Vlachatta Loop Trail, Meteora Greece
The kids near the trailhead in good spirits, with snow capped Grecian mountains in the background.
The Vlachatta Loop Trail
After 3 hours on a winding mountain road from Delphi to Kalambaka, I rounded up the troops for a sunset hike on the Vlachatta Loop trail. For some reason, they had forgotten who they were travelling with and thought we would spend the evening resting, but, in the end, everyone was happy that we hiked this trail instead.
The rounded Meteora rock formations are fun to explore and are accessible midway through the hike.
The Trail:
This is a nice varied trail with some sections in a lovely shaded oak forest, beautiful views of the limestone formations and the valley below, and an abandoned monastery. The trail is technically a lollipop trail rather than a loop trail. The first half of the trail is on a dirt road. After the abandoned monastery, you will be hiking on a well-worn foot/livestock path as you finish your descent into the valley and then climb back up out of the valley to return to the trailhead. Following the trail is a bit confusing because there are multiple other dirt roads, animal paths, and trails that crisscross the trail you want to follow. I suggest downloading the Alltrails app on your phone to follow this trail.
We encountered a large flock of sheep on the drive up to the trailhead from Kalambaka.
The Trailhead:
Take Eparchiotos Od. Meteoron-Kallitheas North out of Kalambaka. The trailhead is located adjacent to a gravel parking lot on top of a hill on the left side of the road approximately 7 km out of town. Park in the gravel parking lot and walk back down towards the road to find the dirt road just downhill from the parking lot.
Distance:
4.3 miles
Elevation:
843 feet
Difficulty:
Easy to Moderate. Part of the trail is rocky and uneven and there is a decent bit of elevation change at the end. Overall, this is a very doable hike for adults and kids.
Bailey enjoying the view of the abandoned Monastery of Ypapanti midway through the trail.
Payout:
8/10. This trail has some great views and seeing the abandoned monastery in the cliff side was very cool. The wildflowers in April were amazing and this was a nice first glimpse at the limestone towers.
Wendi perched on a limestone tower, our first up close experience with these amazing geological formations.
Following the trail:
We did the loop in the clockwise direction. You will pass the return leg of the loop on your right 0.2 miles into the hike. To follow the loop in the clockwise direction, stay left here to stay on the main dirt road. Throughout the remainder of the hike, you will see smaller trails branching off on your left. One of these will lead you out onto a ridge for a closer look at Ypapanti Monastery, an abandoned monastery built into the side of a cliff. This small jaunt off the trail was worth the view. Once you return to the main trail, you will pass at least 3 additional trails leading off to the left as you continue the loop. In general, stay to the right. You will eventually return to the dirt road and take a left to walk back up the stick of the lollipop. We downloaded the alltrails map for this hike and it was really helpful when we crossed a couple of these side trails. I highly recommend you do the same rather than relying on these directions alone for your hike.
The cross at the memorial for Papa-Thymios Vlachavas with the Pineios River in the distance.
Tips:
Take some extra time to explore the area around the abandoned monastery.
Save some energy for the last mile of the hike which is all uphill.
Download the map on Alltrails before heading out for the hike.
Hike this trail in April to see some gorgeous wildflowers.
Colorful wildflowers scattered throughout the fields along the trail.
This was a fun and beautiful hike with nice views of some of the limestone formations, a cool abandoned monastery, a nice shady forest, and amazing spring wildflowers. It was a lovely addition to our trip to Meteora and just the right difficulty for a late afternoon hike.