Natural world and wildlife shortlist. Lop Buri in Thailand is home to hundreds of macaques, which local residents consider to be disciples of the Hindu god Hanuman. While some people love them, others fear or even hate them. Despite the inconvenience they often cause, the macaques are generally respected and considered sacred. (Photo by Joan de la Malla/Sony World Photography Awards)

British tourists snap a cheeky selfie with a monkey at the Ubud Monkey Forest in Bali, Indonesia, August 4, 2015. George Benton, 22, from Paignton, Devon was visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, Bali whilst traveling with his girlfriend Chloe when the couple snapped a surprise shot with Balinese long-tailed monkey using a “selfie stick”. “We couldn't believe our luck when we looked back at the photos, he looked straight into the camera!” said George, who went on to reward the cheeky chap with a banana for giving the couple such a memorable photo. (Photo by George Benton/Splash News)

Nepalese Hindu priests perform rituals during Janai Purnima festival at Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, August 18, 2016. During this festival Hindus take holy baths and perform annual change of the Janai, a sacred cotton string worn around their chest or tied on the wrist, in the belief that it will protect and purify them. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Mt.Huanshan, or Mount Hua is one of the five sacred mountains in China. The other four are Taishan in Shandong, Songshan in Henan, Hengshan in Shanxi and Hengshan in Hunan.
Mt. Huashan is reputed as the most precipitous of the five.

Devotees take a holy bath during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival in Kathmandu January 20, 2015. During the month-long festival, devotees recite one chapter of a Hindu tale daily from the 31-chapter sacred Swasthani Brata Katha book that is dedicated to God Madhavnarayan and Goddess Swasthani, alongside various other gods and goddesses and the miraculous feats performed by them. The devotees also go on pilgrimages to various temples, perform religious rituals, take a holy bath in the rivers and fast for a month, especially among women who believe fasting helps in their family's well-being or in getting them a good husband. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A devotee takes a holy bath in River Saali in Sankhu on the first day of Swasthani Brata Katha festival in Kathmandu January 5, 2015. During the month long festival, devotees recite one chapter of a Hindu tale daily from the 31-chapter sacred Swasthani Brata Katha book that is dedicated to God Madhavnarayan and Goddess Swasthani, alongside various other gods and goddess and the miraculous feats performed by them. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Indian mourners perform a cremation on the roof of a building overlooking The Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi on August 23, 2016. India's holy city of Varanasi has been forced to halt cremations along the banks of the sacred river Ganges as deadly floods from monsoon rains hit parts of the country, an official said. More than 100,000 people have been forced from their homes in recent days in northern Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Bihar states as rain-swollen rivers burst their banks. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

“After taking LSD. I lighting up a candle in the middle of the wood and during the 30 secondes of exposure, i make a meditation about the holism of nature surrounding me. Feeling the crystal vibration irradiating from the center of the Gaia mother earth. So in this picture i try to show you the magic, sacred metaphysical quality of the nature and new age bullshiting you”. – Benoit Paillé. (Photo by Benoit Paillé)