Greece Meteora and Pindus Route

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Kalambaka

   Kalambaka sits at the foot of a cliff that does not look real. Behind the town the Thessalian plain simply ends, and a wall of grey-brown rock towers up in columns and domes, with the monasteries of Meteora perched on the summits. The nearest sizeable settlement is Kalambaka itself, with around eight thousand people, and the village of Kastraki hugs the rocks just 1.6 km away. For a rider, this is the natural gate to the Pindus mountains as well: the road to Metsovo and the Katara Pass climbs out of the plain from here.

   Read the complete Kalambaka write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kalambaka is where the day begins. Next is Meteora.

2. 2. Meteora

   Meteora is the kind of place you assume is a trick of photography until you round the bend. Enormous grey pillars of rock rise out of the Thessaly plain, some more than 300 metres high, and on top of several of them sit monasteries, walls and windows flush with the cliff edge. The name means suspended in the air, and the sandstone and conglomerate towers were shaped over millions of years by water, wind and earthquakes, long before anyone thought to build on them.

   Read the complete Meteora write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Meteora comes up 40 km in. Next is Metsovo.

3. 3. Metsovo

   Metsovo is a stone mountain town in the Pindus, about a thousand metres up, and it has a character of its own, thanks largely to its people. Many of the inhabitants are Vlachs, also called Aromanians, a community with its own Latin-derived language and a history as shepherds, traders and craftsmen who moved with their flocks across the Balkans. The town has long been prosperous, thanks to the patronage of wealthy benefactors, and the stone mansions with their wooden balconies and slate roofs speak of confidence. On weekends, the older residents still wear traditional dress, and you may hear Vlach spoken in the street.

   Read the complete Metsovo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   80 km in you reach Metsovo. Next is Katara Pass.

4. 4. Katara Pass

   The Katara Pass, at 1,705 metres, is the highest paved road pass in Greece, and it carries the old main road between Ioannina and Trikala over the spine of the Pindus. The name means curse, which is generally supposed to refer to the many travellers who crossed it in snow and wind and regretted the day they set out. For centuries it was the only route between Epirus and Thessaly, and trade caravans and armies crossed it along stone paths, long before the road was paved. Since the new motorway tunnels were opened, most of the traffic bypasses it, leaving the pass quiet.

   Read the complete Katara Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Katara Pass, late in the day at 1705 m. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Ioannina, mostly downhill.

5. 5. Ioannina

   Ioannina wraps itself around a lake, and the lake is the first thing to understand about it. Lake Pamvotida lies flat and grey-green beside the city, with a small wooded island in the middle that holds a cluster of monasteries and a village, reached by a short boat from the waterfront. Behind the city rise the limestone ranges of Epirus, the Pindus mountains, which isolated this part of north-west Greece for centuries and gave it a character quite unlike the islands and the south.

   Read the complete Ioannina write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Ioannina. That is the ride.