Here are 10 of the most insane places people have actually lived!
10 - Meteora Monasteries, Greece The Meteora is a rock formation in Greece
where you can find one of the largest and most dangerously built complexes of Eastern
Orthodox monasteries.
The name means "lofty", "elevated", and as you’ve probably guessed by now, the name
is also related to the word “meteor”.
In the 14th century, monks seeking a retreat from the expanding Turkish occupation found
the inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora to be the ideal refuge spot.
More than 20 monasteries were built but only six remain standing today.
The six monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that
dominate the local area, with some of them stretching up to more than a thousand feet
in the sky!
Since the access to the monasteries was deliberately made difficult, it required either long ladders
lashed together or large nets to haul up both goods and people, until the 17th century.
This required quite a leap of faith because legend has it, the ropes were replaced only
quote "when the Lord let them break".
Yeah…….doesn’t sound that inviting to us!
9 - The Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan The Paro Taktsang is a popular Buddhist monastery
located on the side of cliffs in the upper Paro valley in Bhutan.
The monastery hangs on a precarious cliff about 3,000 feet above the Paro valley, at
an elevation of 10,240 feet!
The rock slopes are very steep, stretching out almost vertically, with the monastery
built into the rock face.
The temple complex was first built in 1692, around a cave where a guru supposedly meditated
for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours, back in the 8th
century.
The monastery consists of four main temples and caves, as well as residential buildings
built solidly into the rock.
Out of the eight caves, four are comparatively easy to access.
All of the buildings are interconnected through steps and stairways carved into the rocks.
There are a few rickety wooden bridges along the paths and a few stairways to cross over
certain points.
Each building has a balcony, which provides scenic views of the Paro valley down below.
Although it looks insane, it turns out that the monastery complex can be accessed fairly
easily in several different ways.
You can access it through a forest path, through a path used by religious devotees, or by passing
over a rocky plateau called the “Hundred Thousand Fairies”.
Hey, that doesn’t sound too bad!
8 - The Solvay Hut, Switzerland
The Solvay Hut is located on the northeastern ridge of the Matterhorn, near Zermatt in Switzerland.
Located at a little over thirteen thousand feet, the Solvay Hut is the highest mountain
hut owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland!
The hut is named after Ernest Solvay, who donated funds to build the hut back in August
1915 as gratitude for his time spent in the mountains.
So how was the Solvay Hut built?
All the building material was brought up with the help of animals to the Hörnli Hut, which,
by the way, is a bit over ten and a half thousand feet.
From there, a temporary cable car was used to transport the materials all the way up
to the building site, and the actual hut was finished only within five days.
The hut was rebuilt in 1966 and in 1976, an emergency telephone was finally installed.
You’d think that would be one of the first things they would have put in, right?!
Mountain huts are intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers, and
hikers, and the Solvay Hut isn’t any different as it’s meant to be used in a case of emergency.
However, plenty of Matterhorn climbers have rested on the small ledge outside the hut
admiring the spectacular view of all the Monte Rosa summits.
And of course, it’s been used for emergencies!
7 - Castellfollit de La Roca, Spain The Castellfollit de la Roca is a small town
in Catalonia, Spain.
One of the most scenic villages in Catalonia, Castellfollit de la Roca is dramatically perched
atop a cliff side at the meeting point of two rivers.
The basalt crag where the town is situated is over 160 feet high and almost half a mile
long.
The cliff was formed by the overlaying of get this, two lava flows!
Given its unique positioning, it’s easy to see why the first inhabitants would have
chosen to settle on this patch to stay safe from intruders.
Dating back to the Middle Ages, the town is composed of a network of narrow roads and
small squares, many of which are made using the volcanic rock found in the area.
Anyone trying to invade wouldn’t have had too much fun trying to do so!
Curious to visit?
Well, one of the nicest ways to soak up the views of Castellfollit de la Roca is by taking
a hot air balloon ride.
It’ll let you see everything from the Mediterranean sea to the Montseny mountains, as well as
the stunning la Garrotxa volcanic area’s unusual landscape!
Let us know if you’ve actually been!
6 - The Korowai Tree Houses, New Guinea Deep within the inaccessible jungle of Papua
New Guinea, about 93 miles inland from the Arafura Sea, lives the Korowai tribe, a tribe
totally isolated from the rest of the world.
They are hunter-gatherers living in a small society who need to share all they have in
order to survive.
Until their discovery by a Dutch missionary in 1974, the Korowai had hardly any contact
with the outside world.
The Korowai people live in tree houses ranging from 20 to 40 feet in height, but some of
these treehouses rise as high as 114 feet above the ground!
Most often, each house is built on a single tree.
Sometimes, the base of the house consists of several living trees, with an additional
support delivered from wooden poles.
In each tree house, the flooring has to be strong as each house often accommodates as
many as a dozen people.
A dry tree trunk with notches is hung from the bottom of the tree house and acts as a
ladder.
