The cut stairway
140 steps in the face of the pillar with the drop right below.
Dido3 โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Falk2 โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Giles Laurent โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท HerrAdams โ CC BY-SA 4.0
**The most dramatically sited of the Meteora monasteries** โ standing alone on a **completely isolated** rock pillar that nothing touches, surrounded by air on every side, looking out over the whole Kalambaka valley. That isolation makes it **the hardest to reach**: you leave the car, **descend** to the saddle of the rock, then **climb about 140 steps** cut into the face of the pillar itself โ an exposed climb with the drop directly below you. It was probably founded in **1475โ1476**. Its church is small and domed with frescoes, and beside it is the round **chapel of St John the Baptist**, carved into the rock โ the strangest thing here. โ It is **the least crowded** of the six for exactly that reason โ those who do not want the steps do not come, and those who do are rewarded with a quiet you will not find at Roussanou. Scenes from the **James Bond** film *For Your Eyes Only* were shot here in 1981.
140 steps in the face of the pillar with the drop right below.
A small round chapel carved into the rock itself.
The whole of Kalambaka below and the plain running to the horizon.
Meteora, 42200 Kalabaka, Trikala, Greece
**Yes, and it is one of the best things to do in Meteora โ but downhill.** There is an **old path** linking the monastery directly to Kalambaka, running between the rocks, about **40 minutes down** to the town. The clever arrangement: **go up to the monastery by car or taxi**, visit it, then **walk down** this path into Kalambaka โ so you get the view and the path without the punishing climb. โ Walking up from Kalambaka, by contrast, is **a full hour of continuous ascent** before you even reach the 140 steps โ do not do it at midday in summer. โ The path is **rocky and unsurfaced**, needs closed shoes, and is not clearly waymarked at every point โ ask where it starts, and avoid it after rain.
**The climax of *For Your Eyes Only* was shot here in 1981**, with Bond climbing the rock face to a monastery standing in for the villain's lair. The story behind it is better than the scene: **the monks objected to the filming**, and the account has them hanging sheets and laundry from the windows and shutting what they could to spoil the shots, in protest at a place of worship being turned into a set. โ For that reason **many of the building shots were done elsewhere or with models**, and what was really filmed on location was above all the rock and its surroundings. โ As a visitor, do not expect a "film location" โ there is no plaque, no exhibit and no reference to the film inside, and the monks do not promote it. What drew the director was the view alone, and it is what will draw you.
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