The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. Photo: A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Floating on clear deep water and reflections near the cave entrance. Visitors can either bring their own kayaks or rent boats from the local community to paddle deep inside the cave and marvel at its wonders on March 2015 at Tham Khoun Ex, Laos. Tham Khoun Xe, commonly known as the Xe Bang Fai River Cave, in Laos, has over 15km of passages filled with awe-inspiring views and wide expanses of water. Photographer, John Spies, 59, captured scenes from the entrances of the huge underground river passages, intricate cave formations and views from a passage high above the water. The cave is formed by the Xe Bang Fai river, a major tributary of the Mekong and in the dry season can be traversed using inflatable kayaks. (Photo by John Spies/Barcroft Media/ABACAPress)

A woman feeds cats at Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 28, 2024. (Photo by Ahmed Saad/Reuters)

Promotional models use their smartphones during their break at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing May 6, 2014. Mobile Internet industry executives, developers and investors from more than 30 countries took part in the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, the organiser said. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A fisherman sorts his net next to the 37-meter-long “KAWS:HOLIDAY Companion” inflatable sculpture in Tsing Yi, Hong Kong, China, 21 March 2019. KAWS:HOLIDAY, made by US artist and designer Brian Donnelly known professionally as Kaws, will be displayed in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour from 22 to 31 March 2019. (Photo by Jerome Favre/EPA/EFE)

Children with balloons play beside the statue of British comedy legend Eric Morecambe on January 16, 2012 in Morecambe, England. According to scientists January 16, 2012 was “Blue Monday”, the most depressing day of the year. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A squatter argues with a police officer during an eviction at a settlement coined the “First of May Refugee Camp”, named for the date people moved on the land designated for a Petrobras refinery, in Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday, July 1, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Colombia supporters having fun during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group H match between Germany and Colombia at Sydney Football Stadium on July 30, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Carl Recine/Reuters)