All year

Room for 2 persons: €80-120 per night.

En-suite bathroom (shower). One of the rooms has a Jacuzzi bath.
Telephone
Wireless Internet
Television
Air conditioning
Small refrigerator
Hair drying upon request
Fireplace (wood provided) in 3 of the rooms
The quadruple room has its own entrance
One of the double rooms is equipped for people with special needs

Breakfast room with fireplace
Small garden
Guests are free to use the kitchen to prepare small snacks during the day
Wireless Internet

The guesthouse sits at the top of Kastraki, in the oldest part of the village, right at the bottom of the Meteora. It is a magical spot. You can walk in just a few minutes to the village centre, but keep in mind that to come back you have to climb a bit.

If you come from Athens, you should count about 3-4 hours for the 345 km drive. The fastest way is via Lamia, Karditsa, Trikala and Kalambaka. Leave the main road to go to the centre of Kalambaka, and then follow signs for Kastraki. Just before you arrive at the village, you will see Hotel Dellas on your left. Turn right just opposite to this hotel, and follow the signs for Guesthouse Petrino.
If you drive to Kalambaka from the opposite direction (Ioannina), don't take the earlier turnoff for Kastraki, as it will be harder to find the guesthouse from there.

There are two very good reasons to spend a few days in this province in the heart of Greece: one is to visit the monasteries of the Meteora and the other is to enjoy some of Greece’s most glorious nature and mountains.

The Meteora are a group of incredible rock formations with centuries-old monasteries perched on top. While the first hermits ‘settled’ in caves high up on (in) the rocks somewhere around the 11th century, the oldest monasteries date from the 14th century. Two centuries later over twenty monasteries had been constructed on top of the Meteora, but today, only four monasteries and two convents are still working. If you have the time (a full day is good, two days are better), I recommend you try and visit as many as you can. You no longer need to go up using net and rope ladders as in the old days, instead you can drive up part of the way and continue on foot via suspension bridges, footpaths and steps carved into the rocks. Ladies should be aware of the dress-code: no bare shoulders or trousers. Most monasteries let you borrow totally unflattering skirts you can wear over your shorts or trousers, but a pareo will do the job as well – I always carry one with me.

The eastern half of the province of Trikala is covered by mountains belonging to the southern Pindos range. The area is absolutely beautiful, with densely forested mountain slopes, sparkling snow-white peaks (many over 2000 metres high), fast streaming rivers, gorges and waterfalls. There are some gorgeous traditional villages: Elati and Pertouli are the most well known (largely thanks to the nearby 3-lift ski centre!), and others that are worth a stop as well, especially Gardiki and Krania. And if you haven’t had your fix at the Meteora, there are several beautiful monasteries scattered around the mountains, some in quite spectacular locations as well.

Thankfully, the ski ‘resort’ of Pertouli is too tiny to attract the masses, but the whole area is great for hiking and all sorts of adventure sports. You will see the signs for river canoe and kayak as well as white water rafting, and there are also some companies that organise rock climbing, notably at the Meteora. I am not at all into climbing sports myself, but I can imagine that if you are, it must be an amazing experience.