Saint Nicholas Anapafsas Monastery

What it is and why it matters

Saint Nicholas Anapafsas is the first monastery you meet when climbing from Kastraki by road, and one of the smallest. The rock is so narrow that a monastery would not fit sideways, so it was built upwards, in stacked storeys. The name probably comes from a 14th-century ascetic who lived on the rock. In the early 16th century it was rebuilt by Metropolitan Dionysios of Larissa and the monk Nikanor.

What makes it special is inside: the katholikon was painted in 1527 by Theophanes Strelitzas, the Cretan painter known as Theophanes the Cretan, one of the great figures of post-Byzantine painting.

What you see inside

The visit is a climb through the storeys:

• Below, the chapel of Saint Anthony, from the 14th century, with remains of frescoes, and a crypt.
• In the middle, the katholikon of Saint Nicholas, with Theophanes's frescoes of 1527. Photos are not allowed inside.
• Above, the reception room, the ossuary and the chapel of Saint John the Baptist.

Allow about 40 minutes.

Opening hours and closing days

According to the hours published for 2026:

• Summer (April – October): 9:00 to 17:00, without a break.
• Winter (November – March): 9:00 to 16:00; on Sunday, 9:30 to 16:00.
• Closed on Fridays all year.

Varlaam also closes on Fridays: leave both for another day. Hours may change on religious holidays.

Entry and clothing

Entry costs €5 per person, in cash, at the door. Under-12s do not pay. There is no reservation.

Women, skirt below the knee and shoulders covered; skirts are lent at the entrance. Men, long trousers. No vest tops.

The climb

From the road you climb a steep path of about 140 steps, and inside you keep climbing from storey to storey. It is not accessible with a pushchair or wheelchair.

Getting there and parking

By car. It is the first on the monasteries road from Kastraki. The car park, at the foot of the access, is also the meeting point for Visit Meteora's climbing outing, so first thing it coincides with groups. Read the car park page.

On foot. From Kastraki you can walk there in about twenty minutes. If you sleep in the village, at the Hotel Kastraki or the Camping Vrachos, you can go without a car and continue to Roussanou afterwards; we explain it in monks' footpaths.

With children

Climbing from storey to storey keeps them entertained, and the visit is short. The ossuary impresses some: warn them beforehand. With a baby, a carrier.

Combine it

Since it opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:00 in summer, it fits at the start or end of the day. A reasonable morning from Kastraki: Saint Nicholas at 9:00, Roussanou after, and the Great Meteoron before its car park fills. If you are interested in frescoes, this is the monastery you must not skip because it is small.