A young girl dressed as living goddess Kumari drinks juice as she waits for Kumari Puja, a worship ritual at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, September 27, 2023. Girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in the Newar community that seeks divine blessings to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Cheerleaders from the “All Japan Cheer Organization” perform in protective masks due to COVID-19, to cheer people up in front of Shimbashi Station, one day before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on July 22, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)

Members of Chinese Shaolin Temple Warrior Monks perform martial arts during the “Cultures of China, Festival of Spring” Gala in Toronto, Canada, on February 27, 2016. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua/Sipa USA)

Indian children help to push an auto rickshaw along a flooded street after heavy rain in Jalandhar on June 29, 2017, as the monsoon season begins. (Photo by Shammi Mehra/AFP Photo)

Indian security personnel adjust a uniform during full-dress rehearsal ahead of the 74th Republic day celebrations in Bangalore, India, 24 January 2023. The Republic Day of India marks the adoption of the constitution of India and the transition of the country to a Republic on 26 January 1950. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA/EFE)

“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Two race pigs jump over an obstacle during a rural festivity in reference to Maria Ascension in San Bernardino, Switzerland on Monday, August 15 2016. (Photo by Samuel Golay/Keystone/TI-Press via AP Photo)

An American flag is visible in the windows of the cupola aboard the International Space Station. Thanks to a bill passed by Texas legislators in 1997 that put in place technical voting procedure for astronauts – nearly all of whom live in Texas – they have the ability to vote from space through specially designed absentee ballots. To preserve the integrity of the secret vote, the ballot is encrypted and only accessible by the astronaut and the county clerk responsible for casting the ballot. (Photo by NASA)