5 Passionate Ambassadors of Meteora Tourism

In the shadow of historic rock formations, an incredible team helps you discover the most authentic side of Meteora.

They have a vision for their region, they're young and active, they love nature and outdoor activities, and they manage to collaborate flawlessly with each other. We met them in the shadow of the Meteora rocks, where history meets the present and where the religious perspective comes together with the need for exploration, meaningful contact with nature and its uniqueness.

We're talking about Giorgos Kouleris from Visit Meteora, Vasilis Tsiantikos and Jenny Zahou from Meteora Electric Bike, and Christos Karaggelis and Konstantina Tsiami from Meteora Photo Tour. With their help, we managed to see the authentic face of the region. We went to places that don't yet have high visitor traffic, we joined them in exploration by bike, and found the ideal spots for photography. It was a wonderful combined experience that, at the end of the day, leaves you feeling satisfied and complete. Each of them has their own approach, and they work with common goals, bringing to the forefront the best perspective of a region that still has much to show.

Visit Meteora: Showing the Hidden Gems

Our meeting was set in the center of Kalambaka. The owner of Visit Meteora, Giorgos Kouleris, was waiting for us with a full yet meaningful program. "Every year, we guide hundreds of tourists from around the world through this region, trying in the limited time they have to show them the most interesting places while keeping them away from overly touristy spots," Giorgos tells us. Together with his collaborators, he has spread a protective net so that the experience visitors gain is genuine and meaningful. We meet our companions for this day trip and set off.

Meteora Electric Bike: Mountain Biking Through Forest Trails

We head to a beautiful location in Chasia Meteoron, where we have the opportunity to leave our cars aside and follow a gorgeous route by bike. At one of our stops, we find the chance to talk with Vasilis and Jenny from Meteora Electric Bike. Vasilis was born in Kalambaka and left to study civil engineering in Athens. His first contact with bikes was through BMX in the early 1990s, which evolved over the years into a true love for mountain biking, with numerous participations in national-level competitions. Returning to Kalambaka, he continued and strengthened this pursuit, and in 2015 he won the award for best organizer of downhill cycling races.

Jenny, on the other hand, comes from the village of Ritini, on the slopes of Mount Olympus. From early childhood, her family moved to Darwin, Australia. There she studied tourism management while developing her artistic interests, practicing yoga and extreme sports. She returned to Greece and decided to study wood sculpting at the school in Kalambaka. "Seeing this place, I decided to make it my home. And so it happened." Today she's the operations manager of the Meteora E-Bike office, striving to provide the best service to all visitors. It's no coincidence that both of them have hobbies centered on nature. "Both Jenny and I are involved in hobbies related to nature: me with BMX and mountain biking, and Jenny with snowboarding, wakeboarding, and skydiving. Plus, we live in a place where you're in the forest two minutes from your house. So our contact with nature and our love for it is constant and intense," Vasilis tells us. Regarding the office's activities, Jenny notes: "Our tourist office's main activity is bicycle tourism. We offer guided bike tours of Meteora with electric or regular bikes, mountain biking through the beautiful forests and trails of the area, rentals of all types of bikes, and we also organize multi-day mountain bike excursions in the wider Thessaly region."

Meteora Photo Tour: Capturing the Magic

On this same day trip with us are Christos Karaggelis and Konstantina Tsiami, who work with photography in combination with parallel nature excursions. Meteora Photo Tour is their creation, with Christos noting his lifelong contact with nature was the catalyst in this direction: "What brought us close to nature is perhaps, first of all, that we grew up in it. My parents come from and grew up in a village, Megali Kerasia, with the beautiful little church of Prophet Elias on a hill that you can see from almost everywhere. The river is just a few kilometers from our house, and every day you see the mountain peaks of Pindos toward the Pertouli and Aspropotamos area, as well as the peaks of Triggia surrounding you." He remembers times as a child when he went fishing in the river, and the fact that they often went on excursions "to the mountain somewhere in the Katara-Metsovo area, which makes you feel nature is yours, love it, and want to spend as much time as you can outside."

Points of their shared life include hiking and mountain biking, as well as enduro. "It gives us the ability to see and explore places that initially may be difficult to lead a visitor to, but if the spot truly deserves it, we find a way to include it in our program."

Regarding his love for photography, Christos notes: "The exploration for new places, unique spots in the region, the love of capturing what you see on the then-film camera and remembering it and seeing it years later or showing it to others, was the beginning of starting a new activity that is directly connected with nature and photography."

What is Meteora Photo Tour, though? Konstantina answers: "Our main activity is tours themed around landscape photography. Our tours cover the Meteora area, but also Lake Plastira, Zagori, and soon Lake Kerkini. Our goal is to photograph the beauty of the region during the best hours of the day from the most beautiful spots for the best shooting angles. A basic part of our work, beyond the tour component, is showing visitors how to photograph. A large percentage of visitors have an interest in photography but don't know how to adjust their camera. We're here to plan all the details of a photo tour and guide visitors to the best spots at the right time, and if needed, show them landscape or portrait photography techniques in natural lighting."

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Greek food unique?

Greek cuisine is built on simplicity and quality ingredients. What makes it distinctive is regional variety — every island and mountain village has its own flavors, often unchanged for centuries.