How do you get up to those monasteries?

James Bond climbed.

You ride a donkey. But only if you are a man, no women allowed.

There is a small box with a single seat (similar to a cable car). It is hung from a thick strong rope made by monks at a nearby monastery who have been making these ropes for 100's of years. A visitor gets in the car and closes the door, and then the monks at the top use a pulley to pull the car to the top. This rope and car are used only for visitors; the monks have a different one for themselves. The rope for the visitors' car is very well made and is guraranteed to last for 25 years or 1,000,000 uses, whichever comes first. The monks are very thrifty and do not replace the rope until it breaks.

The previous reply is completly inaccurate! Everyone KNOWS the real way up to the monasteries. OK. Here it goes.<BR><BR>First, you must take a shuttle to the base of the mountain. There you will be met by one of the monks. He will greet you with a riddle. For example, "what walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 3 in the evening?" If you answer "Man" or"anthropos" or "android" you are allowed to continue. If you can't figure it out you are required to work one year as an indentured servant to the monks. If you answer correctly, you can proceed.<BR><BR>Next, you must pass the clashing rocks. The secret to this challenge is to strap two tourists to your back and move very quickly through the rocks.<BR><BR>The third challenge is the Greek coffee test. You must identify whether the coffee is Nescafe dark, Nescafe medium, or Nescafe light. The answer? Changes everyday. The punishment? Too horrible to tell.<BR><BR>Finally, if you made it thus far. You are rewarded with a whalebone,a fleece and a lions head. Good luck!

The secret of how to get up to these monasteries can be reveal ONLY after you have been admitted to he inner chambers.

My memory is there are stairs you climb and climb. Some are easier to get to as there is a bridge and some are difficult. Women are allowed, but they must wear long skirts and blouses. women are not allowed to go to Ahtos. You do not need to see inside all of them as they are similar. Have fun.

It's amazing- out of all the responses only 1 is useful. Should have known better-

ap-at least you got one and the rest were kind of funny.

It was a good question, but most of us didn't know the answer. Those of us who posted humorous responses had some fun and did you a favor by topping your thread for you. So it was a win-win situation. Don't complain. SMILE.