Meteora Tour: Monasteries, Lunch & Optional Athens Transfer
Make your own way to the Kalambaka train station in the early afternoon, where your driver and guide will be waiting to pick you up in a Mercedes Sprinter minivan. Travel in comfort to reach Meteora with air conditioning, provided bottled water, and onboard Wi-Fi. Get your camera ready for a panoramic view of the area’s rolling green valley and dramatic cliffs with a brief stop at a viewpoint above Kalambaka. When you reach Meteora, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its cultural value, visit two of the monasteries built high up on craggy cliffs (entrance fee not included). Learn about the monks who created these hard-to-reach sanctuaries for privacy and safety while touring the interiors with your guide. Plan to spend about 45 minutes at each site, and then climb back in the van for a driving tour past the outside of the other monasteries, where you’ll stop briefly to hear an overview of their history and legends. If time permits, make a quick stop in the town of Kalambaka before the 4-hour tour concludes with drop-off back at the train station in the late afternoon.
Highlights
- ✓Discover Meteora on a half-day tour from Kalambaka—ideal for travelers short on time
- ✓Visit two of Meteora's magnificent clifftop monasteries
- ✓Learn about the history and culture of this UNESCO World Heritage Site from a guide
- ✓Explore the hermit caves of Badovas
What you'll see & do
- ✓Serene, spiritual, magical, mystical, extraordinary, breathtaking, immense, inspiring, impressive. These are only some of the words people very often use in an effort to describe the Meteora phenomenon. Visit Meteora, even if your interests are not deeply religious. It is the only way to enrich your feelings of spirituality that this area already exudes, no matter how long or brief your sojourn in our beautiful land.
- ✓The Great Meteoron Monastery is the biggest and oldest one of all. It was called the monastery that was “suspended in the air” (meteoro), because of the formation of the gigantic rock on top of which it was built. The Great Meteoro Monastery was founded by Saint Athanasios the Meteorite who was the first founder of the monastery and the organizer of the systematic koenovion. For this reason, the foundation of this monastery is considered to be a turning point, or even better, the beginning of the organized monastisicm in Holy Meteora. Hosios Athanasios was born around 1302 in the medieval town of New Patras, today’s Hypati and his lay name was Andronikos.
- ✓The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second biggest monastery. It is located opposite of the Great Meteoro Monastery and it was founded in the mid 14th century by the exercitant Hosios Varlaam. The elegant monastery Catholicon was built in the honour of Agioi Pantes in 1541-42, by two brothers from Ioannina, the priest-monks Hosioi Theophanes and Nectarios the Apsarades. The main church was decorated in 1548. Based on stylistic criteria, this magnificent wall-painting is attributed to the famous hagiographer from Thebes, Frago Catelano.
- ✓The Holy Trinity Monastery (Agia Triada) is the most difficult to reach, but once you get to the very top the panoramic view of the surroundings is simply captivating! This Monastery is very close to the Saint Stephen’s Nunnery and it is perched on a steep and magnificent rock. It had already been organized Monastery since the year 1362 as indicated in a document by Symeon Uressis Palaeologos. Visitors have to follow a pathway that directs them initially to the foot of the rock, before they start walking up about 140 steps.
- ✓he Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Anapafsas is the first Monastery that we encounter on our way to the Holy Meteora and was founded at the end of the 14th century. For the name Anapafsas there are numerous interpretations two of which are the most popular. The first one is that the name Anapafsas was attributed by one of the monastery’s benefactors, while the second explanation has to do with the monastery’s position being the first to be encountered on the way up and probably served to the pilgrims and other visitors as a resting place before continuing on.
What's included
- ✓Local English speaking tour leader
- ✓On-board WiFi
- ✓Bottled water
- ✓In-vehicle air conditioning
- ✓Visit inside 3 monasteries and the hidden hermit caves
What's not included
- ✓Train tickets
- ✓Food and drinks, unless specified
- ✓Great Meteoron Monastery
- ✓Varlaam Monastery
- ✓Agios Stefanos
Good to know
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
A small amount of walking is involved, but there are stairs to climb in the monasteries
To enter the monasteries, appropriate clothing is required; Ladies should not wear short skirts and must have long sleeves; Men are not allowed to wear shorts
Cancellation policy
- •A full refund will apply if you cancel more than 24 hours before the activity start time.
- •No refund is possible if you cancel less than 24 hours before the activity start time.
