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 trip, well worth it! - I went on the 2-day Meteora tour from Athens. Both the tour guides were very knowledgeable and our one tour guide, Clemont, took some great photos of me and my... read more friends. Between both days, we saw all of Meteora but also had a good amount of time to walk around Kalabaka and go for a short hike to the hermit caves. Going in the off season was great because there weren't many people, but we were still able to get the full experience. I highly recommend this tour!
kjc2426 February 3, 2026
Meteora is MUST tour if you visit Athens - I visited Meteora on the very next day after arriving at Athens as I would not like to miss it by any chance. It was the most wonderful experience in... read more Greece. The meteora mountains and caves and the monasteries were simply too good to see and cannot be explained in words. The structures at those peaks that were built long back are really wonders. It was a long day as the tour starts at 8AM and it returns back to starting point at midnight. The journey each way was 6 hours because of farmers strike. It seems to happen often. The journey route is beautiful. It may be recommended to make it a 2 day trip to make it more relaxing and more rewarding. Unfortunately I did not have so much time and I wanted to cover many places in 4 days.
Debasis D January 22, 2026
Trully amazing experience - Excellent service and wonderful experience. Klaimond and Maria were brilliant guides for us. Breathtaking landscapes and a blessing tour. I made also good friends from the tour. Overall 5star experience.... read more Definitely recommended
Omiros K January 18, 2026
Unforgetable day in Meteora - We had an amazing one-day tour of Meteora, and it was one of the highlights of our trip to Greece. The landscapes are absolutely breathtaking, and visiting the monasteries perched... read more on top of the cliffs felt truly magical.
What made the experience even better was our excellent local guide. They were extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about Meteora’s history and culture. We learned so much about the monasteries, the monks’ way of life, and the unique geology of the area. The guide also made sure we had enough time to enjoy each stop, take photos, and never feel rushed.
The tour was very well organized, comfortable, and smooth from start to finish. Everything was clearly explained, and we felt well taken care of throughout the day.
I highly recommend this Meteora day tour to anyone visiting Greece—especially with a local guide like ours, who truly brought this incredible place to life!
Borya H January 13, 2026
Amazing tour with lots of sight seeing and less walking involved - This tour is the perfect choice if you've been doing a lot of travelling and driving like we had and still want to go sight-seeing but with less walking involved.... read more It was great to be driven to all the sights and have someone explain the history behind it all. Vasiliki was incredibly knowledgeable and over-all a great tour guide, as was our awesome driver Nikos. It was a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend this tour! Looking forward to visiting again and doing the morning tour.
Quest45774903662 January 9, 2026
Excellent tour and Antonis was the best guide. He was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond our expectations.
Suzan H November 14, 2023
Great experience, with all transports perfect on time even though the weather was not good. The guide was a really experienced one and he made our group to understand the... read more greatness and the unique atmosphere of the place. Highly advisable!u
Gioceccherini November 13, 2023
An unforgetable tour - There was no train so the trip from Athens to Meteora and back was by bus. I must recommend this tour because it is very interesting, the visit included three... read more monasteries and is amazing how those monasteries were built so many years ago. The views are excellent, specially for those fans of photography. It is a tour that you cann´t miss.
OnAir25653452 November 10, 2023
Beautiful scenery and friendly, knowledgeable guides. Be prepared to walk a few flights of stairs to reach the monasteries!
Krisha L November 9, 2023
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
Meteora Tour - Excellent Tour Guide; fluent in English and gave a very good narrative of each monastry and history.
GRACE L November 9, 2023
Well organized and tour guide was awesome - Definitely enjoyed the tour. Transportation was well arranged and the tour guide was awesome. Even it was a long day, but I definitely enjoy every part of the tour.
kenlaugsx November 8, 2023
Awesome experience! - We had a great experience with Meteora Thrones. They communicated well with us and kept us up to date with some last minute changes. They were flexible to work with... read more and our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. We loved our day at Meteora and would recommend Meteora Thrones.
chrisaconover November 5, 2023
Excellent tour! - Excellent organisation, very professional and efficient. Our guide Antoni was very competent and improved our experience in this magical place.
Gian Maria P November 5, 2023
I was joining the 29/10/23 Meteora Thrones Day Trip.
The trip was Excellent. I would like to thank our Tour Guide on that day ~ Clement from Canada. Feel to... read more Glad to have Clement as our Meteora Tour Guide. He is not only informative & Knowledgeable but also very patience to explain the History of Meteora. His explanation & sharing make use feel more appreciate more about Meteora ~ Monastery. His Summarised of the History is better than our High School's Teacher.
Easy to understand & memorise it even after the Trip. No Joke! Clement.you are the best:). This Tour is worth of time & money. Highly Recommended!
GarySeow October 30, 2023
Meteora two-day tour - Everything was wonderful - the guides were very knowledgeable (especially Maria), the sites were spectacular, and we appreciated the flexibility of changing kinds of tours, and changing plan about transportation.... read more The bus drivers were awesome too. Thank you!
LiliaHrekul October 30, 2023
Can't miss this if you go to Greece!! - There was no train service, so the agency arranged bus transportation for the trip. It was comfortable, with proper stops to buy food and go to the toilet. We would... read more have preferred no music/radio for a 4 hs trip though. At Kalambaka, we were changed to a mini van. The guide spoke a very good Spanish and gave us information about the town, monasteries and more! He was very kind and funny. Totally recommend to go to Meteora with a guided tour.
Daiana C October 30, 2023
Meteora trip Oct 24 - The train was not in service, arrangement was made to transfer from Athens to Kalabaka.
Our tour guide, Mr Clement, he explained the geology and history of Meteora,... read more making the tour more meaningful.
The scenic view was magnificent.
Certainly worths the 4-5 hours journey to Kalabaka.
Strongly recommend to join the guided tour if you are planning a trip to Greece