Travel

The World’s 11 Most Remote Monasteries

From India to Armenia, these structures are often so isolated that they require miles of hiking or climbing up cliffs simply to visit.
Monasteries
Photo: Getty Images/Iryna Veklich

Monasteries are known for their quiet solitude, so it’s little wonder that they’re often built in secluded spots. But some take seclusion to a whole other level. Many are not only far from civilization, but also difficult to travel to, requiring long hikes or climbs up cliff faces. From a monastery on a remote island in Montenegro to a temple that seems to hang from the side of a mountain in China, see here 11 monasteries that exemplify cloistered living. But these spiritual sites are worth the trek, not only for their unique architecture, historical significance, and ornate decoration, but also for their stunning surroundings.

A version of this article originally appeared in Architectural Digest.

  • Monasteries
    Photo: Getty Images/Anton Petrus

    Tatev Monastery, Armenia

    Located in Armenia’s Syunik province, the Tatev Monastery is a monastery from the ninth century set on a plateau above the Vorotan Gorge. The monastery, which was home to a university in the 14th and 15th centuries, includes three churches: the Church of Saints Paul and Peter, Saint Gregory the Illuminator’s Church, and the Holy Mother of God Church. In the courtyard, the Gavazan column was once used to detect minor tremors caused by earthquakes or approaching intruders. The Wings of Tatev—the world’s longest nonstop, double-track cable car—ferries visitors to the monastery 1,000 feet above the Vortan River Gorge.

  • Photo: Getty Images

    Katskhi Pillar, Georgia

    Katskhi Pillar is a natural and spiritual wonder in western Georgia. The approximately 130-feet-tall limestone monolith is the site of a church dedicated to Maximus the Confessor, a crypt, a curtain wall, a wine cellar, and three hermit cells—while a monastery and chapel sit at the base. Monks began living in a church atop the pillar in the 10th or 11th century, but stopped in the 15th century during the Ottoman invasion. In 1944, a group of writers, an architect, and an alpinist climbed the pillar and discovered the remains of a chapel and a stylite. The pillar was occupied again from the 1990s until 2015. Today, only members of the religious order are permitted to climb the iron ladder to the top.

  • Photo: Getty Images/Mustafa Karademir

    Sümela Monastery, Turkey

    Nestled on the side of a steep cliff in the Maçka region of Turkey, Sümela Monastery was founded in the fourth century by two Athenean monks and enlarged by Byzantine emperor Justinian and Trapezuntine emperor Alexios III. The 72-room complex includes the Rock Church, chapels, a library, student rooms, and a sacred spring. The Rock Church, which was formed out of a cave, is known for its 17th- and 18th-century frescoes. The site was abandoned in 1923 and later became a museum.

  • Photo: Getty Images

    Key Monastery, India

    Key Monastery, or Key Gompa, is set in the Spiti Valley of India and may date back to the 11th century. The Tibetan Buddhist monastery is over 13,600 feet above sea level and has a fortress-like feel, with low rooms and dark hallways. The interior features wall hangings, murals, and other historic artifacts. The complex is a training center for over 200 monks, and in the year 2000, the 14th Dalai Lama dedicated a new assembly hall at the monastery.

  • Photo: Getty Images/Balaji Srinivasan

    Phuktal Gompa, India

    The extremely isolated Phuktal (or Phugtal) Gompa clings to a cliff face in northern India’s Zanskar Valley. The 15th-century monastery sits beneath the mouth of a cave, and the honeycomb-like structure contains a temple, four prayer rooms, a library, living quarters, and teaching facilities for the approximately 80 monks who live there. Over 700-year-old Alchi murals can be found in the main temple.

  • Photo: Getty Images/Natallia Pershaj

    Metéora, Greece

    Orthodox Christian monks began settling in the caves and on the natural rock pillars near the Pindus mountains in the 9th and 10th centuries. At one time, there were 24 monasteries on the cliffs, and six remain today. Four are occupied by monks and two by women. The largest and oldest monastery is the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, which was built on the Platys Lithos during the 14th century and is known for its ornate 16th-century frescoes. Metéora was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

  • Photo: Getty Images

    Debre Damo, Ethiopia

    The clifftop monastery of Debre Damo in Ethiopia is reached by ascending a 49-feet-high cliff with the help of a leather rope. The spiritual site dates back to the sixth century, when it was founded by Syrian monk Abuna Aregawi, and the centerpiece is the two-story wood-and-stone church. The church is named after Aregawi and is said to be one of the oldest standing churches in the country. The ceiling beams feature animal carvings, and the building is an excellent example of Aksumite architecture. The monastery was partially destroyed in 2021 during the Tigray War.

  • Photo: Getty Images

    Xuankong Temple, China

    Built into the Hengshan Mountain, Xuankong Temple—also known as the Hanging Temple—is a monastery in the Shanxi province of China. The monastery, which was founded during the Northern Wei dynasty (386 to 535 AD), is dedicated to three religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The structure was built using cross beams that fit into holes drilled in the cliffs, and it contains 40 rooms connected by a maze of passageways.

  • Photo: Getty Images

    Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro

    Montenegro’s Ostrog Monastery was carved into the rock of Ostroška Greda in the 17th century and is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog. The complex is divided into the upper and lower monastery. The lower monastery is home to the 19th-century Church of the Holy Trinity, with its impressive frescoes. The upper monastery consists of the Church of the Presentation— where the remains of St. Basil rest—and the Church of the Holy Cross.

  • Photo: Getty Images/Rafi Ben-Shahar

    Monastery of Saint George of Choziba, Palestine

    Located in Wadi Qelt, a valley in the West Bank, the Monastery of Saint George of Choziba, or Mar Jaris, was founded in the fifth century by John of Thebes. The monastery was destroyed by the Persians in 614 and was rebuilt by the Crusaders in 1179, though they later abandoned it. A Greek monk restored the monastery beginning in 1878, and it is still occupied by Greek Orthodox monks. The site is known for its historic mosaics, paintings, and icons.

  • Photo: Getty Images/Iryna Veklich

    St. George Monastery, Montenegro

    St. George Monastery is on a small island in the Bay of Kotor, near southwestern Montenegro. The stone Benedictine monastery was built in the 12th century and is surrounded by cypress trees on the picturesque natural island, which is also the site of a cemetery, giving it the nickname of “Island of the Dead.” The island is not open to the public, but visitors can stop at nearby Our Lady of the Rocks Island, a man-made island with a 17th-century church.

TopicsHistoric & Cultural Attractions