Meteora, Greece

Come along with me to the land of olives and Greek gods where I explored the monasteries of Meteora. 

​Meteora is located in the middle of Greece. A day trip of about 3-4 hours driving each way can be planned from either Athens or Thessaloniki.

My friend and I decided fly into Thessaloniki. It was a quick 2 hour flight from Stuttgart. When arriving we had to remember that Greece is an hour ahead of Germany. After getting our rental car, we drove about an hour to our hotel called Polys Guesthouse. It was almost midnight when we arrived but we were given a code to let ourselves into our room, which was simple but nice. It was a nice place to rest and break up our drive and a long day of work. Since we were only there one night, we got a twin beds room, but there are also suites available.

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, where we learned we were the only guests there.  The owner was super friendly and the breakfast was simple but gave us enough energy to start our adventure. Today we would be driving the rest of the way to Meteora. We had two options; the toll highway or the scenic route with no tolls. We decided to take the scenic route which was filled with crossbacks and beautiful sites.

After about 3 hours of driving we made it to Meteora. We got a little turned around trying to find our place but we finally found it. We would be staying at Meteora’s Unique Gem, a place we found on AirBNB which is located in the town of Kastraki which is right next to the monasteries. Since the place wasn't ready, we walked next door and had some lunch. Our place was a simple 1 bedroom place with a small kitchen, living room and bathroom. It was located next door to the family run mini market. This was great when we needed to grab some food for our hike the next day.

With parts of history lost, people think that in the 11th century monks and hermits first arrived at these rocks looking for refuge and peace. What first started as simple caves carved into the rock faces turned into monasteries. In the 14th century monks came to the rocks to escape the Turkish raids. There were once more than 20 monasteries but only 6 can be visited today. In 1998, the monasteries were added to the Unesco’s Heritage List.

With it being early afternoon, we decided to hike to the Monk’s Prison or The Hermit Cave of Badovas. It is unsure if this was truly a prison or just a place for refuge and peace for the monks. As we started the hike we were at the base of the rocks entering the forest.  One article I read stated you left like ants crawling in a stone forest and I agree. As we climbed up hills and over rocks, we enjoyed the views of the town below. We got turned around and soon learned we took the wrong path. Thanks to the helpful guide walking by, we learned we needed to take another path, but we weren’t able to see it because it was covered by a rock and trees and could only see the path from a higher view point. Once we were on the correct path, we still weren’t sure where to find it. Thank goodness for another helpful hiker who led us in the right direction. Once we locate it we climb up towards it. As I stood and looked up, I was in awe that the wood was still in its location after all these years. There were tunnels which we were thinking connected to the high level of the prison. Even though we got turned around often, it was a beautiful hike. 

As we headed back toward place, we saw the monastery of St. George Mantilas craved into the stone face. 

The next day we explored the monasteries. There are many ways to explore. You can book a guided bus tour or bike tour. You can drive yourself or walk like we did. Parking was limited at all monasteries and most still required climbing. Instead of climbing up an insane hill we decided to start with the monastery closest to our place.
All monasteries expected appropriate clothing. One can bring a scarf to tie, I had a tie skirt that I got in Thailand that I used. Women can’t wear pants so they must tie their scarf to form a dress. Each monastery did offer scarves to borrow. Each monastery had an admission fee of 3 euro, while kids 12 and under are free. 
Today there are paths and roads taking you to the monastery, however, in the past nets and rope ladders were used to get from the bottom to the top. 
The weather was beautiful with sunny sky couldn’t have ask for better weather.

The Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas

It is the closest monastery to the town of Kastraki and a few minutes hike from our lodging. Once we arrived we started our climb up the top of the hill, taking numerous stairs to reach the top. 
This monastery was mentioned in history around the 14th century. The word “Anapausas” means rest. In the beginning of the 20th century it slowly came abandoned and suffered damage in WW2 but in 1960 it was repaired and restored.

After exploring the monastery we walked back down the hill. We walked a few distance on the main road before we took a path into the forest which would lead up a hill to the next monastery. We found a bench on the path and had a quick snack of crackers, salami and cucumbers all bought from the mini market next to our lodging.

The Holy Monastery of Varlaam

This monastery is also known as The Holy Monastery of All Saints. This monastery was settled around the first half of the 14th century. Once inside we were able to visit the lift tower and see the net and lift device used to raise the monks from the ground floor. In another room, you can see the wine cellar which has a huge wooden barrel used for storing wine. This monastery has a hospital/nursing home, bakery, and kitchen.  From there we walked around the road to the next monastery.

The Holy Monastery of Saint and Great Meteora

 This monastery is the largest and oldest monastery.

We grabbed a quick sandwich from the food truck and ate a quick lunch in the limited shade we could find. From there we started our walk to the next monastery. Along the way we ran into a very nice couple from Canada who would later stop and offer us a ride to the next monastery.

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity

​ It was found in around 1438.

St. Stephen's Holy Monastery

 No climbing required just walked crossed a bridge. 

We were planning on taking the path down into the town next to ours, but we ran into our Canadian friend who offered us a ride back to our lodging. We later realized we were staying partially right next door to each other. 
Today, we visited 5 out of 6 monasteries, we didn’t visit The Monastery of Rousanou because it was out of the way for us to walk down there and walk back to the other monastery.

The next day we decided to walk to the next town called Kalambaka. Along the way we enjoyed the views and were able to find some abandoned monasteries. 

 The Hermitage of St. Nicholas Badova

Hermitages of St. Gregory and St. Anthony.

​St Vissarion Holy Metropolitan Orthodox Church

​Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary

We stopped in a few shops and enjoyed some lunch before making our way back to our lodging.

That night our Canadian friends invited us to head up to the sunset rock to catch the sun set. 

The next day, we had an early evening flight, so we left  mid morning, which gave us some time to explore the city of Thessaloniki. On the drive back to Thessaloniki we took some scenic and tolls roads. All tolls accept either cash (euro) or credit card. The amounts were small like 90 or 1.50.
​
We found parking in a garage connected to city hall which was very clean and not too expensive. We found a restaurant facing the port where we enjoyed some pizza and the ocean breeze. We walked around seeing a few sites. 

Ruins of The Palace of Galerius

Triumphal Arch of Galerius

​Holy Church of Hagia Sophia

From there we returned our rental car and went through security which took like 2 minutes and then people watched until our flight. We arrived back in Stuttgart a little bit after dinner.  Another great trip in the books!
All facts came from the book: Meteora: The Holy Monasteries as a Place of Pilgrimage by Dimitrios K. Agoritsas