We visited the place on Earth where man is closest to God according to ancient times.
During our Schengen Visa Application for Greece, we made a promise to the consul that we would visit other places in Greece other than Athens. I felt that we have a commitment to her.
While Rodel and I were plotting our itinerary, we consulted Google Maps hundreds of times to check how far each attraction is from Athens. Athens to Delphi would take around 3 hours. We didn’t know how we would get to each destination and the thought of long bus rides just make me sick.
Meteora and Delphi are two of the most suggested places to visit in Greece. We thought of hiring a car service that would take us to these places.
Until we discovered Klook Tours in Greece. We booked a 2-day trip to Delphi and Meteora with an overnight stay in Kalambaka – and we were set.
Klook.comThe Klook Tour Package includes:
Visit and stroll around Delphi, an archaeological site with a temple, stadium and theatre
Walk along the ancient trails and try to imagine what life was like in ancient Greece
Stop by the Temple of Apollo, the most important sanctuary for Apollo in the town of Delphi
Explore Meteora and see rock formations that reach up to 400 meters high!
Visit the largest complex of Eastern Orthodox monasteries on the top of the Meteora rocks
Athens to Delphi
Rodel took care of the booking and coordination, and I just needed the scheduled pickup time so I could set my alarm. The night before, we already packed our luggage and checked out early from Electra Hotel Athens. We moved to Stratos Vassilikos where we were picked up by the Key Tours Bus at 7:30 AM.
We were lucky to be the first passengers to board the bus (or so we though), we got the front seats. But it appeared that we had to transfer to a new Key Tours Bus to join the others who booked the 2-day trip to Meteora. We settled at the back seats.
It was a comfortable bus ride. We were joined by a tour guide who welcomed each tourist from different countries. We were a group of Italians, Australians, Greeks, Japanese, solo-travelers from other countries and the “Asians’ – Rodel and I (who were the only one from Southeast Asia).
En route to the first destination, the tour guide would explain and share key trivia about places that we passed by. She would first explain in English, then Italian (ah, I could almost hear her voice in my head now).
From the city view, my view was replaced by big spaces of blues and mountains.
We knew it is going to be a long ride. We have pocket wifi with us, but I decided to just enjoy the view or sleep during the ride.
I appreciate that our tour guide sets expectations about the tour schedules and stopovers. She would announce how far and how many minutes we would travel for each destination which gives us time to do toilet breaks and/or buy snacks.
The Soft Cookie is soooo good!
The Klook Tour via Key Tours also allowed us to make a stopover to have a photo opportunity in some of the beautiful places we passed by.
I was hoping we would make a stopover in this sweet little town with narrow streets. But that didn’t happen. Maybe because, parking would be a challenge.
Then finally, we were in Delphi.
Delphi, Greece
Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Delphi is located in upper central Greece, on multiple plateaux along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo, the site of the ancient Oracle.
In Mytology, Delphi is considered the center of the world. Zeus released two eagles and sent them in different directions. The path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, or navel of Gaia was found.
This is where the two eagles met
In ancient times, Delphi is even considered the place on earth where the man is closest to God.
Delphi is a place where people go to speak to the spirit of Apollo and seek advice on matters relating to people’s lives.
In quest for more truths 😀😀😀, I decided to explore the place and leave behind the guided tour. Delphi is a big place and we were only given an hour to explore.
There was a lot of hiking involved during our visit in Greece. It was our Day 5 in Greece and I was already feeling sick and weak because of the weather and lack of decent sleep. But I was determined to get to the highest point of the Archaeological Site of Delphi – The Stadium. It was built in 4th century BC and it is epigraphically attested as “the pythikon stadion”.
And, I made it to the top (like an Olympian!)
… to be continued.
I do not usually go for packaged tours because of the limited time to explore and take photos but I really love that we booked a 2-Day Trip to Delphi and Meteora via Klook. It is very organized, comfortable and convenient. I can’t imagine taking a regular bus and finding our way to Delphi through Google Maps. The tour costs Php8,000 but it is worth it.
If you are planning to visit and explore Greece, I would suggest you book a tour via Klook.
Check out the tours:
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