Meteora is one of the most extraordinary places in the world. The name means rocks in the air which is a simple and accurate description. Reaching for the sky as they do, it is hardly surprising the rocky pinnacles were seen as places of religious retreat, and their inaccessibility led to their use by hermits seeking spiritual solitude.

A colony of hermits seems a contradiction in terms, but that is what developed around the several rocks that form Meteora, until a monastery was eventually founded in 1336.

Visiting the monasteries is easiest by car. The nearest accommodations are in the village of Kastraki, or slightly farther away in the town of Kalambaka.