Meteora Travel Guide

The Great Meteoron is the largest of the Meteora monasteries, perched atop a giant sandstone pillar above the Kalambaka plain, founded in the 14th century by St Athanasius as an aerial sanctuary for hermit monks. Inside survive a grand church, frescoes, and the old kitchen, wine cellar and herbal pharmacy; a museum holds religious objects and manuscripts. Reached by hundreds of stone steps, it looks down through the clouds over deep gorges — the most epic frame of the 'sky cities' and the spiritual core of this UNESCO site.

Holy Trinity (Agia Triada) is among the most isolated and photogenic Meteora monasteries, built in the 15th century on a slender sandstone pillar, reached by about 140 rock-cut steps — a filming site for Bond's 'For Your Eyes Only'. Its small church is known for fine frescoes and a quiet courtyard; on every side lie gorges and sea of clouds, the ultimate expression of Meteora's detached solitude. Smaller than Great Meteoron, it feels even more secluded and vertiginous.

Varlaam is the second-largest monastery of Meteora, set on the summit of a rock pillar about 370 metres high. Founded in the fourteenth century by the hermit Varlaam and rebuilt in the sixteenth, its main church was completed in 1548 with frescoes by the renowned painter Frangos Katelanos. Inside are a museum, a wine cellar and a cistern, and relics of the rope basket and windlass once used to haul supplies. Reaching the top involves a flight of rock-cut steps. The terrace looks over Kalambaka and the surrounding pillars. Allow about an hour, minding dress and hours.

Rousanou, also known as the Monastery of St Barbara, is one of the six surviving monasteries of Meteora, perched on the narrow ledge of a soaring rock pillar. Founded in the mid-sixteenth century, its main church was painted around 1560, and the frescoes are well preserved. It is now a convent, where the nuns paint icons and do handicrafts. Access is by a small bridge and rock-cut steps, and from the terrace you can look around the neighbouring pillars and the town of Kalambaka. Allow about an hour; there are stairs, so wear grippy shoes and check opening hours.