METEORA

You want to talk about some serious self-isolation??

About 1000 years ago in Greece, Eastern-Orthodox Monks, seeking total isolation and peace, and in an attempt to be closer to God, scaled these 1000-1800 foot monolithic cliffs, hermit-ing themselves for years in caves within these towering stone pinnacles. They eventually rock-climbed their way to the tops, and began to build what became the unbelievable monasteries that you see today.

Meteora, which means, ‘suspended in the air,’ will humble you in a way nothing else ever has.

At one point, hundreds & hundreds of years ago, there were over 25 monasteries atop the cliffs. Today, there are 6 fully functional ones that still exist, and are open to the public. More recently, stairs have been chiseled directly out from the sides of the rock cliffs to make an easier path for entry. But back then, the Ninja-Monks climbed the cliffs and hoisted the building materials up via a pulley system with rope and nets. Can you imagine?! Seems impossible. These monks braved everything to isolate for a greater purpose. They weren’t thinking, ‘Man, these will be sooo Instagrammable one day!’ And they certainly weren’t thinking that social distancing was a huge inconvenience. It was very moving to be there, and to think about what determination, dedication, and strength of will & faith it took to have created these feats at such great heights so many years ago. They suffered cold and hunger, pain and death, in order to honor their God and devote themselves entirely to prayer in isolation, in such an extreme place.

When you think about the isolation we are being ‘forced’ to face today- on the comforts of our couches, with A/C or heat, Cheetos and Netflix, and our loved ones in our arms, or just a FaceTime call away. And then you think about the sacrifices of others- both in history, and present-day, (our healthcare workers out there, fighting on the forefront of this COVID battle, so that we should all be safe), it should ring loudly in our ears, and remind us of how incredibly fortunate we all are.

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How to visit Meteora

There are day-trip tours that you can take from Athens, that leave in the morning and return you by nighttime, but I wouldn’t recommend that. If you have the ability, and time, I would give yourselves three days in Meteora, to get to see each of the monastaries, and really enjoy the incredibly breathtaking surrounding area.

Meteora is about a 3-4 hour drive north from Athens, depending on whether you take the direct, newer highway, or the more coastal route (which we did), that takes you through Delphi and some other amazingly beautiful towns. But either way, once you near Kalambaka, the first town of Meteora, your jaw will drop from the sight of the limestone towers- cave filled rock pinnacles caused by erosion from wind, rain and earthquakes over millions of years- jutting out of the Earth. It’s an amazing sight the closer and closer you get. We stayed in Kalastraki, the smaller town, just past Kalambaka, at Hotel Kalastraki, which is the closest hotel to the first Monastary, St Nicholas. It was very comfortable, and clean, and our room had panoramic views of the gorgeous rock landscape.

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Over the course of 3 nights, we got to enjoy epic views from the panoramic lookouts that hover above the towns, stroll through the quaint town of Kalambaka, and sample some delicious restaurants, and we got to visit all 6 monasteries. They are not all open on all days of the week (each monastery is closed at least one day each week to the public), so if you truly want to visit them all, you need at least two days there. The interiors were stunning- glorious gardens, museums, and amazingly decorated and ornate churches at each. The artwork was perfection! (No photos allowed though inside the churches). Out of the 6, two are nunneries. They are all meticulously maintained, and I looooved seeing them.

I would recommend seeing all of the monastaries- it doesn’t take too long to visit each, but if you absolutely had to choose, I wouldn’t miss the Great Meteoron for sure, Varlaam, Roussanou, and St Stephens. The latter two are the nunneries, and they were so very pretty!

Visiting days and times for all six, can be found here. Plan your days with this schedule in mind. Some monasteries, you should hit first thing in the day, because the tour busses arrive about a half hour after opening, and then the lines of the larger monasteries get long to enter, during peak season. We were there in July (considered peak season), and managed to see every one of them without crowds. It made a huge difference. Also, there is an entry fee to each monastery of about 3 Euro, and there are dress codes (details at the end of this post).

Here is a short breakdown of all six Monasteries:

GREAT METEORON

Try your best to arrive at this one about 30 minutes before opening (I believe it opens at 9:00). It is the largest of all the Monasteries, and was built in the mid 1300’s. This place is so impressive on so many levels… naturally, spiritually, artistically, historically, scientifically, enigmatically, …
And when you visit it, and see for yourself what was created so long ago, and how it was accomplished, well, … it is completely epic. It underwent restoration and embelishment projects in 1483 & 1552, and the Katholikon (the main church) should NOT be missed. The gold-glinted frescos covering the entire interior is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. (Wish I could show you a photo! You’ll just have to go and check it out yourself.)

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VARLAAM

Varlaam is the second largest, originally built in 1541-42 and definitely on the do-not-miss list! You can look down at it from the Great Meteoron. It looks like something out of the movie, ‘Avatar.’ It has gardens that are stunning, and the beautifully carved rotunda in the open terrace was gorgeous against the dramatic rocky landscapes, and a perfect place to take in the amazing views. Varlaam also has a wonderful museum. Be sure to check it out.

