USSR it was too normal.

#11Amusement park in ChernobylAmusement park

An amazingly tempting and simultaneously frightening place, which has become popular thank to many games and movies - is truly worthy of its reputation.

#19Hospital MSCh-126 in ChernobylHospital MSCh-126

An eerie place, where all your body shivers - the hospital, which was the first to receive affected from the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

#7Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in ChernobylChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear catastrophe in history. Now the deserted station is surrounded by Zone of Exclusion 30 kilometres radius.

#3Abandoned cargo port in ChernobylAbandoned cargo port

In an old godforsaken quiet pier, on the sandy bank of the river, only a few rusty old port cranes remind that there was once a new cargo port.

#14NPP observation deck in ChernobylNPP observation deck

You can see the sarcophagus, which is covering the fourth reactor, and the other parts of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant right from here.

#16Palace of Culture Energetik in ChernobylPalace of Culture Energetik

In the Energrtik cultural palace the concerts, parties and sport events were spent. Recently, a sign was again lit up on this building in Pripyat.

#10Cemetery of barges and abandoned ships in ChernobylCemetery of barges and abandoned ships

Chernobyl backwater - a place where, before the accident, old ships were collected for disposal or repair, turned into a cemetery of radioactive barges and ships.

Photo credit © Eamonn Butler