---
node: dest_meteora
type: destination
slug: meteora
title: "Meteora"
lead: "Meteora is a cluster of Orthodox monasteries perched on top of towering sandstone pillars in central Greece. The sight of the ancient monasteries against the sheer grey rock is among the most dramatic in the country."
published: 2026-08-10
updated: 2026-08-10
image_file: meteora.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mystic_land_METEORA.jpg"
image_author: "Ioannis Ioannidis"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

Rising from the plain of Thessaly, the rock pillars of Meteora were settled from the fourteenth century by monks who built their monasteries on the summits, once reached only by rope ladders and baskets. Six of the monasteries remain active and open to visitors, their frescoed churches and terraces looking out over the valley and the town of Kalambaka below. A World Heritage site both for its monasteries and its geology, it is a place of pilgrimage, walking and long views, easily reached by train from the north.

## Highlights

Roads and footpaths link the six working monasteries, among them the Great Meteoron and Varlaam, each set on its own pinnacle above the drop. The walking trails between the rocks give the closest sense of the landscape, and the cliffs draw climbers to some of Greece's best rock. Sunset from the viewpoints, with the monasteries silhouetted on their towers, is the classic Meteora moment.