Some of you have been following my trip report from Greece 2016. After we left the islands and Nafplio, we traveled north to central Greece, where my husband comes from, to visit family. I’m sure that the area isn’t on most peoples list of places to go but it is a stone’s throw from Meteora so I will include a little of that. The city of Trikala so one of the nicer cities in Greece, on a river and is know to be progressive in that they have driverless electric buses and is the most bicycle friendly in Greece. My husband was born in the mountains near there, during the summer, when the heat was too great in the towns and cities below. He grew up in a town called Farsala, There is a river in Farsala that is supposedly where they dunked the storied Archilles by his heel!!






Photos of the city of Trikala.





Trikala’s Byzantine castle- a landmark



A river runs through it



Market day

Turned on Trip Report flag.

I have been here numerous times since the 1970s but I am always in awe every time I visit Meteora! You are driving along open road and flat lands when you suddenly , in the distance, see these huge, magnificent rock formations. They look like they just exploded out of the ground! We did not go inside this time but they are open for visits. You must check the schedule because different monasteries are open on different days of the week. They were built in the 13th and 14 th centuries. Obviously, they believed in a high degree of social distancing from the masses! If you venture to this part of Greece, it is a must see.



Approaching the rock formations.








Precariously balanced !





This is the largest of the monasteries. The Grand Meteoron, many, many steps to the top! Do you see the brown door near the top right? That is the landing platform for the little zip line that takes priests across. I don’t know if they still use it but I have seen it in the past.

It’s a long walk up into the monastery




Can’t imagine daring to come out of the building.



And of course, you need goats!

Thank you to the moderator for turning on the trip report flag

Thank you for the TR and the wonderful pictures.

Wow! These are wonderful. It's nice to see photos of where your husband grew up. Off the beaten path and a place where people live.

How many steps do you have to climb to get to the Monastery of Meteoron?

Karen Woo, I have no idea about the amount of steps. Maybe there is a website that mentions it. The smaller monasteries don’t have all those steps like the large one does.

Love the pictures of animals!

How many stairs for each monastery?The Monastery of the Holy Trinity and Great Meteoro are the less accessible (over 300 steps). Rousanou, Varlaam and Saint Nicolaos have an average number of 140. Some of the monasteries apart the staircases requires uphill walking in paved paths. The Holy Monastery of St Stephen is connected with a walking bridge, thus making it more accessible than any other monastery.