Kalambaka Travel Guide

Meteora (Greek for "suspended in the air") is a forest of giant sandstone pillars rising up to 400 metres from the Thessalian plain in central Greece. From the 14th century hermit monks built monasteries on their summits — twenty-four in all, six still open to visitors today — and the ensemble became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, known as the "sky cities". Great Meteoron (Transfiguration), founded in the mid-14th century by Athanasios the Meteorite, is the oldest and largest, with Byzantine frescoes, a carved iconostasis and a manuscript museum. Varlaam, the second largest, holds some of Meteora's best-preserved 16th-century murals and the original rope-and-net hoisting mechanism. Rousanou (St Barbara), run by nuns, occupies the most vertiginous spire; Holy Trinity, famous from the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, is reached by 140 steps cut into the rock; St Nicholas Anapafsas is the smallest but holds Theophanis the Cretan's frescoes; and St Stephen is bridge-accessible, the best choice for limited mobility. Each monastery closes one day a week — Great Meteoron Tuesday, Varlaam Friday, Rousanou Wednesday, Holy Trinity Thursday, St Nicholas Friday, St Stephen Monday. Entry is €5 for Great Meteoron and €3 for the others, cash only, free under 12. Free viewpoints such as the Rousanou lookout, Doupiani Rock and Psarantos Rock frame the pillars at dawn mist and sunset gold.