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!
The best place to visit. A good tour operator. Majestic views. Good natured driver and guide. Informative.
Kkorias October 14, 2022
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
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
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
I would 110% recommend it. I had an amazing time. I would like to take thank Cristantino and Christo for a job well done tour. You both fantastic, very helpful... read more and lovely people
JhunneS2 October 15, 2022
Amazing experience with the best guide ever, Chrysa.
We spent a really lovely day, everything was perfect.
Thank you!! 🙂
156odris August 6, 2022
On 28th of April when arriving to Kalambaka I had booked in advance a Sunset Tour. There were only three of us attending and I cannot praise enough our guide... read more Dimitry ❤️. He was like a walking historybook, he knew so many details about the area, the monasteries and the history. He also had such a great sense of humour. What an excellent guide he is! We visited Anapafsas monastery and after that an amazing church. Made many stops to take photos and ended our tour to the Sunset rock with a lovely sunset before heading back to Kalambaka. What a fun evening. Thank you so much for making the trip so special, Dimitry!
Henttan May 1, 2022
This has to be the best way to do a guided tour of Meteora. My wife and I are traveling the world and don’t do a lot of touristy group... read more activities but we only had a few days in Athens and Meteora Thrones made the experience very easy. Everything is booked for you and went according to the description. It’s a long train ride from Athens and that train is packed, no wifi and little service, so be sure to prepare for that. We were greeted by our guide at the train station and she was amazing. Personable, energetic and very knowledgeable. Please tip your guide if you have good service, we were the only people in our group to tip. As a rock climber, I’ve wanted to see Meteora for years and the views were better than the anticipation. We’re in our 30’s and active so we thought the walk/stair climbing was easy but some monasteries may be difficult for people with conditioning issues. Reviews said the monasteries accept credit card, but not really, we only entered 2/3 due to this so bring cash. One monastery let us pay by card in the souvenir shop. Unfortunately we missed Great Meteoron on a Friday due to a holiday prep, it’s usually open every day but Tuesday. If there are particular monasteries you want to see, check their schedule. IMO, each monastery has a different view and experience, worth going to each one. If you’re going to Meteora with a tour guide company, go with Meteora Thrones, they make the full day trip from Athens as easy and stress free as it could be. We left our apartment in Athens at 7 am and got home 11 pm. Sometimes the trains run late but best to be there 15 mins early.
269raym August 9, 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
What makes a tour good or bad is the tour guide. Therisa was excellent! She is knowledgeable, friendly, very personable and funny. It definitely was worth the four hour... read more train ride to Kalambaka!
CrabV May 15, 2022
It was amazing... I wanted to see the sunset in Meteora ever since I heard about the area, and I can say with absolute certainty that I wasn't disappointed. Everyone... read more was so polite. Thomas -our tour guide- was by far the best. He was super friendly and extremely knowledgeable. If you're visiting the area, a tour around Meteora is definitely a must-do! I'm definitely coming back again!!!
shawnsB5250JW November 9, 2022
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
My grandmother booked a private Meteora tour and was the best choice she could make! Meteora was a breathtaking experience but of course we owe it to our wonderful guide,... read more Mirsini who was absolutely lovely, joyful, knowledgeable about all the history of Meteora and always happy to answer our questions and share stories ! Grandma loved her! Thank you so much Meteora Thrones for this amazing tour! Would definitely recommend!
Taylor D July 10, 2022
That was a great tour, our guide Ioannis was very knowledgeable and nice, I learned a lot! I would do this tour on the first day as you drive around... read more the whole Meteora and gives a nice sense of what you can do afterwards (walking or by car)
53mariong July 27, 2022
The tour and guide guy was so nice, stay overnight or 2 in Kastraki village, eat at Gardenia Taverna
SydneyCristos September 19, 2022
It was a fun way to learn about Meteroa and see the highlights in an efficient manner. It was much easier for the bus to take us around and tell... read more us the behind the scenes story rather than researching it and figuring it out on our own.
901susiek August 7, 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
excellent guide, amazing tour. - If you are in Meteora for the first time and if you can afford it - this is definitely the best tour. Antonis made sure to cater for everyone's interests... read more and physical abilituy, which in our case (I was with my 13 year old daughter and my over-75 mother). If I come there for the 2nd time I will now few lifehacks by myself already (how to access some monasteries by going down the hill, not climbing, for exammple), which offer more mystical atmosphere and which can be looked at simply from outside to avoid touristical crowds. Excellent guide, amazing tour.