Meteora in North Greece is an absolutely incredible place to visit in the van. The mix of amazing geology and delicately perched monasteries and nunneries upon columns of rock will leave you speechless. We stayed for 6 nights during February in Meteora, both in the town of Kalabaka and on the mountain itself. For the town, we parked in the station car park which was free. This car park had great access to the town for food and drinks, a Lidl, bins and a fresh water tap on the outside of the toilets. The trains do not run regularly and for a town it was a surprisingly peaceful park up. Whilst staying on the top we moved around each night and had no issues out of season. The most peaceful place to park was the large gravel area just East of (and overlooking) The Monastery of Varlaam.
The first photo below was captured from the small public park and location of Church Agios Athanasios. This spot gave a beautiful perspective of the Monastery of St. Stephan and had plenty of parking along the road. This was also a lovely spot to enjoy some lunch or quiet time off ‘the main loop’ of Meteora. The second photo is on the North West of Meteora and shows the Monastery of Varlaam in the foreground and The Great Meteoron Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour behind it. You’ll also notice the van in the shot, we stayed the night at this spot and had no bother.
There is something special that travelling in a van provides outside of a normal holiday or day trip. Having the ability to enjoy a tranquil sunrise over the monasteries in total silence and revelling in the golden light after sunset and the waves of buses depart for the evening. During our stay in February, the best time to check out the morning light was around 8am onwards. Because of the mountains, the sun was not immediately visible on the rock formations and monasteries until a short while after the official sunrise so bare this in mind when setting your alarm. Meteora roughly runs from North West to South East so you’ll want to consider your location carefully to ensure you get the best light at different times of day. The photos below were taken shortly after sunrise and capture the Monastery of Varlaam and the Holy Monastery of Rousanos – Saint Barbara.
One of our favourite monasteries was the Monastery of Varlaam and its wonderful outside terrace. There was ample parking both on, and off the road for this monastery and out of season we were able to stay the night under the stars with no disturbance. The Monasteries and Nunneries in Meteora all charged 3 Euros per person to visit.
Side by side the Monastery of Varlaam and Holy Monastery of Rousanos – Saint Barbara
