38 Winning Images From The 2025 Travel Photographer Of The Year Announced

Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

A massive bull elephant showers himself in dust.

Torres del Paine, Chile.
Chile’s Torres Del Paine is famous for its stunning landscapes, but it’s also home to a fierce predator — the puma. These majestic creatures primarily feed on guanacos. However, the hunting success rate for pumas is not very high, especially for female pumas. They primarily rely on the abundance of guanacos for their survival. It’s a rare treat to see a puma hunting right in front of you. We followed a female puma for a few days, and she had two adorable cubs who depended on her to bring them food. In this particular early morning, she had been keeping a guanaco close by for a while, and finally she had the chance to get close enough to jump on it. She tried to pull down the guanaco a few times, and she was really close to biting into the neck and suffocating the guanaco… But guess what? The guanaco was a tough cookie, and it managed to escape!

Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam

This is a 100-year-old Vietnamese man living in a rural village in southern Vietnam.

His home is sparse but filled with the remnants of his memories of yesteryears. Hanging on the wall is a traditional straw hat commonly worn by Vietnamese farmers. Propped against the wall is a walking stick. His fit body belies his age.

Hanoi, Vietnam

I took this photo in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The woman was weaving traditional bamboo baskets, and her joyful smile immediately caught my attention. Her blackened teeth are part of an old Vietnamese beauty tradition, where women dyed their teeth black as a symbol of elegance and cultural identity.

I wanted to capture her warmth, her craft, and the heritage she represents.

Zamora, Spain — Night of Sorrows: The “Yacente” Procession of Zamora, Holy Thursday A lone penitent walks barefoot across Zamora’s Plaza de la Catedral moments before the brotherhood’s final gathering. Behind him, the procession slowly comes to rest, with candles swaying in the night air. Soon, the silence will give way to the haunting chant of the Miserere, closing the “Yacente” procession with a moment of collective sorrow and reflection, well past midnight.

Altai Mountains, Mongolia

We are surrounded by the immensity of the Altai Mountains, a corner of Mongolia where Russia, China, and Kazakhstan converge. Here, Kazakh nomadic herders have, for centuries, forged a unique bond with majestic golden eagles. More than a tradition, this relationship is a symbiosis between human and animal — an ancestral legacy passed down through generations.

Her name is Erbod, and she proudly holds the eagle she inherited from her recently deceased father.

Hoque Market, Southern Angola

"Motherhood"

This Ovahanda woman was visiting a small local market in the Lubango area with her tiny charge securely strapped to her back.

The elaborate beading ornamentation is a tribal tradition, now sadly in decline as Westernization takes its toll on tribal communities who live in the vicinity of ever-expanding urban areas.

Bajirav Vihir, Natepute, Solapur, Maharashtra, India

FEET IN THE MUD, HEARTS IN THE DIVINE — BAJIRAV VIHIR

In the foreground, two men — Warkaris — are joyfully performing a traditional dance or mock stick-play (dand patta–style movement). Their clothes are smeared with mud, symbolizing the earthy, devotional spirit of the journey. One of the men is smiling widely, clearly immersed in the rhythm and devotional enthusiasm. Both hold long bamboo sticks adorned with orange flags (Bhagwa dhwaj), waving dramatically against the wind. The low-angle shot makes their movements look grand and dynamic, while the crisp blue sky with scattered clouds creates a stunning backdrop.

The ground is bare earth, typical of the rural paths the Warkaris travel. The entire scene radiates community, devotion, energy, and cultural richness, capturing the spirit of the Pandharpur Wari — where singing, dancing, and unity are as sacred as the pilgrimage itself.

In the background, a large group of Warkaris — men and women dressed in traditional white attire, colorful saris, turbans, and topis — sit in a semicircle, clapping and cheering. Their expressions show delight, devotion, and communal joy.

Beerwah, Queensland, Australia

I was very fortunate to travel to Australia and visit the Zoo Hospital, where I was able to see the incredible work they do there.

This photo shows a veterinary nurse holding a very young bat that had been brought in by a member of the public who found it out in the wild.

Ouadane, Mauritania

Outside the classroom walls, a girl holds her lauwḥ, the board used for learning Qur’anic verses. When lessons are memorized, the boards are washed clean, and the water is sometimes kept as baraka, or blessing. In the silence of the desert, the act of learning becomes an act of devotion.

La Gomera Island, Canarias, Spain
The red crab (Grapsus adscensionis) lives among the rocks of the Atlantic coasts of the Macaronesian islands (Canary Islands, Azores, Savage Islands, Madeira, and Morocco). In the photo, it appears enveloped by a fine curtain of water produced by the waves crashing against the rocks, where it searches for small crustaceans and plants, on which it feeds.

Hoi An, Vietnam

This is a large net set up in the middle of a river in Vietnam. A motor, when activated, raises the nets to catch any fish trapped inside. I was fortunate to be there to document this scene during the golden dawn hours. The gentle light beautifully interacted with the yellow of the nets, creating a striking composition.

Cenote Nicte Ha, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

A water lily garden against a perfectly still water surface makes the texture of the landscape greenery indistinguishable from the scene below the water.

The tiny fish in the water column, contrasting with the blue sky, helps situate the underwater scene.

Cenotes form a network of a subterranean water system stretching over a thousand kilometers throughout the Yucatan Peninsula’s forests.

Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia

The moment the fishes touch the ground, the cold claims them. No struggle, no sound — just the swift silence of nature’s rhythm. It’s not cruelty, but necessity. Out here, survival is swift, and reverence is quiet.

The fishermen, exhausted, do not celebrate. They simply nod, as if acknowledging an ancient pact between man and lake. And I, a witness wrapped in layers and awe, feel the weight of that exchange settle into my bones.

Tokyo, Japan

Sumo wrestling is a revered sport in Japan. The basic rule is that a wrestler must force his opponent out of a circular ring or make them touch the ground with any body part other than the soles of their feet.

Often, the winning margin is razor-thin, and it’s impossible to tell who will win until the very last second.

Moal Boal. Cebù island, Philippines

A large school of sardines moves quickly as predators and humans approach, forming clusters that resemble clouds during a thunderstorm.

Moorak, (Limestone Coast) South Australia

A freediver rises through the void, a shaft of light piercing the serene depths of Kilsby Sinkhole.

Kuwait seaside, Kuwait

Framed by the glow of Kuwait City’s streetlights, an Arabian red fox kitten explores the night outside its den — a rare sight for a species that normally breeds deep in the desert.

I monitored two urban dens for nearly three months, each home to five kits and their parents. Habitat loss, overhunting, and human pressure had pushed these families to risk raising their young near the city.

This image was taken next to the seaside, where colorful car and streetlights reflected off the water, while two small hand flashlights created the rim light. I visited the den four nights a week, slowly gaining the trust of the mother and kits until they approached me freely.

Their curiosity — and their vulnerability — made the experience unforgettable.

Broome, Western Australia

On the sunlit mudflats, a crab seizes a blue-spotted mudskipper with a powerful upward snap of its claw, lifting the wriggling fish clean from the mud.

Sukhothai, Thailand (Sukhothai Historical Park)

I captured this image shortly after sunrise in a quiet region of Thailand, whose name fittingly translates to “Dawn of Happiness.”

I noticed how perfectly the Buddha’s figure reflected in the still water. To convey the spirit of the moment, I inverted the photograph, turning the reflection into an illusion where the sky above the Buddha becomes a tapestry of floating flowers and drifting plants.

My intention was to create an image that mirrors the peaceful, dreamlike feeling of this sacred location, where the green textures and beautiful flowers of our world can be transformed into a new and unexpected reality.