Engine driver Josef Kowatsch (top L) steers a train through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Erstfeld August 24, 2015. Crossing the Alps, the world's longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016, consisting of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km (35 miles). (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

A couple enjoys viewing illuminated autumn leaves with projection mapping at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden during a preview at the garden in Tokyo, Japan on November 22, 2023. The illumination will start on 22 November through 03 December 2023. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA/EFE)

A woman and her child wade through flood waters in Feni on August 22, 2024. Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swath of low-lying Bangladesh, disaster officials said on August 22, adding to the new government's challenges after weeks of political turmoil. (Photo by Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/AFP Photo)

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team rider Brad Binder of South Africa speeds through a corner during a MotoGP practice session at the Australian MotoGP on Philip Island on October 18, 2024. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

A Cucumber and a Chuta Cholero hug during the traditional festival “Desentierro del Pepino” (unearthing the Cucumber) to mark the beginning of carnival on January 21, 2024 in La Paz, Bolivia. People dug up the cucumber from the cemetery and walk through the streets with two characters, the Ch'uta and the Chola. (Photo by Gaston Brito/Getty Images)

Men carry a dog on an inflated tube as they wade through floodwaters at Kongba in Imphal East on June 3, 2025. Flash floods and landslides after torrential monsoon rain over the last two days killed at least 30 people in India's northeast, officials said on June 1. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

People walk through Ginza’s shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 15 December 2025. Japan’s economic focus is on the upcoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting where the central bank is expected to raise its policy rate to combat inflation. The BOJ signaled a rate hike bar is cleared with the wage momentum still intact. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)