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!
We had such a great experience getting to visit this beautiful place. Marcini, our guide was truly a star, she shared so much information around the phenomenon of the... read more Meteora area and was always smiley and enthusiastic. Our driver was very kind too. Thank you once again!
joannekI2615UI July 11, 2022
Well organized, quick response to the questions, perfect and nice guide. Definitely worth money paid.
laimagruzdyte May 23, 2022
Great service, friendly staff gorgeous places. Special thanks to our guide Eleni and our driver George
T8580GEgeorgev August 14, 2022
Tour guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. We were surprised by how much we learnt about the history of the area. Each stop was timed just right for us... read more to ask questions and take photos. We had hired a car so we did consider making our own way around the monostries, but we are really glad we chose the tour instead.
chantalh314 August 27, 2022
Fascinating tour of a unique World Heritage site. Yiannis was a knowledgeable guide. We had many stops for photos and were able to enter three of the monasteries. Well worth... read more the many stairs we had to climb.
Sunny A March 29, 2022
Perfect Tour with an Exceptional Guide - This tour was everything I expected and my tour guide (Tomas?) was very friendly and knowledgeable.
I made an error and booked for the wrong date and did not... read more realize it until I was on the train, A quick email communication immediately resolved the issue and they added me to the tour for that day. Changed a catastrophic situation into a very pleasant experience.
debracL9273SM January 2, 2023
Our guide was Clement for the sunset tour. Though he is new, but he is very well learned and gave us wonderful stories along with facts and figures. We also... read more highly recommend the hiking tour, which we did the following morning. Our guide, Chris, was very experienced, and we got to see the wonders of Meteora from a different view point. The hike was easy and pleasant, and very fun,
linglingOct November 9, 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
The tour was a fantastic experience. The monasteries were incredible from the inside and outside. The journey in the van between the monasteries was pleasant and convenient and the guide... read more was very knowledgeable and knew the area inside out. I can highly recommend this tour!
Getaway62065549891 February 22, 2022
Easy to find, well organised (even if last minute), we didn't have to think about anything, the guide was very nice!
Melanie s February 1, 2022
A very well managed tour of a spectacular area. It was a long day (departing Thessaloniki @ 9.30am
and returning to our hotel @ 10.45pm); however we saw... read more so much. Our driver and Tour Guide were terrific.
Judy C October 16, 2023
Great tour! - Clement was our guide, and he was absolutely wonderful! I think the driver deserves some mention here too, because WOW! I wouldn't want to drive a bus in that area!... read more He did an excellent job!
Meteora was amazing. The monasteries are absolutely beautiful and so full of history. Everyone should take this tour at least once!
Clement was very knowledgeable and helpful. We learned so much about the monasteries, the area around, and some of the local legend. Highly recommend!
kef537 December 30, 2022
Meteora - We bought the tickets directly from the meteora thrones- Travel center’web site . Not too much expensive, 92 euros. Because of some issues caused by flooding , we went there... read more by bus instead of train,. They worked hard to find a solution. It was better than a cancellation. Very well organised with a very interesting guide . I do recommend the tour.
GlobeTrotting585430 October 10, 2023
Had a fantastic time with our tour guide Dimitri. We did the sunset tour the evening before - if you are staying overnight, I highly recommend doing both! I was... read more traveling with my parents who are both in their 60s so I was concerned about the amount of steps to the monasteries but visiting 3 monasteries is very doable. The morning weather is also a lot cooler than in the afternoon, when it gets scorching hot in the summer. Both the sunset and morning tours offer some respite from the heat
travelLTN June 29, 2022
Excellent Guide Clement and Wonderful Tour - Meteora Thrones was truly a gem. Starting from communicating with George from the beginning and till the day of the tour. The driver was fantastic, very patient and... read more great driving skills. Our guide Mr. Clement make us felt so at home with his perfect English, knowledge of the history for Meteora, make us loved the place even more. He was very professional, patience and good sense of humor. A tour without a good guide is nothing. It all comes down to having one awesome tour guide. Thank you George for giving us Clement and it make sense because we are from Canada.
uniglobe0777 November 9, 2023
The Meteora Thrones travel company were a great team. Prompt on schedule, with immaculate timing between monasteries.
Guide Yannis was a cool chap, with a good sense of humour,... read more and a decent array of facts about the area.
Approximately 3-4 hours total time.
Would recommend this trip to others.
Mark R June 23, 2022
Meteora is a must see. - A definite bucket list destination! Magical and majestic. Our guide Christos was Excellent. He was both our driver and guide and he was outstanding. The next... read more day for our morning tour Thomas our guide and Akis our driver was also very good! Meteora Thrones Agency was a delight to work with and would not hesitate to recommend them.
MMac73088 November 26, 2022
If you have extra time in Athens, I highly recommend a trip to Meteora and it’s monasteries. It is a long day trip, but ihe sites are totally worth it.... read more You have enough time to view the ones opened that day. The guide and driver were great and had a good meal in the town prior to leaving.