"''Suspended in the air''." Top 5 Page for this destination Meteora by JLBG

Meteora Travel Guide: 358 reviews and 935 photos

Meteora, Agias Triadas

The Meteora monasteries stand on majestic grey rocks rising in the Thessalian plain, in the centre of Greece, where Pinios river flows out of deep canyons of the Pindus range.

Ermits have lived in the caves in the plain since the beginning of Christianity. When there began the Turkish invasions, they began to climb to suspended, inaccessible caves ("eagle's nests") in the mountain, first to pray and later they made their dwellings. By the 11th century, the first monasteries were built on top of the rocks that overhang Kalambaka. They developed until the 15th and 16th, which was the golden age of monasteries in Meteora. There were as many as 24 monasteries. The Meteora underwent heavy damages from the Nazi armies during WW2 as they were used as strongholds by the Greek partisans.

Only six monasteries are still in activity :
Ayia Trias (or Haghia Trias or Agias Triadas)
Agios Stefanos (for nuns)
Haghia Rossani or Roussanou (for nuns)
Varlaam
Agios Nikolaos Anapavsas
The Great Meteoron or Transfiguration Monastery

The small town of Kalambaka is the main starting point to the Meteora. Starting from Kalambaka, the road that allows to visit the Meteors makes a 21 km loop,

The name ''Meteora'' comes from the ancient Greek ''Meteoron'' that means ''suspended in the air''. The Meteora, were inscribed in 1988 on the Unesco World Heritage list and are a must see.

Last visit to Meteora: Aug 2001
Intro Updated Mar 23, 2006
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (18)

Camping in the mountain Hotels (1)

Camping outside an organized camping is theoretically forbidden in Greece. If you tried to camp in the wild in touristy... more travel advice

Great Meteoron and Great barrel - Meteora

Great Meteoron and Great barrel Things to Do (12)

This barrel is obviously very old. Instead of being iron-bound like modern barrels, it is hoped by logs that have been... more travel advice

Great Meteoron, the hauling machine - Meteora

Great Meteoron, the hauling machine Things to Do (12)

In the old days, monks, visitors and supplying were hauled inside the monastery in a wicker basket. One or several monks... more travel advice

Great Meteoron Things to Do (12)

The Great Meteoron Monastery (Megalo Meteoro), also known as Monastery of the Transfiguration, is the main monastery of... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (4)
See All Bee hives in the direction of Mount...

Warnings and Dangers (1)
Flash flood near the Meteora

Comments (29)

Reply
- Report abuse
roamer61 Aug 19, 2009 at 1:16 PM

Great shots of the scenery and the monastaries.
Reply
- Report abuse
cachaseiro Nov 27, 2008 at 9:23 PM

very nice photos from meteora. it looks like i will be going there myself next year.
Reply
- Report abuse
Trekki Nov 15, 2008 at 10:22 PM

Fantastic! I never made it that north in Greece to visit the famous monasteries. And I love the rag hanging custom, mybe the precursor of Christmas tree hanging? Wishing health for the next year?
Reply
- Report abuse
janetanne Jun 22, 2008 at 2:17 PM

In all my travels through Greece, I have never seen wicker bee hives! What a great tip and photo!
Reply
- Report abuse
angiebabe May 9, 2008 at 8:31 AM

Lovely to see your very motivating pictures and write ups!I think I cant choose to go to just the Greek islands and leave this place for another time!
Reply
- Report abuse
Kuznetsov_Sergey Oct 8, 2007 at 10:32 AM

I'm planning a visit to Meteora this November. Thanks Jean-Louis for your useful introduction there. Wonderful pics which make my desire to get there stronger...
Reply
- Report abuse
Paul2001 Aug 21, 2007 at 2:08 PM

Meteora is amazing if rather crowded. Maybe floods are another reason they were built so high. Great page.
Reply
- Report abuse
sim1 Apr 8, 2007 at 4:17 AM

Great page Jean-Louis! The monasteries at Meteora look so fascinating and impressive to see towering on top of those steep rocks. This place is high on my wishlist to see some day!
Reply
- Report abuse
starship Apr 2, 2007 at 5:43 PM

Such a fascinating place, Iand the story about Agios Georgios Mandelas Cave was remarkable! Very nice page and superb photos!
Reply
- Report abuse
tini58de Feb 4, 2007 at 3:26 AM

Excellent page, Jean-Louis! Isn't it ironical that the flash-flood happened to YOU, the desert expert - but in a region where you would least expect it? Glad you got out of it safe!