The tree houses protect families not only from any unwanted visitors but also against
the swarms of mosquitoes below on the ground.
These treehouses are essentially our dreams as 8 year olds coming true!
5 - Rocamadour, France Overlooking the Alzou canyon, the medieval
village of Rocamadour looks like it’s perfected its balancing act – it’s built almost
vertically on the rocks!
Residing at an elevation of almost 1,200 feet, the village has a scarce population of a mere
650 or so people.
Built into a cliff that stretches 390 feet in length, the village clings high above the
canyon, where the Alzou river flows through.
Its houses, roofs, and churches look like they’re part of the rock itself!
Rocamadour has attracted visitors not only because of its setting but also because of
its historical monuments and the world-famous sanctuary of the Virgin Mary, which for centuries
has attracted pilgrims from many different countries.
The town, which is the home of beautiful medieval buildings and churches, used to be traditionally
dependent on pilgrimages coming to the area but is now mostly reliant on the tourist trade.
4 - Ronda, Spain Ronda is a town in the Spanish province of
Málaga.
It’s located about 62 miles west of the city of Málaga and has a population of about
35,000 inhabitants.
Ronda is situated in a mountainous area about 2,460 feet above sea level, the reason the
town has spectacular views!
The Guadalevín River runs through the city, dividing it in two and carving out the steep,
300-feet-deep El Tajo canyon above which the city perches.The main attractions in the town
are the three bridges.
Puente Romano or the "Roman Bridge", Puente Viejo or the "Old Bridge", and Puente Nuevo,
the "New Bridge" are the most impressive features of the city.
The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 390 feet above the canyon floor!
All three of the bridges span the canyon and all three attract thousands of visitors each
year.
Both Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles had spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents.
Both wrote about Ronda's beauty and famous bullfighting traditions, which is why Ronda
is still popular to this day!
3 - Al Hajarah, Yemen Al Hajjarah is a village in Yemen built upon
a precipice.
Built at an elevation of 6,096 feet, it has a population of 2,500, and it’s most famous
for its towering houses that are built directly onto the cliff faces!
The village in the Haraz Mountains seems ancient and yet weirdly modern at the same time.
To some people, the taller of the brown, flat-roofed houses precariously balanced on top of the
mountain, pretty much look like skyscrapers.
What do you guys think?
In Yemen, great pride is taken in building a house and once the house is finished, it’s
often decorated with calligraphy.
Windows are often the most decorative element with palm tree drawings, dots, zigzag lines
or floral designs.
The town’s remoteness and narrow streets formed close-knit communities that in times
of invasions, may have allowed the occasional outsider to enter but not necessarily to leave.
Al Hajjara is a former market town that nowadays is used as a base camp by trekkers.
Interestingly enough, the small village is also known for its production of black pepper!
2 - The Hanging Temple, China Have you guys ever thought of living literally
off the side of a cliff?
Of course not!
It’s because you’re not insane!
However, for some reason, the Hanging Temple is a temple that was built into a cliff 246
feet above the ground in the Shanxi Province in China.
According to the legend, construction of the temple began at the end of the Northern Wei
dynasty by only a single man, a monk named Liaoran.
Over the next 1,400 years, many repairs and extensions led to its present-day look.
The monastery is located in a small canyon basin, with the body of the building hanging
from the middle of the cliff under the summit!
The structure of the temple is kept in place with oak crossbeams fitted into holes chiseled
into the cliffs.
The entire 40 halls and pavilions are all built on the cliffs with the main supportive
structure hidden inside the bedrock.
Built more than 1,500 years ago, the temple is known not only for its ridiculous location
but also because it’s the only existing temple that combines the three Chinese traditional
religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
But really though, living here is a test of faith in the structure!
1 - Bonifacio, France Who doesn’t like an entire city built on
a cliff?
Perched 230 feet high up on a white limestone cliff on the southern coast of Corsica, lies
the medieval town of Bonifacio.
Known as the "Mediterranean's Sentinel," or simply, the "Citadel of Cliffs," it's arguably
one of the best-kept secrets in France.
Founded at around 830 A.D., Bonifacio is Corsica's oldest town.
Bonifacio is built on the southern coast of Corsica, separated from the Italian island
of Sardinia by the 6-mile-long Strait of Bonifacio, which is named after the town.
The two islands were once joined, but volcanic activity tore them apart, leaving huge shards
of granite rock in the turquoise waters!
The cliffs have been undercut by the ocean so that the buildings, which have been placed
on the very lip of the precipice, appear to hang over the cliffs!
Many of the town's main gems lie beneath the surface, but you have to work hard to reach
them.
For example, the Staircase of the King of Aragon features 187 steep steps, carved inside
the flanks of the cliff that descend to the sea.
With an incline of 45 degrees, a little bit of dizziness and painful thighs are almost
guaranteed!
Here’s what’s next!