Magical Mountain Living

I live on a mountain, so it is something I know something about and something that I can recommend. However, the following mountain abodes are in another category of mountain living, altogether.

Hanging Monastery Near Datong China

The Hanging Monastery is located about 62 kilometers south of Datong City in the Shanxi Province, at Mt. Hengshan, China.
The gravity-defying construction, built into the side of a cliff, is jaw dropping and the temple itself has an unusual mix of Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian elements.



The Solvay Hut, Switzerland

Solvay Hut

This mountain hut is located on the north-eastern ridge of the Matterhorn, Switzerland. It sits at 4,003 metres and is owned by the Swiss Alpine Club. The hut can only be used in emergency however. I wonder what's inside? 

Hanging houses of Cuenca

These wonderful hanging houses can be found in Spain. It is not known when these houses were first built, but there is evidence that they existed back in the 15th century. Of course, they have been renovated since then !

  

Roussanou Monastery, Meteora, Greece

This monastery was founded in 1545 and is dedicated to St. Barbara. For about 200 years the monastery fell into disrepair, then it was damaged during WWII and plundered by the Nazi's. During the 1980s the building was repaired and occupied by nuns. I wonder where they go shopping?

   

Lichtenstein Castle, Germany

Sitting serenely on a cliff in Germany, Lichtenstein Castle looks like it is straight from a fairy tale. There has been various castles built on this site since around 1200, though this one was built around 1840–42. The romantic Neo-Gothic design of the castle was created by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff.

   

Dunluce Castle, Ireland

How beautiful is this ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland? The castle was built in the 13th century by Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster. Since 1534, there has been reported sightings of a woman in white here, who stands overlooking the cliffs. Maybe she's my ancestor?

Sumela Monastery

This Greek Orthodox monastery is located in Turkey. It was founded in 386 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (375 - 395). As the story goes, it was built here because two priests found an icon of Mary in a cave.

Paro Taktsang, Bhutan.

Known as the Tiger's Nest, this temple complex was first built in 1692, around a cave where Guru Padmasambhava, who is credited with bringing Budhism to the region, is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century.