15 travel photos that will make you want to grab your passport this instant

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The Taj Mahal cenote in Mexico's Riveira Maya. Runner up, 'Spirit of Adventure' category. Photo: Terry Steeley/TPOTY 2014

An old woman from the Wayuu people in the north of Colombia. Her face has seen many years of hard work. Monochromal winner, TPOTY Awards. Photo: Johnny Haglund/TPOTY 2014

Khizra, aged five, photographed at the Community School in Shitindas (Gilgit-Baltistan), Northern Pakistan. Photo: Andrea Francolini/TPOTY 2014

Nibbevei Road, Dalsnibba Mountain, Norway. The mountain is in the Stranda Municipality in More og Romsdal county, and this image won Piotr Trybalski the 'Spirit of Adventure' Award. Photo: Piotr Trybalski/TPOTY 2014

Two bears face off in Kamchatka, Russia. Runner-up in the 'Wild & Vibrant' category. Photo: Marco Urso/TPOTY 2014

“Les Sapeurs" are a unique group of people who wanders the streets of Kinshasa in expensive designer clothes, despite the poverty around them. Photo: Johnny Haglund/TPOTY 2014

A young Suri tribe boy in Regia Village, Kibish, South Ethiopia. Sergio Carbajo's image merited a special mention in the 'Tribes' section of the TPOTY 2014 Awards. Photo: Sergio Carbajo/TPOTY 2014

A polar bear, photographed 80-degrees north of Svalbard in Norway's Arctic Circle. Winner: Wild & Vibrant. Photo: Joshua Holko/TPOTY 2014

Sinakara, Peru. Each year, thousands of pilgrims travel to the Peruvian Andes to celebrate the festival of Quyllur Rit'i. Timothy Allen's photo won Best Single Image in the TPOTY 'Tribes' category. Photo: Timothy Allen/TPOTY 2014

Lentang, Nepal. Pilgrims walking up to Gosaikunda Lake at 14,370 feet in the Himalayas. Photo: Timothy Allen/TPOTY 2014

Detail of Himba tribeswoman's hair, Namibia. Philip Lee Harvey is Travel Photographer of the Year, 2014. Photo: Philip Lee Harvey/TPOTY 2014

Deadvlei, Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia. This photo won the 'Earth, Air, Fire, Wind, Water' category. Photo: Marsel van Oosten/TPOTY 2014

Forgotten faces of China - a grieving society that is being left out of modernisation. Yunnan Province, China. Photo: Nick Ng/TPOTY 2014

A lady helps an old woman down steep stone steps in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Philip Lee Harvey is the Overall Winner of Travel Photographer of the Year 2014. Photo: Philip Lee Harvey/TPOTY 2014

Objects against a coloured wall, Burano, Italy. Samuel Fisch, aged 17, is the Young Travel Photographer of the Year. Photo: Samuel Fisch/TPOTY 2014

thumbnail: The Taj Mahal cenote in Mexico's Riveira Maya. Runner up, 'Spirit of Adventure' category. Photo: Terry Steeley/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: An old woman from the Wayuu people in the north of Colombia. Her face has seen many years of hard work. Monochromal winner, TPOTY Awards. Photo: Johnny Haglund/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Khizra, aged five, photographed at the Community School in Shitindas (Gilgit-Baltistan), Northern Pakistan. Photo: Andrea Francolini/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Nibbevei Road, Dalsnibba Mountain, Norway. The mountain is in the Stranda Municipality in More og Romsdal county, and this image won Piotr Trybalski the 'Spirit of Adventure' Award. Photo: Piotr Trybalski/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Two bears face off in Kamchatka, Russia. Runner-up in the 'Wild & Vibrant' category. Photo: Marco Urso/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: “Les Sapeurs" are a unique group of people who wanders the streets of Kinshasa in expensive designer clothes, despite the poverty around them. Photo: Johnny Haglund/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: A young Suri tribe boy in Regia Village, Kibish, South Ethiopia. Sergio Carbajo's image merited a special mention in the 'Tribes' section of the TPOTY 2014 Awards. Photo: Sergio Carbajo/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: A polar bear, photographed 80-degrees north of Svalbard in Norway's Arctic Circle. Winner: Wild & Vibrant. Photo: Joshua Holko/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Sinakara, Peru. Each year, thousands of pilgrims travel to the Peruvian Andes to celebrate the festival of Quyllur Rit'i. Timothy Allen's photo won Best Single Image in the TPOTY 'Tribes' category. Photo: Timothy Allen/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Lentang, Nepal. Pilgrims walking up to Gosaikunda Lake at 14,370 feet in the Himalayas. Photo: Timothy Allen/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Detail of Himba tribeswoman's hair, Namibia. Philip Lee Harvey is Travel Photographer of the Year, 2014. Photo: Philip Lee Harvey/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Deadvlei, Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia. This photo won the 'Earth, Air, Fire, Wind, Water' category. Photo: Marsel van Oosten/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Forgotten faces of China - a grieving society that is being left out of modernisation. Yunnan Province, China. Photo: Nick Ng/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: A lady helps an old woman down steep stone steps in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Philip Lee Harvey is the Overall Winner of Travel Photographer of the Year 2014. Photo: Philip Lee Harvey/TPOTY 2014
thumbnail: Objects against a coloured wall, Burano, Italy. Samuel Fisch, aged 17, is the Young Travel Photographer of the Year. Photo: Samuel Fisch/TPOTY 2014
Pól Ó Conghaile

A picture speaks a thousands words, but the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards has left us speechless... again.

From pilgrims making perilous progress in the Himalayas to cave divers exploring Mexico's cenotes, the annual TPOTY awards have once again thrown up several humdingers.

Think fighting bears. Think warm tones of Himba jewelry, adventures in the Norwegian wilderness, or the piercing eyes of a little Pakistani schoolgirl. The winning images in the 2014 Awards - 15 of which you can view in our gallery above - give a glorious view of life on this planet.

British photographer Philip Lee Harvey took the overall prize for his elegant portfolios depicting the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia and the Himba of Namibia.

The title of Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2014 went to 17 year-old Samuel Fisch of the USA. He is the first person to win this title twice, having also won it back in 2012.

Nick Ng Yeow Kee, won the Tribes portfolio category with his intimate black & white portraits of elderly people in China, while Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten took top honours in the Earth, Air, Fire, Water category, with his eerie images of dead camelthorn trees in Namibia.

Johnny Haglund of Norway scored two first places in the single image categories, winning Monochromal with a wonderfully sympathetic portrait of an elderly woman in Colombia, and One Moment with a striking image of ‘Les Sapeurs’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Joshua Holko’s winning image in Wild & Vibrant captured the moment a polar bear looked up from a recent seal kill, its bloodied face and the seal carcass standing out vividly against the snow.

TPOTY Award entries were submitted by professional and amateur photographers from over 100 countries, and judged by an international panel of photographers, picture editors and photo agency directors.

For further information on the awards, please visit www.tpoty.com. The images will be exhibited at London’s Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) from July 24th to September 5th 2015.

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