Meteroa, high up in the clouds
Meteora is often considered a hidden gem of Greece. Despite Athens and the picturesque islands being the specific topics regarding Greece, Meteora is definitely worth a visit. I had fallen into this trap myself since my earlier trips to Greece had been to Athens and at least ten islands. As for so many else, Santorini is my favourite island; the magnificent way to arrive on a boat sailing into the volcanic crater was a memory for a lifetime.
Kalambaka
The monasteries in Meteora are easiest to reach from the village of Kalambaka. You can rent a car and drive from Athens in about six hours or take the train directly to Kalambaka. However, there is only one train daily in each direction during the season. From Athens early in the morning and the return late afternoon. This makes it possible to do the Meteora experience in one day, with busses waiting to take you to two or three monasteries. However, this will not be my recommendation.
Meteora
The name means “lofty” or “elevated” up in the air. The six (of an original twenty-four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the twenty-four monasteries were established atop the rocks. As a start, some monks wanted solitude and found caves in this area, where they could find peace in their search for God. Later they searched for companies and started to build monasteries in difficult accessible places.
Getting around in Meteora
Getting a map of the area from the tourist office is a good start. There you can see all the monasteries that are open to the public. As earlier said, six of the original 24 are open to the public. If you use Google Maps, they will mainly show you the roads, not the tiny walk path that takes you between the rock formations and the monasteries. Buses and companies are taking you around; you can rent bikes or scooters or, like me, walk.
Plan your days
All the monasteries have one day closed. Therefore it is essential to plan if you want to see them all. And it is almost impossible to see all in one day. To not make this post too long, I will divide it into two posts. After arriving around midday and after lunch, I started my walk to the first monastery, St. Nicholas Anapafsas.
St. Nicholas Anapafsas.
This is the smallest and probably the easiest monastery to visit. I will also say the least significant of the six are open to the public. The road goes close by, and there is space for parking; you have to climb several stairs. This is maybe why most buses do not stop here, and it is the least visited. Therefore, you can have this place more for yourself, sit down and admire the view.
Ypanatis Monastery
Since I started in the afternoon and the monastery closest to St. Nicholas was closed, I decided to walk to see one of the monasteries that were not open to the public. Ypanatis Monastery (Monastery of the Purification) is some kilometres away from the rest; I guess it took me about 45 minutes to walk there. Suddenly, I was in the middle of a herd of goats, an old shepherd woman, and some quite aggressive dogs. This monastery is not on a mountaintop but is built in a cave along the wall. It was well-maintained but closed.
In my next post, I will write about the other monasteries and hope you will follow me on those hikes.
