Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight . . . I have to stop to catch my breath. With fifty-eight stairs behind me, I have yet to face another 137 to reach my final target: the holy monastery of Varlaam, ...

Fifty-six, 57, 58 . . . I have to stop to catch my breath. With 58 stairs behind me, I have 137 more to go to reach my final target: The holy monastery of Varlaam, one of only six of the original 24 ...

The poet and painter Edward Lear once remarked that 'no pen or pencil' could do justice to the mountain monasteries at Meteora, and I'm happy to prove him right. Actually, I was meant to be sailing ...

High above the Meteora landscape in the central region of Greece, 60 monks and nuns live in fabled monasteries perched on the edge of sandstone peaks. In centuries past, their place of worship brought ...

There are place names that intrigue and invite us to discover more. Who can see the name Meteora without imagining a connection with the heavens? Indeed, the name of this historic site in the Greek ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world's hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura. If you're looking to visit a monastery that sits on top of a wind ...

This week’s Offbeat Traveler is inspired by Los Angeles Times reader Gene Minick, who recently visited the remote monasteries of Metéora in Greece’s Thessaly region. The Fountain Valley resident ...