“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.

“Attacking Howler Monkey”. Due to a major tropical rainstorm my wife and I were forced to stay overnight in a Howler Monkey Rescue center in Panama. I used the time to explore the area and to take photos of the monkeys. Just after the rain finally stopped, I ran into this monkey that tried to mock attack me. I quickly took a couple of photos before retreating to a (more) safe distance. (Photo and caption by Christian Mueller-Planitz/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 women wearing nun outfits drink beer while watching the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier curling championships in Kamloops, British Columbia in this March 8, 2014 file photo. Although some people might conclude that a curling event could produce a dull atmosphere, it is actually far from it. Some of the most energetic and loyal fans are committed to showing their colours at tournaments around the world. There was a lull in the games that were being held on this day and I remember spotting these nuns sitting in their seats earlier. Although them just sitting there didn't produce a picture, I kept my eye on them for the entire match. As soon as I spotted them with beer in their hands, I slowly turned my camera towards them and waited for them to take a drink. One of the challenges of shooting this image was to not have everyone notice me taking the photo. I had a longer lens on and was right in the middle of the rink. I slowly turned my lens, not to make my intentions too obvious, and waited until they drank from their beers together. (Photo and caption by Ben Nelms/Reuters)

Women pose for a photograph in traditional Ethiopian dress during the annual Timkat Epiphany celebration on January 19, 2017 in Gondar, Ethiopia. Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian festival which celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river. During the festival, Tabots, or models of the Ark of the Covenant, are taken from churches around Gondar and paraded through the streets to Fasilides Bath. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

A decorated human skull or “natitas”, sits on a blanket inside the Cementerio General chapel, during the Natitas Festival celebrations, in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The “natitas” are cared for and decorated by faithful who use them as amulets believing they serve as protection, the tradition marks the end of the Catholic All Saints holiday, but is not recognized by the Catholic church. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Members of the Mahogany Blue Baby Dolls including Victoria “Lady Lotus” Spotts (C) march in the 25th Anniversary Satchmo Salute second line parade, honoring New Orleans jazz legend Louis Armstrong, on August 3, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Revelers marched from historic St. Augustine Catholic Church in the Tremé neighborhood to the New Orleans Jazz Museum where Satchmo Summerfest is being held. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A farmer uses a GoPro as he takes a picture of his carabao kneeling during the annual Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan in northern Philippines May 14, 2015. Water buffalos, locally known as carabaos, are led during a parade in the streets of the town to honour its patron saint San isidro Labrador, and carabaos will kneel in front of the church to give thanks for a year-long bountiful harvest. (Photo by Lorgina Minguito/Reuters)

The Florida Keys are famous for their diving, but they are less well known for another quirky attraction: the mailboxes residents use to decorate their driveways. From a fiberglass manatee in lipstick to a small white church, Reuters photographer Wolfgang Rattay documented this unusual aspect of local culture as he drove along the Ocean Highway that connects the islands. Photo: A mailbox in the shape of a fire truck is seen along the highway US-1 in the Lower Keys near Marathon in Florida, July 11, 2014. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)