Kalambaka & Meteora, Greece - September 2025
- chrissihuf
- Nov 10, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Theopetra Cave
Brief History/Information
Theopetra Cave was discovered on the side of a mountain in the late 1980’s. What makes Theopetra extraordinary is its continuous human occupation from the Middle Paleolithic, through Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and into the Neolithic and it holds one of the oldest known human made constructions. The construction is a stone wall built inside the cave dating to about 21,000 BC (≈23,000 years ago). The presence of humans goes back at least 130,000 years, placing it among the oldest known continuous occupation sites in Europe.
What we did
On our way into Kalambaka, we stopped off at Theopetra Cave, it is about 5 miles south of Kalambaka. This was an incredible stop! It’s located on the side of a mountain, there are a lot of winding roads and stairs prior to actually getting to the cave. Check the website for days and times of operations, they do close because they are still excavating. It’s pretty cool to see the oldest human-made structure in the world, it’s not that impressive, but it’s cool (and they did this by themselves and by hand).
Places of Interest
Theopetra Cave-5 Euros to get in, this includes the museum also, open 8:30-15:30; closed on Tuesday
Theopetra Cave Museum
Kalambaka
Restaurant Meteora-oldest restaurant in Kalabaka
Brief History/Information
There is civilization documentation dating about 168 BC. Kalambaka provides direct access to the monasteries of Meteora; the town itself, though modern in many parts, retains historic churches and a charming local atmosphere. The terms Kalambaka and Kalabaka are used interchangeably for the same area.
What we did
When visiting the monestaries in Meteora, we chose to stay in Kalambaka, at Elena Guesthouse. Elena Guesthouse was an adorable five room inn, with balconies, right in the heart of old town Kalambaka. Since we didn’t get a chance to do laundry at our other destination, we asked the staff at Elena Guesthouse where we could go, and for 20 Euros, they actually laundered, folded, and delivered our clothing to us (and it smelled fantastic). From Elena Gueshouse, it’s a quick drive to Meteora and many other sites. We were here in September and the crowds were still plentiful and the temperature was still pretty warm. There were many tourist busses bringing in loads of people.
Places of Interest
Walk the old town
Meteora cliffs
The architecture of ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern
Walking Tour w/ Bar Crawl
BARS/RESTAURANTS/SITES
Restaurant Meteora-oldest restaurant in Kalabaka… a must go to-delicious!
Feel the Rocks- great modern bar with a rooftop looking at Meteora
Meteora
Brief History/Information
“Meteora” means “suspended in the air” or “in mid-air”. Meteora is a complex of monasteries and was built beginning in the 14th-15th centuries by monks seeking solitude and protection atop the cliffs. The main reason for building on these high, inaccessible rocks was partly driven by the need for retreat, solitude, and protection during unstable times (including political and military threats). The site of Meteora (the monasteries + the rock formations + the monastic community) is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.
What we did
When visiting the monasteries in Meteora, we chose to stay in Kalambaka, at Elena Guesthouse. We had our own car, so we drove to the monasteries ourselves. Since there are six monasteries and were there for two days, we saw three monasteries each day. If you’ve only allocated one day for Meteora, you can easily see four or five of them. Be prepared for a lot of walking, stairs, and crowds.
All of the monasteries have the same dress code: women must cover their shoulders and wear a skirt; the men can wear shorts. The tours and busses are usually there in the morning, so both days we arrived at the monasteries after 10:00 but before 12:00.
Places of Interest
Of the original ~24 monasteries, These six remain and in the order we visited.
Great Meteron Monastery (Moní Megístis Lávras)-Visiting Hours: 9:30 to 15:00. The monastery is closed on Tuesdays, and is the biggest and oldest of all the monasteries.
Varlaam Monastery (All Saints)-Visiting Hours: 9:00 to 16:00. The monastery is closed on Fridays. Second biggest monastery.
Saint Nicholas Anapausas Monastery-Meteora’s Vertical Monastery
Saint Stephen Monastery (Agios Stefanos)-Visiting Hours: 9:00 to 13:30 and 15:30 to 17:30. The monastery is closed on Mondays. We were told it’s the most accessible monastery, where you just cross a small bridge and there are no stairs… this is not true! There were stairs, but the walkway to get to the monastery was extremely long and windy.
Holy Trinity Monastery (Agia Triada)-Visiting Hours: 9:00 to 7:00. The monastery is closed on Wednesday.
Roussanou Monastery (for nuns)-Visiting Hours: 9:00 to 15:30. The monastery is closed on Wednesday
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