A walk in Divine Meteora!
Meteora is one of the awe inspiring places of our earth and a Unesco World Heritage site. It combines many tens of huge monolith-like sandstone peaks with a number of monasteries built on top of cliffs from 1000 AD onward. More than 20 monasteries once flourished in Meteora. Presently six are open to visitors and a few more are inhabited (while others are in ruin). Meteora are found in fertile Thessaly with lush forests nearby. Though it is very possible to visit the six monasteries by car, we highly recommend to do at least one walk in the area (and that's what we usually do in our organised trips). There are a number of walking routes (with various degrees of difficulties), each of which passes by a few of the functioning monasteries. The one that we usually do takes about six hours to complete (including monastery visits).
The walk starts and finishes in Kastraki village. It goes past St. George Mandilas (monastery), St. Nicolas Anapausas monastery, Varlaam and Megalon Meteoron (Metamorphosis tou Sotiros) monasteries before returning on the northern route (that takes walkers by Ipapantis monastery - presently off limits). The route combines the peaks and monasteries with fields and orchards, lush forests, ravines and monastery ruins giving walkers unforgettable memories in a breathtaking setting.
Besides the three monasteries that we visit in this daylong walk, in our expeditions we also explore the rest of Meteora. Rousanou, Holy Trinity and St. Stephen are all worth a visit (on most days of the week one of the six is closed to visits). A short walk to St. Antonios (currently one monk stays there - it's off limits) and the nearby St Gregorios 'askitaria' (very rudimentary constructions on the cliff!) are highly recommended (and are usually part of our trips). For those who want a longer stay in Kalambaka (usually we spend two days on these trips), the area has other attractions including Theopetra Cave and St. Vissarion Bridge.
Cyprus Walks Etc organise walking trips to Kalambaka (or Kastraki) from Cyprus for groups interested in doing this Divine Meteora walking trip. Such a trip is excellent year round, as the elevation is rather low (under 600 m) meaning that a journey here in winter would be also quite possible. We recommend that such an excursion includes one of two rafting expeditions nearby (probably late spring is the best time for a rafting trip here, when it is less likely to rain, while there's still adequate water in the river for rafting).
The walk starts and finishes in Kastraki village. It goes past St. George Mandilas (monastery), St. Nicolas Anapausas monastery, Varlaam and Megalon Meteoron (Metamorphosis tou Sotiros) monasteries before returning on the northern route (that takes walkers by Ipapantis monastery - presently off limits). The route combines the peaks and monasteries with fields and orchards, lush forests, ravines and monastery ruins giving walkers unforgettable memories in a breathtaking setting.
Besides the three monasteries that we visit in this daylong walk, in our expeditions we also explore the rest of Meteora. Rousanou, Holy Trinity and St. Stephen are all worth a visit (on most days of the week one of the six is closed to visits). A short walk to St. Antonios (currently one monk stays there - it's off limits) and the nearby St Gregorios 'askitaria' (very rudimentary constructions on the cliff!) are highly recommended (and are usually part of our trips). For those who want a longer stay in Kalambaka (usually we spend two days on these trips), the area has other attractions including Theopetra Cave and St. Vissarion Bridge.
Cyprus Walks Etc organise walking trips to Kalambaka (or Kastraki) from Cyprus for groups interested in doing this Divine Meteora walking trip. Such a trip is excellent year round, as the elevation is rather low (under 600 m) meaning that a journey here in winter would be also quite possible. We recommend that such an excursion includes one of two rafting expeditions nearby (probably late spring is the best time for a rafting trip here, when it is less likely to rain, while there's still adequate water in the river for rafting).