Stunning as they are, these remotely situated residences around the globe range from the ‘Loneliest House in the World’ to the smallest inhabited island.

While abandoning the materialistic life someday to seek respite amidst nature’s crest has been humanity’s collective dream, that dream has actually been realised by few. Situated on dangerously lonesome locations spread throughout the world, these houses are often accompanied with scenes of near untouched nature. The idea behind these isolated properties was to disconnect from the distractions of everyday life while embracing simplicity and solitude.

Elliðaey Island, Iceland

Located on Elliðaey, an island within the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in Iceland, this house is often monikered the “World’s Loneliest House.” The building, which gives the impression of being a single family home, is actually a hunting lodge built by the Elliðaey Hunting Association in the 1950s. Despite being a lodge for a private hunting club, visitors are allowed to visit the house because spending the night in such a lonely house is definitely worth experiencing at least once.

Sierra de Fafe, Portugal

In the north of Portugal, on the mountainous Sierra de Fafe, a rather unusually-structured house “Casa do Penedo” surprises with its construction of four enormous granite stones. Owing to its peculiar qualities, the Casa do Penedo developed into a unique tourist destination that is presently accessible via guided tour. Situated in a secluded area and equipped with all the amenities needed for a quick getaway in the middle of nature, this building is still owned by the people who designed it 49 years ago. 

Trambileno, Italy

Famous for its perch atop a mountain, Eremo di San Colombano is a hermitage in Trambileno, Italy. According to legend, the hermit San Colombano first arrived there and killed the dragon that caused the death of children baptised in the waters of the river below Leno. About 3 km far from Rovereto, Eremo di San Colombano can be reached by climbing up a short path and a stairway of 102 steps carved into the rock.

Bassenthwaite, United Kingdom

Author Hugh Walpole called Skiddaw House in the charming Lake District ‘one of the loneliest dwelling places in all the British Isles’.  The magnificent and eerie seclusion of the property so captured the novelist’s imagination that he used it as the setting for a graphic murder scene in his 1932 book The Fortress. Set amid the expansive, treeless Skiddaw forest in the romantically barren region known as Back o’Skidda, 500 m above sea level, this ominous property was constructed in 1829 as a hunting lodge for George O’Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont.

Glencoe, Scotland

The desolate white house sitting under the mountain peak surely strikes the attention of many because of its rather peculiar location. Perched underneath the dramatic heights of Buachaille Etive Mòr, legend has it that Lagangarbh Hut used to be a Crofter’s House but today it is owned by the National Trust and Scottish Mountaineering Club. Lagangarbh Hut is also one of the most popular photography locations in Glencoe and sees thousands of photographers and tourists descend on it each year.

New York, USA

Just Room Enough Island, also known as Hub Island, is an island located in the Thousand Islands chain in New York, United States. It is known for being the smallest inhabited island. Rightfully as the name suggests, the island has ‘just enough room’ to hold only one house, barely a tree and two shrubs on 306 sqm of ground. The Sizeland family chose it as the ideal location for their vacation home in 1950 because of its exquisitely secluded setting. Decades later, it remains intact and has become more well-known as tourists get on boats to explore and get a closer look.

Brittany, France

Travellers will come across seven towns along the banks of the Ria d’Etel in Brittany, France. The Nichtarguer Islet, with its abandoned small house with its quaint blue shutters, is the area’s jewel in spite of its running water, electricity, and other modern conveniences.