As wilderness getaway weekends go, it rarely gets much better than this.
The sky is a cornflower blue and the lake is calm. Sunburned fishermen pull up to the dock in motorboats, their nets filled with pike.
On the deck of a hunting lodge, couples are feasting on their catches and rehashing the day's adventures. Farther down the road, crews are finishing the roof of yet another lakefront, luxury home.
The latest villa to sprout on the shores of the Kiev Reservoir is just a few metres from the barbed-wire fence that marks the 30-kilometre exclusion zone surrounding the infamous Chernobyl plant.
Yes, nature lovers have discovered Chernobyl. The region near the scene of the world's worst nuclear accident is now dubbed the “Chernobyl Riviera” for its grand homes and commanding vistas.
“Look at this beautiful view,” said lodge guest Sergei Kuzmenko, as he prepared a lunch of fish soup, potatoes, wild mushrooms and an assortment of liquors and desserts.
“It's better than in the movies.”
In the distance, pleasure boats speed atop the marshy waters of the man-made reservoir carved from the Dnieper River.
Twenty-one years after a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, ripping off the roof, and spewing radioactive poison into the countryside, Ukrainian holiday-makers are flocking to the region to bask in its quiet and enjoy the abundant wilderness that sprang to life when humans were forcibly evacuated.
Today, the woods and waters surrounding the village of Strakholissya – a half-hour drive from the stricken plant – are among the best hunting and fishing grounds in Ukraine. Wild boar, deer and wolves roam in the dense birch and pine forests.
Not one of the many weekenders interviewed expressed concern about potential health hazards. “It's more contaminated in Kiev,” one fisherman said, laughing.
Recently, Ukraine's rich and famous discovered the tranquil spot. They are mainly from Kiev, townspeople say, and they have built a line of lavish homes, hidden from prying villagers' eyes by tall fences.
Their magnificent houses, docks and swimming pools are on full display if you rent a boat and ogle from the lake.
The class divider is a waterfront road: Those on the water side are wealthy weekenders; those on the road side are local villagers. The two groups don't mix.
On summer nights, the waterfront homeowners throw large parties and launch fireworks, said Sergey Brekhov, during a motorboat tour of the waterfront homes.
Part fishing enthusiast, part voyeur, Mr. Brekhov does odd jobs for some of the homeowners, freely sharing the gossip he's amassed. The biggest house on the lake, he said, pointing to a yellow brick home topped with a satellite dish, belongs to a man who once worked for Ukraine's disgraced ex-prime minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, who was convicted of money laundering.
Before that, it was owned by a famous Ukrainian actor, Mr. Brekhov said. His information couldn't be verified because no one answered the gate buzzer.
But Chernobyl isn't just for oligarchs and movie stars. Kiev is just 110 kilometres to the south and many residents like to get out of the city for the day or to camp overnight.
Igor Tarnovsky, an elevator maintenance worker, came with his friends Mikhail Golovsky and Alexander Tsimai to pick mushrooms and fish.
Last Saturday, the smiling trio sat in their tiny motorboat in the middle of the lake, their fishing rods planted in the water, enjoying Ukraine's last gasp of summer.
Mr. Tarnovsky said he trusts that authorities have done their jobs cleaning the region. And he has no qualms about eating mushrooms or berries picked in the forest. Earlier, he and his friends cooked a batch of mushrooms and “had a nice little party.”
However, there is still some dispute about the extent of the environmental damage.
