Ever wanted to just get away and enjoy some peace and quiet in the middle of nowhere – or at least just far away enough from civilisation and all the hassles of daily life? In these eight spots across the world, you can find just that.
1. Katskhi Pillar, Georgia
This natural limestone monolith stands in the village of Katskhi in the Caucasus, about two hours from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. It was left alone by humans for half a century, and was recently restored in the early 2000s.
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2. Just Room Enough, Hub Island, New York
This island at the US-Canada border really does have just enough room. It’s under 1,000 square metres big, and is one of about a thousand small islands in the Alexandria Bay in the Big Apple. A family bought it in the fifties.
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3. Crystal Mill, Colorado
The town of Crystal in Colorado is also something of a ghost town, but if you’re into that sort of thing – remote places with some peace and quiet, and possibly a spirit or two – then it’s the one for you. The lofty wooden cabin sits high above a river that flows from a small waterfall. The sound of fresh, rushing water from the Crystal River must be incredible to wake up to.
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4. Kolmanskop, Namibia
About nine hours from Windhoek, Kolmanskop is a ghost town that holds a very famous house. There’s quite a bit of sand inside it, but it is an absolute icon of the southwestern country, and was famously featured on the cover of the late André Brink’s novel, The Other Side of Silence.
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5. Meteora, Thessaly, Greece
Thessaly is an ancient town that was referenced in Homer’s Odyssey. Today, it’s a modern part of the land of baklava, but still holds a number of monasteries today, like the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron on the lofty cliff top, amid other boulders and stone pillars.
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6. Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
The Elliðaey archipelago was, like most islands, formed by an underwater volcanic eruption. Its islands number in the teens, and this one’s grounds curve upward towards the northern end of the island. In this curving dip, you’ll find the oddly-isolated white house that lies there – now that’s peace and quiet.
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7. Chess Pavilion, Mount Huashan, China
Chess Pavilion is a small but lofty building of sorts that sits atop a cliff in the mountains near the end of the famous Silk Road trading route. Mount Huashan also hosts one of the most dangerous hikes in the world, with hundreds of deaths tallied there to date. Try not to be (literally) blown away as the columns are all you’ll have to hold on to.
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8. Casa do Pedro, Portugal
The House of Stone, as its name is in English, is built between four giant boulders in Gêres in northeast Portugal. It has a swimming pool carved out of the stone so you can still escape the heat in the middle of summer.
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Featured image: Pixabay
