Today I have for you a collection of photos of structures around the world that were built high atop mountains, cliffs, and stone pillars. These remote buildings range in age from palace complexes thousands of years old to tourist destinations built mere decades ago. These observatories, monasteries, castles, towers, forts, and palaces were all built for different reasons—as defensive measures, or to make the most of a grand view, or maybe just to take advantage of a remote location’s tranquil setting.
The Views From the Top
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![An ornate temple sits high on a rock, overlooking a broad plain.]()
Read moreA Buddhist monastery sits high atop Taung Kalat, a rocky outcrop on Mount Popa in Myanmar's Mandalay region. #
Sean Pavone Photo / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![A crumbling monument stands on a relatively treeless mountaintop. The concrete structure looks like a tall pillar standing beside a flying saucer.]()
Read moreThe Buzludzha Monument, a structure built by Bulgaria's Communist government in 1981, sits on top of Buzludzha Peak in Bulgaria's Kazanlak region, seen here on June 22, 2016. The monument was built to commemorate the beginnings of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party. #
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![A large fortress stands on a rocky outcrop above a nearby city.]()
Read moreMehrangarh Fort overlooks the city of Jodhpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The first construction of the fortress, which stands about 400 feet above the city, began in 1459, and it has been expanded several times in the centuries since. #
Tuul & Bruno Morandi / Getty -
![A nighttime view of an illuminated pavilion atop a hill, with multiple stylized balconies and roof structures.]()
Read moreA nighttime view of the illuminated Chenghuang Pavilion (or City God Pavilion), on a hilltop in Hangzhou, China. #
Patrick Donovan / Getty -
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![A red-roofed monastery complex sits high atop a stone pillar.]()
Read moreThe Monastery of Roussanou stands high on a pillar of stone, part of the Meteora monastery complex in Thessaly, Greece. #
Aleh Varanishcha / iStockphoto / Getty -
![A small observation building stands on a peak among larger mountains.]()
Read moreThe Sphinx Observatory sits atop a peak in the Bernese Alps. The site is one of the highest observatories in the world, housing multiple platforms for scientific experiments and observations, as well as a public viewing deck. #
VogelSP / iStockphoto / Getty -
![A monastery sits on a rocky mountaintop; larger mountains are visible in the background.]()
Read moreA view of the Namgyal Tsemo Monastery, in Leh, in India's Ladakh region. #
Pisanu Thoyod / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![An ancient fortress sits atop a huge stone column that juts up from a forested hilltop.]()
Read moreThe Sigiriya fortress stands high on a column of stone near the town of Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Though there is evidence of human habitation in and around the area for thousands of years, the complex on top was first significantly developed by King Kashyapa about 1,500 years ago. #
Tuul & Bruno Morandi / Getty -
![A section of the Great Wall of China climbs through mountainous territory, connecting numerous hilltop watchtowers.]()
Read moreA section of the Great Wall of China climbs through mountainous territory, connecting numerous hilltop watchtowers. #
Hanson Zhang / EyeEm / Getty -
![A stupa stands atop a tall limestone rock formation in a monastery.]()
Read moreA stupa stands atop a tall limestone rock formation at Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex in Myanmar's Kayin State. #
Joe Tudesky / Getty -
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![An ancient city sits on a rocky hilltop in central Italy.]()
Read moreA view of Civita di Bagnoregio, a town in central Italy accessible only by footbridge. Founded more than 2,500 years ago, the hilltop city thrived for a time but has been in decline for more than 500 years, in part because of seismic activity. Today only about a dozen people live in the town, but hundreds of thousands of tourists visit every year. #
Bluejay Photo / iStockphoto / Getty -
![A fire-lookout tower stands on a rocky peak, overlooking a broad forested landscape.]()
Read moreThe Mount Pilchuck lookout tower has a wide view across a stretch of Washington State, here on its perch at an elevation of about 5,300 feet above sea level. #
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![Pagodas stand atop two tall pillars of stone in a forested valley.]()
Read morePagodas stand atop twin stone pillars on Shuangta Mountain in Chengde, in China's Hebei province. #
Heckepics / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![A view of a large stone fortress high atop a forested mountain.]()
Read moreA bird's-eye view of Citadelle Laferrière, an early 19th-century fortress in Milot, south of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, on July 24, 2021. Once a popular tourist destination for its African-derived colonial architecture and military fortification, it is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. #
Matias Delacroix / AP -
![Tall stone buildings stand clustered close together on a rocky hilltop.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the village of Al Hajjarah, in Yemen's Haraz Mountains. #
Jeremy Woodhouse / Getty -
![A winding staircase leads up the steep side of a stone outcrop toward an observation tower.]()
Read moreA long staircase leads up the side of the Rock of Guatapé in Colombia. The stone outcrop, known as an inselberg, rises 656 feet above the surrounding area and has an observation tower built on top. #
iFerol / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![A German castle sits atop a forested mountain.]()
Read moreA view of Germany's Hohenzollern Castle at sunrise. The current complex is the third castle built on the mountaintop site in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and was constructed in the mid-19th century. #
Laurent Meister / 500px / Getty -
![A view of a large hilltop castle, with an alpine valley visible in the distance.]()
Read moreNeuschwanstein Castle, near Füssen, Germany. Neuschwanstein was commissioned by Bavaria's King Ludwig II and designed by Christian Jank, a stage designer from Munich. Construction began in 1869 but it was only partially completed; 185 interior rooms of a planned 200 were left unfinished. #
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![A cluster of buildings sits on a hilltop on a fairly barren mountainside.]()
Read moreA view of Key Gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Himachal Pradesh, in India's Lahaul and Spiti district. #
Prabhjits / iStockphoto / Getty -
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![A building stands high atop a a stone pillar, with a small path leading to the summit.]()
Read moreA view of Mount Fanjing, or Fanjingshan, part of the Wuling mountain range in southwestern China’s Guizhou province. Recently named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the mountain is home to a conservation area, a nature reserve, and a number of Buddhist temples. #
Gu / Image Source / Getty
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