The pick of the six is the Great Meteoron Monastery, which is the highest and the oldest. While you're there, take a moment to say hi to some former residents — their skulls are lined up on a ...

Steps leading to Varlaam Monastery, Meteora. ... The Great Meteoron Monastery also houses an ossuary filled with the skulls of monks who once lived at the monastery.

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 Varlaa… ...

All the monasteries are worth visiting, but perhaps the grandest, after Great Meteoron, is Varlaam. As you step into the narthex, or entrance-chamber, of its main church, you're assailed by a ...