Top 8 Natural Monuments in Météores

Very beautiful Meteora monastery with a great view.

East of the Pindus Mountains, mighty sandstone cliffs rise to a height of approximately 500 meters. 24 monasteries were once built on their summits. Monks and nuns still live in six of them today. These monasteries are now UNESCO World Heritage sites and are often referred to as "floating monasteries" because they appear almost suspended in fog or low clouds.

East of the Pindus Mountains, mighty sandstone cliffs rise to a height of approximately 500 meters. 24 monasteries were once built on their summits. Monks and nuns still live in six of them today. These monasteries are now UNESCO World Heritage sites and are often referred to as "floating monasteries" because they appear almost suspended in fog or low clouds.

East of the Pindus Mountains, mighty sandstone cliffs rise to a height of approximately 500 meters. 24 monasteries were once built on their summits. Monks and nuns still live in six of them today. These monasteries are now UNESCO World Heritage sites and are often referred to as "floating monasteries" because they appear almost suspended in fog or low clouds.

The monasteries of Metamorphosis, Varlaam, Rousánou, Agia Triada, Agios Stephanos, and Agios Nikolaos Anapavsas are still inhabited today and can be visited. Each of the monasteries has a different day of rest, so they are never all closed at the same time. The dress code for visitors must be observed. Shorts are taboo for men, while miniskirts and off-the-shoulder tops are not tolerated for women. Dresses or skirts are also preferred to trousers for women; in some monasteries, women wearing trousers are asked to tie an apron, which can be borrowed at the entrance. The climb to the uninhabited and dilapidated monastery ruins is difficult, often dangerous, and not recommended. Film set, among others: James Bond 007: For Your Eyes Only (1981) The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1996) Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteora

The patronage of this monastery was not conferred on one of the (almost infinite) number of saints, but rather placed under the protection of the "Holy Trinity." The following words come from the late Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), about the mystery of faith that we in Christianity venerate the ONE God in THREE Persons: "On the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Through the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand the words of Jesus and guides us into all truth, the faithful can, so to speak, gain knowledge of the innermost being of God and thereby discover that He is by no means infinite solitude, but a communion of light and love, life given and received in an eternal dialogue between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit—lover, beloved, and love, to use the words of St. Augustine." (Address by Pope Benedict XVI, at the Angelus on June 11, 2006)

With the succinct words "They are bizarre geological formations, the rock pillars in Thessaly, Greece. They rise suddenly and gigantically from the plain. As early as the end of the Byzantine Empire, hermits moved into caves in the rocks, where they led a dangerous life in absolute solitude. High on the rocks stand monasteries, built under the most difficult conditions...", the text on the ARD Mediathek website describes the situation of this very special region, which has quite rightly been awarded the honorary title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO. A short, 15-minute film (available only in German) offers culture-loving viewers a first impression. It can be viewed at =>> https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/schaetze-der-welt/die-felsenkloester-von-meteora-griechenland-folge-42/3sat/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS83MjMyMTc0

You can't enter, but it's very beautiful to look at from the outside. You can get there by following the first trail marked on the Meteora Trails website. It's an easy, one-hour walk through the woods, with no particularly difficult elevation gain. Highly recommended and evocative.