Meteora monasteries – the miracle of Greece. Few kilometers northwest of the town of Kalabaka, the impressive rocks of Meteora are rising from the plains of Thessaly been one of the most amazing places in Greece. Many centuries ago, on these gigantic rocks with the breathtaking landscape reaching heights of more than 600 meters, it was formed one of the most important monastic communities of Greece. The Greek word Meteora means “suspended in the air” and this phrase aptly describes these remarkable Greek Orthodox monasteries.
Meteora is a great place to experience , a spectacular landscape and byzantine monasteries perched on top of steep rocks that house priceless artifacts and wall paintings. Today only six monasteries are active with a small number of monks or nuns who reside on Meteora. In 1988, the Meteora monasteries have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Meteora-Antichassia area is part of the Natura 2000 network hosting some rare species of birds and flowers. As you approach the town of Kalabaka, the nearest big town near Meteora , and the picturesque village of Kastraki you will see a complex of giant sandstone rock pillars that climb up into the sky. On top of them you will spot the famous Meteora monasteries.
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Which Meteora monasteries to visit?
Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron
The Great Meteoron, also known as the Holy Monastery of the Metamorfossis (Transfiguration of Christ), is a male monastery and is the oldest and largest of all the monasteries of Meteora. It is built on the greatest rock of the complex, the Platys Lithos or Playtlithos. It was founded little before the mid-14th century (around 1340) by a scholar monk of Mount Athos, Saint Athanasios Meteorites. The monastery has a pleasant courtyard and there are many amazing frescoes to see. Probably one of the most interesting parts of the monastery…
The Varlaam Monastery is named after the first monk who built the first church on the rock. This was in 1350 and Varlaan built three churches, a room for himself and a water tank. Unfortunately no other monks joined him, after his death the site was abandoned for 200 years. In 1517 two monks from Ioannina, Theophanes and Nektarios Apsarades , re-founded the monastery. Nowadays the monastery can be reached by a bridge and has a small museum, there are a lot of impressive 16th century paintings to see as well…
The Rousanou Monastery was built in 1545 by Maximos and Ioasaph of Ioannina, it is unclear who the actual monastery is named after, but it is dedicated to St.Barbara. Like other monasteries at Meteora the Roussanou monastery was looted during the Second World War. The monastery is reached by a bridge that has some dramatic drops. Nowadays the Monastery is run by nuns. The monastery is located on the way from Kastraki to Meteora between St. Nicholas Anapafsas and Varlaam monastery…
St. Nicholas Anapafsas monastery was founded in the 14th century and nobody is quite sure who the monastery is named after. This Monastery is most famous for its frescoes by the famous Cretan artist Theophanes Strelitzas in 1527. Some of these frescoes include the passion of Christ and the Virgin Mary praying. The monastery fell into disrepair and was completely abandoned for 60 years from 1900 to the 1960’s when the Greek government repaired the monastery…
The 14th century St. Stephen monastery is the closest monastery in Meteora to the main town of Kalabaka, and so the easiest to visit. St. Stephen monastery was founded by St. Antoninus Cantacuzene, who is thought to be a son of the Serb ruler Nicephorus II of Epirus, in 1400. The Katholikon at the monastery is dedicated to St. Charalambos who’s head it contains, as it is believed to prevent illnesses. Much of the monastery was destroyed during World War Two and the Greek civil war that followed. The monastery is run by Nuns…
You may recognise the monastery of Holy Trinity as it was used in the James Bond movie ‘For your eyes only’ Roger Moore scales the cliff face. Out of all the monasteries of Meteora Holy Trinity has the most dramatic location, the rock face is a sheer drop and the rock itself is a lot more slender. The monastery was built in 1458 and had many treasures, but most of these were looted by the Germans during the Second World War, most of the frescoes are from the 18th century…
Meteora Thrones is the leading travel service company in Meteora and the surrounding area, which has earned the trust and loyalty of visitors who want to organize in the best and most effective way their visit to Meteora and the Holy Monasteries.
We organize everyday tours with the goal to offer you the absolute and authentic Meteora experience with the best prices in the area. Enjoy with us the best panoramic and majestic views of your life. Our experienced staff and the “State of the Art” VIP Limo Mini bus we own guarantee an unforgettable, high quality, way to discover our unique place.
We also provide private tours with VIP services and personalized programs to enjoy the magic of Meteora in the maximum. Come along to make the tour of your dreams!
Amazing views and interesting explanations! - After 5 hours on the train (it was delayed more than an hour for both Athens-Kalambaka and Kalambaka-Athens), our expectations of Meteora weren't high, but the whole tour was totally... read more amazing. Our guide explained everything in detail while we were on the bus, the views were totally amazing and the monasteries were also beautiful.
pfuset November 26, 2022
We were fortunate enough to have a private tour with Chris, as other people had cancelled due to bad weather. The wealth of information he shared with us, more than... read more made up for the lack of sunset!
Sandra A March 29, 2022
Nice storytelling by the guide with nice views enough time at eaxh monestary.
Made sure we arrives back on time.
LisaH6203 April 16, 2022
Everything was just perfect and well organized. We had a wonderful time during our daily trip to Meteora. Highly recommended!
diana r January 1, 2022
This was an excellent tour with a great guide and driver. There was plenty of time to see the monasteries and the church.
rubyvu18 July 30, 2022
Beautiful scenery and friendly, knowledgeable guides. Be prepared to walk a few flights of stairs to reach the monasteries!
