A cliff-hanging complex of temples Oct 19, 2020

A cliff-hanging complex of temples

Feast your eyes on the colorful Mati Si (Horse"s Hoof Temple) and its cliffside complex of sandstone grottoes and wooden pavilions. An indentation in the sandstone provides a clue to the mythical origin of the temple. One legend has it that a frightened longma—a winged dragon horse—visited here thousands of years ago and left its hoof mark in the rock as it landed. What you can"t see in our homepage image is the narrow network of tunnels cut into the cliff, connecting the seven floors and multiple grottoes to the Mati Si pagoda, which is 200 feet high and holds hundreds of Buddha statues.

© Ana Flašker/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Oct 19, 2018Portland celebrates its bounty
Oct 19, 2021These laurels are hardy
Oct 19, 2022Wartburg Castle overlooking Thuringian Forest in Germany
Oct 19, 2023Mekong River Delta, Long An, Vietnam
Oct 19, 2024International Archaeology Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 11, 2021Everest s shadow on the Himalayas
May 18, 2020Desert rose of Qatar
Mar 8, 2025International Womens Day
Jun 28, 2021A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
Aug 4, 2018‘Fringe’ takes center stage as Edinburgh celebrates the arts
Dec 7, 2021Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Aug 24, 2021Surf s always up in Paia
Jul 5, 2022Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe
May 22, 2023International Day for Biodiversity
May 25, 2023Saksun, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Jun 6, 2024The 80th anniversary of D-Day
Jun 21, 2022Summer solstice
Apr 17, 2024Black bear cub emerging into spring
Jan 14, 2024Whooper swans in Lake Kussharo, Japan
Sep 2, 2019Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
Jan 29, 2025Chinese New Year
Jun 26, 2025Horse Head Rock, New South Wales, Australia
Dec 19, 2019Winter at Valley Forge
Feb 20, 2025Ansel Adams birthday
Mar 27, 2021Blink and you ll miss it
Jun 29, 2021An island hopper s paradise
Feb 15, 2022Lantern Festival
May 14, 2022Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
Jan 23, 2024Atolls in the Maldives
Feb 9, 2023Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Dec 10, 2023Sand dunes in the Sahara, Algeria
Apr 24, 2025Spire Cove in Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska
Aug 13, 2019An ice cap-puccino
Apr 29, 2024Fujian Tulou, China
Nov 1, 2018Celebrating the Day of the Dead