In the center of Greece we find the town of Kalampaka. It is located about 260 km north-west of Athens and it has around 20.000 citizens but each year this small town get visited by 2 million tourists. Kalampaka is suited at the Meteora cliffs and it is the main reason for the great number of tourists. Even if the cliffs are the main attraction Untraveled considers that Kalampaka is more than just the cliffs. This town is cozy and well planned with plenty of taverns, coffe shops and stores. The many hotels also testify that Kalampaka is a very popular place to visit.
There is an odd museum located here. Or more correctly two museums in one: The Meteora Natural Museum of History and the Mushroom Museum. For the price of 5 euro you can visit them both and see and read about a variety of animials, mainly the fauna found in the area, but also learn about many different mushrooms. The museum is nicely built and decorated with handpainted walls and fine details. There is also a project area were you can taste different mushroom delicacies and buy some souvenirs to take with you. 
Between Kalampaka and Meteora lies the small village of Kastraki. Today it is hard to distinguish where Kalampaka ends and Kastraki begins. Probably they where once upon a time separated with a greater distance. Today they are almost one, but you can see from the character of the houses the switch between town and village. Kastraki is a lovely small village that has the luck to be located just near the beautiful cliffs of Meteora. It´s popular to come here after you been hiking to eat in one of many family owned taverns.
Another good tavern is Panorama that is located between Kalampaka and Kastraki. Except the good and priceworthy food Panorama also offers a great view of the Meteora cliffs and out over Kastraki and Kalampaka.
In greek Meteora means ”exalted above the sea, floating, high” and the place was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO 1988. It is a monastery complex and it´s built on what was originally a sandstone mountain but after earthquakes and the influence of weather and wind this mountain broke and the high cliffs were carved up. During Meteora’s glory days it consisted of 24 monasteries, of which today only six are still active. The monasteries are all spectaculary positioned at the top of the steep rock formations, in some cases up to 400 meters high.
Already in the 10s century hermits and ascetics began to live in caves and simpler huts in the area. The first monastery was build in 1340 by a munk called Athanasios and it was placed on a cliff that he called “Megalo Meteoron” which means “The great floating” and this cliff gave the name to the whole area.
Meteora has also been a location used in many films. Among others, the monastery Agia Triada was the site when filming the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. For the Game Of Thrones fans the Eyrie Of Vale is surely familiar. It is actually inspired by the sandstone cliffs of Meteora.
Untraveled had booked a guided hiking trip and we were really excited. But the weather didn´t play in our favour. One hour before the hike would start the heavens opened up and rain was pouring for hours. Unfortunately we had to cancel but the guide understood us very well. When the weather cleared up a bit we decided to go on our own adventure. We started with an easier hike along the bottom of the cliffs which was no problem as there are some hike trails that can take you close to the cliffs. If you want to get next to and between the sandstone cliffs you have to go off-road, which was not the best option this day as it was still damp and the risk of slipping on the very slippery rocks was imminent.
Instead, we went around Meteora by car and it did not disappoint us. There is a way through Kastraki that makes you come around to the other side of the cliffs. Here the road begins to climb up and the view is spectacular as you get a view of almost the whole Meteora area. Along the way there are several monasteries, of which many are available and open for visitors and free of charge. Just remember that it is not allowed to photograph inside the monasteries.
Agia Barbara Rousanou is a monastery worth a stop. To get up to the monastery you need some stamina, especially in the legs, because it is a long stair-climb up to the top. But you should not get intimidated by that. The monastery is very beautiful and the view is even better. If you suffer from fear of hights we recommend that you close your eyes though when you walk over the little bridge that leads from the mountain and out to the sandstone cliff where the monastery is built.
Untraveled chose one way to Kalampaka from Athens and a different way back. On the way there we chose to take the highway which is faster but not quite as interesting. Even if the distance from Athens to Kalampaka is 260 km (the “crow-way”) the trip takes about four hours and the reason for that is that the road isn’t straight. The highway follows the coast line for a good while before it starts to go towards the inland and passes the town of Larissa. After that the roads become narrower all the way to Kalmpaka.
On the way home we chose the smaller roads that go through the mountains. This road obviously takes longer time (about 6-7 hours) but it is much more fun with several interesting stops. The first we made was Pylí, a small village about one hour drive from Kalampaka. Here you can see a 500 year old stone bridge which still – to this day – serves its purpose and helps the inhabitants cross the river.
From there we then aimed for the lake Plastiras which is an artificial lake created by the former greek general and politician Nikolaos Plastiras. The lake gets its water from the river which has its mouth there. Plastiras is one of the highest situated lakes in Europe and is a popular tourist destination in Greece. The landscape that surrounds the lake is powerful. High mountains with dense forests create a unique landscape which is very popular among hikers. To get around the lake´s southern parts you has to go over the dam that was built in the 50´s. At the dam you can park the car if you wish, go for a walk and be amazed over by how impressive it is. There are vendors lined up next to the dam selling delicacies and souvenirs from the region.
After the dam the road is narrow for about an hour more but it offers many places where you can stop the car and see the fantastic views that reach far out over the countryside below the mountain. If there is something we got from this trip back home it was beautiful nature and stunning views.
