Camel racing in Oman. Whale diving in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. A sauna at 2800 meters high in the heart of Dolomites. Chances are, without the world's top tier traveling shutterbugs, we'd never get to see these weird and wonderful parts of our eclectic, beautiful world. Luckily, globally-acknowledged cornerstone of publicising places-you've-never-been National Geographic brings the world's best travel photographers together, all vying for the prestigious blue ribbon in the annual National Geographic Traveller Photo Contest.
This year, Nat Geo's Photo Contest judges reviewed nearly 18,000 photographs — and these ten are the top of the crop. Photographers entered their works into four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments.
Have a flick through, we're pretty sure you'll be making at least one of these your desktop wallpaper immediately.
Images: National Geographic.
