Meteora Trails

Meteora is the name used to describe the unique rock formations that take place just north of Kalampaka, in central Greece. The word Meteora means "hovering ones" and most probably was used to describe the kind of feeling one would get if they were to look up to the sky at night from Kalampaka and see the candlelights coming from the monasteries, without being able to see the dark rocks that hold them. Meteora is the home of the second biggest monastic community in Greece, dating back to the 14th century. These extraordinary sandstone rock formations which have a great religious, climbing and hiking interest, are said to have been revealed as the great lake that used to be Thessaly gradually was drained towards the Aegean, around 20-25 million years ago (https://www.elameteoratrikala.com/explore/guides/meteora-geological).
 
The trails that used to connect these monasteries with each other and with the settlements of Kalambaka and Kastraki are the ones that are presented in this section. The hikers that are looking to visit this place might be surprised to find mostly oak forests and soft ground accompanying them on these trails. Of course there are some stony passages but there are really few of them!

Collection created by

Vasilis Deligiannis 

updated on: April 10, 2023