Perched on a cliff face or on a remote island in the middle of the ocean, these are solitary houses that have no neighbors.
The House on Elliðaey Island in Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, Iceland: Elliðaey is a small island located in southern Iceland, and it is home to only one house. 300 years ago, the island was inhabited by five families who made a living from fishing, farming livestock on the grasslands, and hunting puffins. However, maintaining a community on the island became increasingly difficult over the next two centuries, and people started to leave. By the 1930s, the island was completely abandoned.
In early 1953, the Elliðaey Hunting Association built a lodge on the island for its members to hunt puffins. The lodge is without electricity, internet, or a plumbing system. Water is obtained from a rainwater collection system. Nevertheless, the solitary house is still surrounded by a fence, perhaps to prevent the puffins from “attacking.”
Casa do Penedo (Stone House) – Guimarães, Fafe Mountains, Portugal: Nestled in the midst of the mountains at an altitude of 792 meters in northern Portugal, near the city of Fafe, is a strange house called “Casa do Penedo”. The house was built by a family from four large boulders in 1974 to use as a holiday home, inspired by the American cartoon series The Flinstones.
Over the years, Casa do Penedo has attracted the attention of tourists and architecture enthusiasts alike due to its seamless integration with nature. The owners eventually had to leave the house for a quieter place. The house became a target for theft, so the owners had to install bulletproof windows and metal doors. The interior of the house maintains a rustic style with mainly wood and stone materials. The ground floor features a living room and kitchen, while the upper floor has a bedroom and bathroom. The house also has a swimming pool carved out of four large stones.
Crystal Mill, located in Crystal, Colorado, is one of the most beautiful places in the state. The wooden house sits precariously on the banks of the Crystal River, between the towns of Glenwood Springs and Aspen, along Highway 82. Visitors can only reach the site during the summer and fall months.
The house was closed in 1917 but has still been maintained. Crystal Mill was built in 1892 with the purpose of generating electricity, however, it has never been able to fulfill this task.
Katskhi Pillar, Imereti, Georgia: The house sits atop a 40-meter high rock pillar overlooking a small river. It was once a place of solitude for a medieval hermit. No one set foot here until 1944, when religious activists began using the house. Currently, only a 59-year-old monk named Maxime Qavtaradze lives in the house. It takes him about 20 minutes to climb down to the ground. The monk’s guests are mainly priests.
A photographer named Amos Chapple once visited the monk, but at first, he was not allowed to climb up to the house. He had to spend four days participating in seven hours of prayer each day, including four hours from 2 am until sunrise before he was allowed to climb up. Monk Maxime confided in Amos that he became a monk after being in prison and wanted to change.
Paro Taktsang Monastery, Paro Valley, Bhutan: The monastery is a complex of Buddhist temples perched at an altitude of 3,120 meters above sea level in the Paro Valley, Bhutan.
This is considered the heart of Bhutan, and also one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. Built since 1692, the monastery is a cultural icon of Bhutan.
