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The Monasteries of Meteora, built on top of massive rocks and cliffs many centuries ago, are one of the most interesting and suggestive sites in Greece.
The rock formations alone in Meteora are simply amazing. If you then couple them with the old Monasteries originally built by hermit monks perched on the cliffs, the site is somewhat surreal. The location and design of the Monasteries not only gave the monks seclusion but also protection, and in most cases the only access to a monastery was by a rope and pulley. However today they are accessible via bridges and walkways. Meteora, which in Greek means suspended in the air, is an appropriate name for these monasteries that rest on the tip of high rocks. Kalambata is the doorway to visiting these religious fortresses, in fact every way you turn there are monasteries. Along the road that goes up from Kalambata the first monastery is Doupani dating back to the XII century, then there is Agios Nikolaos, erected at the beginning of the XIV century over the foundations on an older one. Only ruins are left of Agia Moni, while the rebuild of the monastery of Agia Roussanou, resting on top of a vertical rock like an eagle nest, dates back to the XVI century. Other monasteries are Varlaam, Megalo Meteoro, Agia Triada and Agios Stefanos.