4 days ago
Winning photos from the National Geographic Traveller contest 2025
PHOTOGRAPHY
Chance encounters and otherworldly beauty feature in these images taken by amateur and professional photographers. Which is your favourite?
The Times
The Times
The intricate embroidery of the Red Dao minority people of Lao Cai province, northwest Vietnam, is a skill passed down from mother to daughter. Here a child appears sleepy as her great-grandmother works on her embroidery (people category — grand prize winner)
JUSTIN CLIFFE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
One of the winning images in the portfolio category, which celebrates photographers who present a cohesive story with depth and multiple layers in a set of ten images
JOSHUA MALLETT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Vines envelop the walls of a staircase at a hotel in Singapore, with a view of a yellow rain tree at the top, showing that nature always finds a way to reclaim beauty in the city (city life category)
SCOTT ANTCLIFFE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Birds take flight after ice cracks at the glacier in Ilulissat, Greenland (landscape category — runner-up)
EDWARD HASLER/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
An endangered female lynx drinks from a pond while a honeybee buzzes near her ear, in Ciudad Real, central Spain (wildlife category — runner-up)
HARIKUMAR PRASANNAKUMAR/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Car lights illuminate the snaking road beneath Ra Gusela in the Dolomites, Italy, as a torch lights up the peak on a cold winter's night (landscape category — runner-up)
CHRISTOPHER WEST/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
The door of a yurt frames a view of rolling hills and animals casually walking past in Kyrgyzstan (portfolio category — runner-up)
LAUREN WINSLOW-LLEWELLYN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Time seems to pause at Fort Louvois, a fortification built between 1691 and 1694, during the reign of Louis XIV (portfolio category)
JOSHUA MALLETT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Locally produced yak meat, noodles and cheese were some of the ingredients used to create authentic Tibetan dishes in this family-run restaurant in Barkhor Square, Lhasa, China (food category)
PRABIR KUMAR MITRA/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
An aerial view of the Hveravellir geothermal pool in Iceland, captured by a drone, appears to resemble a dragon's eye. Its sapphire-blue centre is surrounded by shimmering rings in hues of vibrant orange, yellow and earthy browns, a result of the mineral-rich deposits formed over centuries of geothermal activity (landscape category)
PAWEL ZYGMUNT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
A rainy day on rainbow-coloured steps in Nantes, France (city life category — runner-up)
JORDAN BANKS/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Feeling small on the shoreline of a turquoise, glacial-fed lake in Kyrgyzstan (portfolio category — runner-up)
LAUREN WINSLOW-LLEWELLYN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
This image in Changsha, Hunan, offers a glimpse of what China has to offer travellers (portfolio category — runner-up)
DYLAN MCBURNEY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
More than 300 snow bunting congregate on a patch of snow on the hillside in Alberta (wildlife category — runner-up)
JO NOON/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
A member of the Suli Muli tribe in Papua New Guinea, known for their black face paint and headdresses made from moss, feathers and human hair, at their national independence day festival. The tribe come from the rugged Enga province in the country's highlands (people category — runner-up)
BIANCA GOLDMAN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
A monk's life is woven into his surroundings at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India (portfolio category)
JOSHUA MALLETT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
A couple hold hands framing the road in this photograph which captures the chaos, beauty and complexity of city life in Shinjuku, Tokyo (city life category — runner-up)
Chefs prepare their dishes in front of passers-by in Shimbashi, Tokyo, which is a popular spot for local businessmen to unwind after a busy day (food category — runner-up)
JAMES MALONEY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Solomon Islanders, in the South Pacific, visit a boat to sell their fresh fruit and vegetables. The blond hair of the indigenous children in their dugout canoes, right, is a result of a genetic variant distinct from the gene that leads to the same hair colour in Europeans (food category — runner-up)
MARK CARWARDINE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan is known for its towering sandstone pillars (portfolio category — runner-up)
