The Meteora road trip in the Thessaly region is unlike any other driving experience on earth. You drive across a perfectly flat plain until giant grey pillars of rock burst from the ground. Monasteries sit on the very top of these peaks like they were dropped there by hand. The road winds between the base of these stone giants, making your car feel tiny. It is a place of deep peace and massive scale. You can drive to different lookout points to see the sunset hit the rocks.
Drive east toward the Pelion peninsula to find a dense forest that meets the sea. The roads here are a beautiful maze of chestnut and plane trees. You find hidden beaches with white pebbles and water that looks like liquid glass. It is the mythical home of the centaurs and feels just as magical today. The mountain villages have stone roofs and cold springs. Every turn in Pelion brings you from a dark forest to a sunlit bay.
You can eat apples and cherries right from the trees along the roadside. The drive is a perfect mix of high alpine air and salty sea breeze. You climb high into the fog and then drop down to a sunny beach in less than an hour. It is a dream route for those who want both the mountains and the ocean. Thessaly proves that Greece is much more than just islands and ruins.
Thessaly highlights
- Meteora Rocks Drive between giant grey stone pillars that look like they belong on another planet or a movie. The monasteries on top are a miracle of building and faith from the middle ages. The road offers amazing views and many places to pull over for a grand photo.
- Lake Plastira This blue lake in the mountains is perfect for a slow drive through the thick oak forests. You can see the reflection of the high snowy peaks in the quiet surface of the water. There are many local picnic spots and small villages to explore along the shore.
- Pelion Mountain Villages Follow the winding roads through chestnut trees to reach stone towns like Makrinitsa on the slopes. The houses have grey slate roofs and look out over the blue gulf and the city of Volos. The air is cool and sweet and smells of the forest and wood smoke.
- Damouchari Port Drive down to the coast of Pelion to find the tiny harbor where parts of the movie Mamma Mia were filmed. The water is green and clear and the houses are made of old local stone. It is a very hidden and quiet gem at the end of a winding road.
- Vale of Tempe Drive through the deep and narrow valley between Mount Olympus and the high Mount Ossa. The river flows through the center and the cliffs are high and green with many old legends. It has been a famous mountain pass since ancient times for every traveler.
- Pertouli Meadows Explore the high mountain plains where horses and cows roam free in the thick summer grass. The roads pass through thick fir forests and look like a scene from the Swiss Alps. It is a great spot for fresh air and a mountain meal in a tavern.
- Trikala Fortress Visit the old castle on the hill that watches over the city and the flat green plains. The old clock tower is a famous landmark that you can see from the road as you drive. The history here is very old and the town below is full of bicycles.
- Milopotamos Beach The road down to this beach in Pelion goes through a natural rock arch in the cliff. The water is a bright turquoise and the pebbles on the shore are white and very smooth. It is one of the best and most famous beaches in the east of Greece.
- Elati Village This mountain town is built among the tall pines and feels like a cozy retreat in the snow. The shops sell local mountain herbs and honey that smell like the deep forest trees. The drive is steep and fun and offers many views of the high peaks.
- Archaeological Site of Sesklo See the ruins of one of the oldest farming villages in all of Europe near the city of Volos. The site shows how people lived many thousands of years ago in small round houses. The drive is easy and flat and takes you through the local farmland.
The local Four
History of Thessaly
Thessaly is home to the massive stone pillars of Meteora, which were formed sixty million years ago as an inland sea drained away. On a Meteora road trip, you see monasteries perched on rocks that rise four hundred meters above the plain. The first monks arrived in the 11th century, but the first organized monastery, the Great Meteoron, was founded in 1340 AD. For centuries, the only way to reach the top was by being hauled up in a net or using long wooden ladders.
The region was famous in antiquity for its elite cavalry, which provided the backbone of Alexander the Great’s army. The flat plains were perfect for breeding the Thessalian horse, the most prized breed in the ancient world. Mount Pelion was the mythical home of the Centaurs and the site where the Argonauts built their ship, the Argo, in 1200 BC. The forest of Pelion provided the oak timber used for the hull of the legendary vessel.
In 1881, Thessaly was annexed to the modern Greek state after centuries of Ottoman rule. The city of Trikala became the first in Greece to install a public electric light system in 1906. The mountain villages of Pelion grew rich in the 18th century by exporting silk and red-dyed cotton to the markets of Vienna and Berlin. The province remains the agricultural center of Greece, defined by mountain myths and the vast green wealth of the plains.