Meteora Tour: Monasteries, Lunch & Optional Athens Transfer
Make your own way to the Kalambaka train station in the early afternoon, where your driver and guide will be waiting to pick you up in a Mercedes Sprinter minivan. Travel in comfort to reach Meteora with air conditioning, provided bottled water, and onboard Wi-Fi. Get your camera ready for a panoramic view of the area’s rolling green valley and dramatic cliffs with a brief stop at a viewpoint above Kalambaka. When you reach Meteora, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its cultural value, visit two of the monasteries built high up on craggy cliffs (entrance fee not included). Learn about the monks who created these hard-to-reach sanctuaries for privacy and safety while touring the interiors with your guide. Plan to spend about 45 minutes at each site, and then climb back in the van for a driving tour past the outside of the other monasteries, where you’ll stop briefly to hear an overview of their history and legends. If time permits, make a quick stop in the town of Kalambaka before the 4-hour tour concludes with drop-off back at the train station in the late afternoon.
Highlights
- ✓Discover Meteora on a half-day tour from Kalambaka—ideal for travelers short on time
- ✓Visit two of Meteora's magnificent clifftop monasteries
- ✓Learn about the history and culture of this UNESCO World Heritage Site from a guide
- ✓Explore the hermit caves of Badovas
What you'll see & do
- ✓Serene, spiritual, magical, mystical, extraordinary, breathtaking, immense, inspiring, impressive. These are only some of the words people very often use in an effort to describe the Meteora phenomenon. Visit Meteora, even if your interests are not deeply religious. It is the only way to enrich your feelings of spirituality that this area already exudes, no matter how long or brief your sojourn in our beautiful land.
- ✓The Great Meteoron Monastery is the biggest and oldest one of all. It was called the monastery that was “suspended in the air” (meteoro), because of the formation of the gigantic rock on top of which it was built. The Great Meteoro Monastery was founded by Saint Athanasios the Meteorite who was the first founder of the monastery and the organizer of the systematic koenovion. For this reason, the foundation of this monastery is considered to be a turning point, or even better, the beginning of the organized monastisicm in Holy Meteora. Hosios Athanasios was born around 1302 in the medieval town of New Patras, today’s Hypati and his lay name was Andronikos.
- ✓The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second biggest monastery. It is located opposite of the Great Meteoro Monastery and it was founded in the mid 14th century by the exercitant Hosios Varlaam. The elegant monastery Catholicon was built in the honour of Agioi Pantes in 1541-42, by two brothers from Ioannina, the priest-monks Hosioi Theophanes and Nectarios the Apsarades. The main church was decorated in 1548. Based on stylistic criteria, this magnificent wall-painting is attributed to the famous hagiographer from Thebes, Frago Catelano.
- ✓The Holy Trinity Monastery (Agia Triada) is the most difficult to reach, but once you get to the very top the panoramic view of the surroundings is simply captivating! This Monastery is very close to the Saint Stephen’s Nunnery and it is perched on a steep and magnificent rock. It had already been organized Monastery since the year 1362 as indicated in a document by Symeon Uressis Palaeologos. Visitors have to follow a pathway that directs them initially to the foot of the rock, before they start walking up about 140 steps.
- ✓he Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Anapafsas is the first Monastery that we encounter on our way to the Holy Meteora and was founded at the end of the 14th century. For the name Anapafsas there are numerous interpretations two of which are the most popular. The first one is that the name Anapafsas was attributed by one of the monastery’s benefactors, while the second explanation has to do with the monastery’s position being the first to be encountered on the way up and probably served to the pilgrims and other visitors as a resting place before continuing on.
What's included
- ✓Local English speaking tour leader
- ✓On-board WiFi
- ✓Bottled water
- ✓In-vehicle air conditioning
- ✓Visit inside 3 monasteries and the hidden hermit caves
What's not included
- ✓Train tickets
- ✓Food and drinks, unless specified
- ✓Great Meteoron Monastery
- ✓Varlaam Monastery
- ✓Agios Stefanos
Good to know
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
A small amount of walking is involved, but there are stairs to climb in the monasteries
To enter the monasteries, appropriate clothing is required; Ladies should not wear short skirts and must have long sleeves; Men are not allowed to wear shorts
Cancellation policy
- •A full refund will apply if you cancel more than 24 hours before the activity start time.
- •No refund is possible if you cancel less than 24 hours before the activity start time.