Tourists fly in hot air balloons over the west bank of the Nile River on January 9, 2025 in Luxor, Egypt. Luxor, which contains the historical city of Thebes, capital of ancient Egypt's pharaohs at the height of their power, is full of pharaonic monuments and other antiquities. (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

“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.

Five year-old Fatima plays as women weave a carpet in a home workshop in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 13, 2022. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Kayla Amara sprays down their home as the Hughes Fire burns in Castaic, California, U.S. January 22, 2025. (Photo by Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters)

Sprout A Pencil That Grows is a very simple but excellent concept. We all know that as soon as a pencil gets down to the point where there’s only an inch or so left it’s pretty much useless. The Sprout lets you put that little stub to get use. The end of the Sprout has a seed capsule that is water activated, after you plant your pencil and water it a few times the capsule dissolves and the seed’s start germinating. The plants usually take about a week to sprout. The Sprout pencils come in a number of varieties including vegetables, herbs and flowers like rosemary, tomato, marigold, and many more.

A group of around 400 demonstrators participate in a protest by burying their heads in the sand at Sydney's Bondi Beach November 13, 2014. Hundreds of protesters participated in the event, held ahead of Saturday's G20 summit in Brisbane, which was being promoted as a message to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government that, “You have your head in the sand on climate change”. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

As you look at the set of pictures created by Tom Kondrat during his travels in Iceland, the first thing that comes to mind is the word “loneliness.” These pictures lead you to believe that Iceland is a desolate expanse of icy wasteland. You can almost imagine the strong wind howling in your ears, as it chills you straight to the bone. And as you’re walking down so beaten path, you’re all alone, with not a human soul for miles in any direction. This may prove unbearable for some, yet others find comfort in such places. With no one there to bother them and distract them from their thoughts, they can finally be at peace. (Photo by Tom Kondrat)

Located at La Casa Del Arbol or “The Treehouse” in Baños, Ecuador, this small house was built for the stunning view on the Tungurahua Volcano it offers. But the real attraction is the swing attached to one of the tree's branches. It is far from your average swing, and it is surnamed the "Swing at the End of the World" for a good reason. Located off a giant cliff at over 2,600 meters above sea level and with absolutely no safety features, this swing promises a serious thrill to whoever is brave enough to ride it.