I flew my drone above Varlaam, to show the dramatic height from a different perspective. I was always extremely careful to keep a good distance away from all the monasteries when flying the drone, to be respectful and so that it would remain unnoticed and not disturb anyone.

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When asked about a hundred years ago how often they changed the ropes, a monk famously replied, “When it breaks.” Ha!! That’s only super crazy when you realize that they used the ropes to hoist people up as well… other monks, visitors, etc.

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ROUSANNOU

Rousannou, although not as large as Great Meteoron and Varlaam, is incredibly impressive from the road and the sky, where it looks to be seemingly growing straight out from the rock below it.  It is believed to be named after the first monk who settled on that rock in the 1300’s, and who was known for being an elusive introvert. Makes sense that he chose that spot. Seeing what was created so many centuries ago, in ways that are truly unbelievable and awe-inspiring, was jaw-droppingly breathtaking.

Originally founded by monks, this monastery is now actually a Nunnery since 1988, and run solely by about 15 nuns, who live there full-time. No photos allowed inside, of course. (I found that out when I snapped one (below), and the nun smashed my camera to smitherines.

Just kidding. She politely told me no photos. And wagged her finger at me. Lol.

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ST. STEPHEN

St Stephen Monastery is the only other nunnery in Meteora, and is the easiest of all to access, with no steps to climb, and just a bridge to cross. It’s fairly larger, and the gardens are beautiful and peaceful, and the frescoes in the chapel are gorgeous. It was founded in 1545 and converted to a convent in 1961 when the nuns moved in.

If you like gardens, and you enjoy artwork, do not miss this! While we were there, they were doing restoration work on the frescos in the chapel. The paintings cover the entire interior, including the ceiling, and a restoration artist was laying on his back, in a rickety hammock-recliner of sorts, suspended high above the floor on a cherry-picker-contraption. And he was calmly and meticulously painting an intricate pattern of flowers over his head. I think I would pass out after 5 minutes!

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ST. NICHOLAS

St Nicholas is the smallest of the Monasteries, and the first that you’ll come upon, on the way up to Meteora, from the town of Kastraki, after Kalambaka. It’s a short, approx 2/3 mile walk from Hotel Kalastraki, if you’d like some exercise. But be ready for some more though, as even though this is the smallest monastery, it has the largest amount of stairs (300!) to reach the top. But once you do, you are awarded with beautiful views all around- of the landscape and other monasteries. And the iconography and interior paintings are definitely worth seeing.

And to think that not that long ago, they used wooden ladders to reach the top (approx 200+ feet) …..

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HOLY TRINITY

This monastery was not as impressive on the inside as some of the others, with their intricately decorated and frescoed church interiors. But it sure looks amazing from afar, and has its own claim to fame, having been featured in the 1981James Bond Movie, For Your Eyes Only, during which Bond famously scales the 1200 foot cliff to reach the bad guy, hiding out at the top. I wonder if Dometius, the monk believed to be the first at the site of Holy Trinity, ever foresaw that!

Stretch your quads a bit, before you visit this one too, as you’ll need to prepare to climb about 130 steps- not too bad, but still a nit of a climb. The views from outside the monastery are beautiful though, and you get a different and unique view of Kalambaka Valley.

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Dress Code:

One thing of note, is the dress code in Meteora. You are required to wear long pants/skirt that go past your knees in the monasteries, and in the nunneries especially. For women who are not wearing a skirt, and for men in shorts, the nuns have wrap skirts that they will lend you to wear while you are visiting. I was wearing long linen pants, and still had to borrow a wrap skirt. You also need to make sure that your shoulders are covered. Please be respectful and adhere to their rules while visiting in their place of worship.

Not to Miss:

One thing you must not miss, is hanging out at the two panoramic viewpoints that hover over Meteora, and give you sweeping views of the entire landscape, all the monasteries, and the valley. I could have spent hours and hours here. Try to come up early, before the monasteries open, and before any groups of people arrive. You will have a serene and mind-blowing experience all at the same time.

Kalambaka

Other than visiting the monasteries up in Meteora, Kalambaka town below, is a beautiful place to visit. We enjoyed sitting in the open-air cafès, sipping on Greek coffee and eating fresh pastries that make my mouth water, just thinking about them. We had a terrific dinner too, in the most unbelievable setting at Meteoron Panorama Restaurant. The food was delicious, the service, very friendly, and the views were pretty damn remarkable! We watched in awe as the goats climbed fearlessly up and down the steep and narrow ledges of the cliffs, disappearing into caves, and then re-emerging again– one fewer, because the littlest was too scared to continue! 😉 …. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

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Be sure to give yourself enough time to visit Meteora, as it is not a place to rush through. It evokes a natural sense of peace and tranquility, partially because of the quiet nature of the monasteries, still in use by monks and nuns. Partially because you are up in the clouds and things just seem more calm there. But mostly, because it must be in awe-inspired silence that you can truly marvel and reflect on the awesome phenomenon that is this unworldly place, created so long ago by unconventional and amazing feats of dedication and engineering, was founded.

If you are coming to Greece, put Meteora on your itinerary. You will not be disappointed!

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Until next time….. Aloha, Meteora!