“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)

A young Balinese man tries to kiss a woman during the Kissing Festival known as “Omed-Omedan” at Sesetan village on April 1, 2014 in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

A cave diver in Anhumas Abyss, Bonito, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Epson International Pano Awards 2018)

Indian Naga Sadhus, or naked holy men, participate in a procession before taking a “shahi snans”, or holy bath, at the Sangam river, the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology, the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati, during Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, 15 January 2019. The Hindu festival is one of the biggest in India and will be held from 15 January to 04 March 2019 in Allahabad. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA/EFE)

A shepherd with his flock shelters from the rain under a huge boulder in Dharmsala, India, Monday, August 8, 2022. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

A man dressed as Hindu goddess Kali, the goddess of power, performs with a burning camphor tablet on his tongue during a religious procession ahead of the “Kumbh Mela”, or Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad January 6, 2013. During the festival, hundreds of thousands of Hindus take part in a religious gathering at the banks of the river Ganges. The festival is held every 12 years in different Indian cities. (Photo by Jitendra Prakash/Reuters)

Indian men sleep in the shadow of an overflowing cloth container of hay, to be used as animal fodder, on a truck on a hot summer day in Ajmer in the western state of Rajasthan on May 30, 2018. (Photo by Shaukat Ahmed/AFP Photo)

Elephants dust themselves with soil at Taigan safari park in Belogorsk, Crimea on May 4, 2021. (Photo by Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters)