Meteora. The Landscape That Feels Like Another Planet.

Been there more than once. Inside the monasteries, with and without David, my son. The rocks impress me every single time.

There is a moment when you're driving toward Meteora and the rocks start appearing above the treeline, and you genuinely can't process what you're looking at. Columns of grey stone rising 300, 400 metres straight up from a flat valley, with buildings on top of them. Buildings that have been there since the 14th century.

If you've seen Avatar, you'll understand the reference immediately. It looks like that. Except it's real, and it's in central Greece, and somehow that makes it stranger.

Μετέωρα (Meteora)

The name means "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above", which is exactly what the monasteries appear to be. There were originally 24 of them. Six are still active today, open to visitors on a rotating schedule. Not all of them are open every day, so check before you go.

The rocks themselves are around 60 million years old, formed from sediment at the bottom of a prehistoric lake and slowly exposed by erosion over millions of years. The monks who first climbed them in the 11th and 12th centuries used nets and ropes to haul themselves and their supplies up. The stairs came much later.

The stairs

Going up and down to some of the monasteries takes more out of you than you expect. The steps are steep, uneven, and there are a lot of them. If you have a fear of heights, and I do, some of the exposed sections require a moment to negotiate.

It's worth it. But go at your own pace and wear proper shoes.

The crowds

Meteora is always in season. There is no quiet month in the way there is for other Greek destinations. Summer is the worst. Tour buses from Athens, crowds at every viewpoint, queues at the monastery entrances.

Spring and autumn are better but still busy. Even winter has its visitors. If you want the landscape to yourself, you're looking at very early morning or late afternoon when the tour groups have left.

The light in those conditions, late afternoon, long shadows across the rocks, is what you came for as a photographer.

Beyond the monasteries

Most visitors follow the same loop. Main road, main viewpoints, main monasteries, back to the car. But there are smaller roads that go further into the rock formations, quieter viewpoints, paths that take you away from the tour bus circuit.

What you find depends on what kind of traveller you are. If you're happy with the standard route, the standard route is genuinely spectacular. If you want to go further, there's more there.

Kalambaka

The town at the base of the rocks is worth a proper stop, not just a overnight base. It's a real Greek town with good food and a completely different pace from the tourist circuit above it. The view of the rocks from the town in the evening light is one of the best angles you'll find.

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I've been inside the monasteries alone and with David. The quiet inside is a different experience from the landscape outside, both worth having. Please check the dress code before visiting. If you do not fit, they will not let you enter.

Meteora is one of those places that genuinely lives up to what you've seen in photographs. That doesn't happen often.

Have you been to Meteora? And did you find any of the roads or viewpoints off the main circuit? I'd love to know.