Cliffhangers

by Michelle Cassidy

41 Places

Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse

A lonely beacon, precariously perched atop a remote sliver of rock.

Kerry Wolfe

Added by Kerry Wolfe

Leggiuno, Italy

Santa Caterina del Sasso

This monastery built into a cliff hides a perfectly preserved hermit in a glass coffin.

LenoreRocks

Added by LenoreRocks

Hanging Houses of Cuenca

Cliffside houses provide a spectacular view from their perch above the valley.

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Pont-en-Royans, France

Suspended Houses of Pont-en-Royans

These quaint French houses dangle precariously over a precipice.

Added by tracydane

Hanging Temple of Hengshan

A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

Josh

Paro Taktsang

The small cliffside monastery known as the Tiger's Nest is said to be the meditation site of an eighth-century Buddhist master.

Added by LongNow

Porto Flavia

This cliff-face port is considered a masterpiece of mining engineering.

Tony Dunnell

Added by Tony Dunnell

Baltimore Beacon

An oddly conical beacon perched atop beautiful Irish cliffs.

lloydhegarty

Added by lloydhegarty

Ponta do Pargo, Portugal

Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse

Portugal’s highest lighthouse has one of the most impressive focal planes in the world.

Capemarsh

Added by Capemarsh

Idar-Oberstein, Germany

Felsenkirche (Crag Church)

A tiny chapel clings to a precipice above Germany’s gemstone capital.

Capemarsh

Added by Capemarsh

Pembrokeshire, Wales

St. Govan's Chapel

A hermit's tiny cell built into the cliffside that saved him in South Pembrokeshire.

Added by jemm501

Skylodge

Sleep in a glass pod dangling off a cliff.

Added by mikaelaabma

Silver City, New Mexico

Gila Cliff Dwellings

These ruins of a pre-Columbian cliff village are among the most beautiful and well preserved in New Mexico.

robertsides

Added by robertsides

Ferrara di Monte Baldo, Italy

Santuario Madonna della Corona

This centuries-old Italian chapel hangs midway down a sheer cliffside.

Sentenza

Added by Sentenza

Kuta Selatan, Indonesia

Luhur Uluwatu Temple

This Balinese sea temple is thought to be guarded by the hundreds of monkeys that live around it.

Added by Kerelin

Kalabaka, Greece

Meteora

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Bandiagara, Mali

Bandiagara Escarpment Cliff Dwellings

These homes carved into the mountains seem to defy the laws of nature.

atimian

Added by atimian

The Swallow's Nest

A castle perched precariously over the Crimean Sea.

Added by NathanRisinger

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Sphinx Observatory

A historic observatory precariously perched at the "Top of Europe."

Trevor

Added by Trevor

Lalibela, Ethiopia

Ben Abeba

An otherworldly restaurant perched on the edge of a jagged cliff next to a medieval holy city.

ewayte

Added by ewayte

Roccascalegna, Italy

Castle of Roccascalegna

This precariously perched fortress was once ruled by a crow-worshipping baron.

LatiumMirabile

Added by LatiumMirabile

Calascio, Italy

Rocca Calascio

What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

voidbrain

Added by voidbrain

Temple de la Sybille (The Temple of Sybille)

This structure atop a craggy cliff in one of the most beautiful parks in Paris boasts an unbeatable view.

Added by daryleconners

Monastery of San Juan de la Peña

This religious complex carved into a cliff is steeped in legends of miraculous stags and the Holy Grail.

philoursmars

Added by philoursmars

Agion Oros, Greece

Hermitages of Karoulia

The hermits of Karoulia protect their asocial lifestyles by living on the vertical face of a treacherous precipice.

stkaratzas

Added by stkaratzas

Fethiye, Turkey

Lycian Rock Tombs

These tombs were built into the side of a mountain so that ancient angels could reach the dead.

SkareMedia

Added by SkareMedia

San Romedio Sanctuary

A stunning hermit's shrine on a steep rocky spur in Northern Italy.

Vid Pogacnik

Added by Vid Pogacnik

Wallachia, Romania

Poenari Castle

The legendary cliffside castle of three-time Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler.

serflac

Added by serflac

Stromboli, Italy

Strombolicchio Lighthouse

A petite white lighthouse perched on the ancient core of Stromboli Volcano.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Monterey, California

Point Sur Lightstation

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

Added by cxhrndz

Yavapai County, Arizona

Montezuma Castle

Ninety feet off the valley floor is an ancient dwelling put under protection of the U.S. government by Teddy Roosevelt.

Added by REWALLS

Güejar Sierra, Spain

Mohon del Trigo Observatory

This abandoned, turn-of-the-century astronomy hub is now the subject of more photographs than it ever took.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Civita di Bagnoregio

This quaint Italian town keeps losing ground as the sides of its plateau slowly erode.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Garita del Diablo

Legend tells how a Spanish soldier disappeared from this isolated sentry box without a trace.

CDVV86

Added by CDVV86

Wasserauen, Switzerland

Berggasthaus Aescher Wildkirchli

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

AbiInman

Added by AbiInman

Spring Green, Wisconsin

House on the Rock

A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.

Dylan

Kobayr Monastery

The ruins of a medieval monastery built on a perilous slope.

Max Cortesi

Added by Max Cortesi

Katskhi, Georgia

Katskhi Pillar

Small church on top of a huge rock column.

Added by Tawsam

Torre Annunziata, Italy

Rock of Rovigliano

This tiny islet has somehow housed an ancient temple, two monasteries, a church, a fortress, and a restaurant.

StepYoshi

Added by StepYoshi

Fanjingshan (Mount Fanjing)

Two ancient Buddhist temples crown this dramatic rocky pinnacle.

lewblank

Added by lewblank

Nariño, Colombia

Las Lajas Sanctuary

A dangling church built over a Colombian gorge.

serflac

Added by serflac