Krisha L November 9, 2023
This is an amazing place and I highly recommend taking the time to go and see these monasteries! Our guide, Clement, was great. He had a lot of very interesting... read more information, kept us on time so we didn't miss anything, and seemed to have a real passion for the information he provided. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was a great time.
Chase B October 6, 2023
Local travel agent was excellent going beyond what was expected to make sure I finally joined my tour after a harrowing experience getting to my destination. I could not... read more access my train tickets on the email sent to me by TripAdvisor so I had to buy my own tickets which got me to the destination 90 minutes after my tour started. Thank you to Chris at the local travel agency in Kalambaka who drove me up the mountain to join my tour so I only missed one monastery. Tour was excellent, great explanations of this unique area.
338arlenef October 25, 2022
The driver Christoff picked us up at our Air BnB in Athens and drove us to Meteora. He was very polite and spoke conversational English, which was... read more great because my Greek is terrible. Traffic in Athens was terrible so we arrived later than expected.
In Meteora we met Klement our tour guide. Due to scheduling they did the best to get us into 3 different monasteries. I felt like we were not rushed and had adequate time at each location. Additionally, we made a lot of stops to take photos and sight see. Klement and Christoff provided a lot of information and the children enjoyed the trip. The trip ran longer than planned but it was completely worth it.
At the end of the trip, Klement suggested we eat at a Taberna right near the Meteora Thrones HQ for dinner. It was awesome.
We left kalampaka at 7 pm and headed back to Athens with a different driver. We arrived back at our Air BnB around midnight. It was a very long day, but an excellent trip. The guides were great, we saw everything that we needed to see, and had enough time to enjoy the scenery.
I would highly recommend this trip.
Splitpi March 10, 2023
Really nice and friendly guides - They were really nice. Even if we did not pay the Spanish tour, as we were Spanish, they explained everything in Spanish.
The transportation is comfortable and you have plenty... read more of time to visit everything, with nice explanation from the guide and nice spots to admire the mountains.
As a kind of drawback, they do not enter with you to the monasteries to explain from inside. They let you to enter on your own to visit it, with a prior explanation of everything. Although it was a good explanation with plenty detail, someone might prefer them to enter with you. As for me, I liked it because like that you can spend time on those places you liked the most and the visit is not so
nachoa950 February 5, 2023
Long day but well worth it. Train is easy to find. We got an uber to the station and had our tickets on our phones. Tassos, the guide was excellent... read more and provided some great insites into the area. Amazing photos on a good weather day.
LouisK1966 February 15, 2023
With a seven-headed group of friends from Belgium we booked a one-day Meteora visit, including train tickets, bus rides, tour guide, free leisure time, and lots of breathtaking views and... read more opportunities. Tour guide Harry was funny and amusing, bus driver Socrates seemed skilled (and courteous towards us and other road users), and together they managed to get a whole group of tourists wherever they wanted to get them, on time, with even lots of time to spend exploring the monasteries, and extra time for pictures of amazing views of, and on boulder-like formations.
mmhenrot October 8, 2022
My (teenage) daughters and I did the Hiking Meteora Tour in the morning/ early afternoon and the Sunset Tour in the late afternoon/evening. Both guides were VERY knowledgeable and made... read more sure that everyone in our group (the hiking tour included younger children than mine as well) was entertained. During the hiking tour, we learned loads about the geology of Meteora, mythology, history and botanics. During the Sunset Tour, we took a shuttle to many gorgeous places I would not have found on my own (for example, the Byzantine Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the town of Kalambaka - it is absolutely STUNNING). Both tours were extremely interesting and I can highly recommend them for all age groups. We were picked up from our hotel on time and got dropped off in front of our hotel again after the tours. Communication with Meteora Thrones was very smooth and I would definitely book with them again if I come to the area! Thank you to the team for a wonderful time in one of the most amazing spots on earth!!
Niki R April 24, 2022
Amazing views - Everything was spectacular, I enjoyed each moment and view of the Monasterios and rocks formation. Our guide was excellent, he show us the most amazing spots, and he explained in... read more detail the story behind them. I highly recommend this tour!!!
RoxanaZamudio April 30, 2023
This private tour was amazing! Our private driver in meteora was Sakis. He was full of life and stories of the history of the area. He was born and... read more raised there and it was evident he loves this region! Unfortunately we did not get to experience the train ride as our booking was on Greece, Labor Day and the trains were not running. The tour company arranged travel on a private bus for all the guests that day. I recommend scheduling on a day when the trains are running - as I think the experience is like better on the train.
We would highly recommend this tour!
kolaj2022 May 3, 2022
I did the 4 hour tour after arriving by train the day before. I don't usually (ever!) do tours but this was very well priced and I thought a convenient... read more way to get around the monasteries. The day I arrived I hiked up to the nearest two from Kalambaka and in theory you can visit them all yourself, as long as you set off early enough but I'm so glad I did this. I'm pretty fit and getting up the steps to each monastery was quite tough and would have been too much with walking to them all as well. Plus the guide gave a great talk about the monasteries, history and area was passionate about his home town. Both driver and guide were very friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend.
Kerrylan February 8, 2023
Quite professional group. Nice, welcoming and beautiful guide allocated for the trip.
Ample time to complete the tour.
Abhijit W January 6, 2023
Excellent tour and Antonis was the best guide. He was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond our expectations.