Train and Rail Travel in Thessaly Page 6 (see Greece train map)

Kardhitsa to Trikala

The railway passes a Byzantine fortress which can be easily seen from the train windows, with tall walls and towers; stops are made at Fanari (which means 'torch' or 'beacon', and is also the name of the hill on which the fortress is built) and at Fanari Xorio, and continues on through Magoula, Kalivia and Drosero to Trikala, which town has the third largest population of cities in Thessaly (around 50,000) and which straddles the Lethaios River.

There are old churches in Trikala, mostly in the old quarter of Varousa. To the south of this city is the village of Pili (which means 'gate'), known for its 13th century church of Porta Panaghia, located at the head of the Stena tis Portas gorge where the Portaikos River flows from the Pindos range. There are mosaic icons in this church; farther up the gorge an arched medieval bridge, and the Monastery of Dousiko (1515), which is locally known as Ai Vessaris, with wonderful views and fine frescoes by a Mt. Athos painter. Women aren't allowed here, and the monks are said to be rather closed to visitors in general.  

Trikala to Kalambaka

Heading northwest from Trikala, the railway passes through the narrowing Pinios River valley through the 'flag-stop shelters' of Kefalovrisso, Vasiliki (where there is a 15th century cemetery and church), and Theopetra. As the train pulls into Kalambaka, the famous towering, spire-like rocks are visible with the monasteries of Meteora (atop them. The population of the resort town on Kalambaka is around 6,500 and is built on the slopes below the basalt pinnacles, close to the point where the Pinios emerges from the Pindos mountain gorges.

There was an ancient settlement here called Aiginion, which was supposedly impregnable. During WWII it was one of the many Greek villages destroyed by the Nazis. The two main reasons people come here is to see the monasteries and to take the bus to Ipiros region, which lies on the other side of the Pindos mountains. There is a campsite here, as well as rooms and two campgrounds in Kastraki.

Train Travel in Thessaly Greece page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

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