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!
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
This was a private tour and was well worth it! Both our driver and tour guide have been exceptional, friendly yet professional!
Our tour guide, Charis, was very... read more knowledgeable about the history of the monasteries and other attractions in the area of Meteora that we visited and he literally answered any question that he had, a lot of times backing his responses with references to official historic and recent research data.
That was probably on of the best experiences overall we had from a guided tour that lasted a bit over 5 hours. Thank you Charis, Sakis and Meteora Thrones!
K K March 29, 2022
Thank you for the lovely trip. It was mesmerizing journey. The itinerary was very well thought and organised. And the guide was very good.
Passenger41424407033 April 1, 2021
Amazing place!! The tour was excellent and even if we have train delay we manage to see the gorgeous spots!!
Thank you️️
Vacation432181 February 20, 2023
Excellent, well organised trip by meteora thrones. Amazing views from our hotel and then on the sunset tour that evening. We opted for the 3 hour hike the... read more next day which was great fun and amazing views. Definitely worth the 4 hour train journey each way
NESmallFurriesRe2018 May 2, 2022
Excellent tour. Would highly recommend. Some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere around and an excellent tour guide.
Robert W May 6, 2022
We did the half day morning monastery tour from Kastraki and really enjoyed it. The guide was very knowledgeable and his English was excellent, the driver was very safe, and... read more the monasteries were amazing!
Marnirk January 23, 2023
Amazing adventure! Train depart around 8am morning from Athens, it’s around 4 hours journey. There is small snack and coffee shop in a train. After we arrived in Kalambaka around... read more 12 our lovely tour guide Ria was waiting for us. The car we did sightseeing was with ac, very comfortable. She had also water for us. As we decided not to take a break before sightseeing we went straight into Kastraki village to start the sightseeing. Ria was extremely polite, she told us absolutely everything and more than we could ever learn about place, history, monasteries and monks. She had a great knowledge, good positive vibe and patients to make us millions of pictures. Private tour was more convenient for us we didn’t have to wait for others, if we wanted to stop for pictures we did. We took our time in visiting monasteries without any time/ other people pressure. After all Ria has took us for lunch in a lovely traditional restaurant because we eat local when we travel. And around 6 pm we departed back to Athens. Make sure u book your trip ahead, might be not available last moment. Also way back is little bit tiring, train had some traffic delays so I took us more than 5 hours so I would recommend (if you have time) to stay a night in Kalambaka and go back next day. The level of hiking to monasteries is moderate, but if you do it slowly and have water with you, it will be okay.
234emiliaw June 15, 2022
t was a very fantastic trip one of my best in my life
We had few stop to take some nice picture and visited 3 monastry inside
The guide man... read more was very friendly and helpfull
Attila197909 September 13, 2022
Dimitris was our private guide for the afternoon. He was very knowledgeable and professional. We could not have asked for a better experience. Even had umbrellas when a torrential rain... read more came and dropped us to a local Taverna for dinner before returning us to the train station. Very reliable tour company.
TennesseeReiki June 13, 2022
We absolutely loved this tour! On our own, we caught the train at the Thessaloniki Railway Station. All tickets and instructions were sent to us the day before so we... read more had plenty of time to prepare for our trip. Train times were given on the tickets. Once in the town of Kalabaka, there was someone waiting for us. Our guide continued to impress us with her knowledge of the past and present of these monasteries. There was plenty of time to see everything we wanted to see. We went inside 3 of the monasteries, which was absolutely incredible, and stop at the other 3 for pictures. Plus we visited a rocky outcropping for a truly breathtaking experience. Then stopped for a bite to eat at the local village before heading back to the train. Well worth the money. I would definitely recommend.
debbieisacatlover June 9, 2022
Such a Amazing experience - Really nice!! The staff was perfect, beginning with the driver and bus (comfortable) because was a long journey (4 hours) to arrive there!
The stop points good to... read more and clean, and a tour guide that know deeply the history about monasteries and lived inside there those thing were fundamental to complete my experience
eduardop454 October 29, 2023
Loved our experience. Great guide and driver. I wish we had planned to stay longer in Kalambaka. We spent a bit to long on a train for a single day... read more to and from Athens and wish we stayed overnight. Gorgeous area!
Venture195457 November 14, 2022
The tour was fantastic and so was our tour guide, Dimitris! He was very knowledgeable about the history of Meteora and very enthusiastic! I highly recommend this company for your... read more tour!
argmyrsini June 9, 2022
Excellent tour and Antonis was the best guide. He was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond our expectations.
Suzan H November 14, 2023
Awesome and great experience - The 2D 1N trip allowed us to see 5 monasteries and to experience the day and evening beauty of Meteora. It gives us extended time to truly appreciate the beauty... read more of the place. The hotel stay was also comfortable and allow us time to walk through the small village Kalampaka.
Shih Kiat C December 6, 2022
Amazing experience with the best guide ever, Chrysa.
We spent a really lovely day, everything was perfect.
Thank you!! 🙂
156odris August 6, 2022
Perfect tour! Very informative, great duration, I had a blast! I strongly recommend that tour to see the Meteors.