When was the last time you asked someone sarcastically, “Have you been living under a rock?” and the reply was, “Well actually, yes.”? Not many people in the world can say that, presumably. Except the residents of this quaint little village in Portugal, says Daily Mail.

That’s because homes in the Portuguese village of Monsanto are actually built in a way that incorporates the gigantic granite boulders of the mountains that surround them.

 

 

This mountaintop village has people living in houses whose walls, floors and roofs are made up of up to 200-tonne rocks.

These homes, that date back to the 16th century make up the village of Monsanto – deemed ‘the most Portuguese village in Portugal’ in the past.

 

 

Located near the Spanish border in Eastern Portugal, Monsanto sits about 2,486 feet above sea level and offers a series of views that promise to take your breath away.

The mountains that surround Monsanto are strewn with enormous rocks and the villagers have built their residences around existing boulders instead of attempting to move them.

 

 

Monsanto has a population of 800 residents and they make up a community that strive, to this day, to keep the village’s medieval character alive in the way their homes are designed to incorporate their spectacular environment.

 

 

So, yeah. I think it’s safe to say that Monsanto is certainly on my wish-list of travel destinations. I, for one, sure can’t imagine a better way to wake up than, literally, in the embrace of a glorious mountain.

All images are sourced from Daily Mail