After our surprise visit to Delphi, Greece, we continued north to Meteora. When researching places to visit in Greece we came across pictures of Meteora and immediately knew it was a place we needed to see in person.
Meteora is famous for its geology; a unique set of circumstances resulted in the formation of tall pillars of sandstone, a process that took millions of years to complete.
When monks arrived on the scene in the 12th century they found these columns to be a good place to build monasteries since the extreme inaccessibility provided solace and protection from bandits and other enemies.
Originally many of the monasteries had to be accessed using ropes and baskets. Much later, steps and bridges were added to allow for a less harrowing journey.
There were upwards of 20 monasteries at one time but only six remain today, each with only a handful of residents. The monasteries are open to visitors and we decided to go see the Rossanou Monastery. Inside, we admired the 16th century frescoes within the small chapel.
We continued on the road from the valley up to the plateau above and were floored by the spectacular views. Several of the scenic overlooks have large rock formations that the kids enjoyed climbing.
We made an initial loop around the monasteries during the early afternoon.
Later we returned to complete a second loop at dusk and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.
Summing Up
Meteora is an awe-inspiring place to visit and was a great way to cap off our stay in Greece. We wish we would have had more time to spend in the country and are eager to return to see some of the things we missed (next time we’ll be sure to spend some time on the islands).
In our next update, we exit Greece (and the Schengen area) and enter the newly renamed Republic of North Macedonia.