National Geographic Travel's Best Travel Photos of 2013

National Geographic Travel selects the top 50 best travel photos of 2013. To see more travel photos, go to National Geographic Travel's daily photo feature, Travel 365.

 

Pomerania, Poland --- Photograph by Kacper Kowalski, Panos Pictures --- Fall colors blaze out in concentric rings from a lake in eastern Pomerania, Poland. The region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea is largely covered with farmlandâand vast swaths of forest.

 

Blue Lagoon, Iceland --- Photograph by Agnieszka Rayss, Anzenberger/Redux --- Drinks blend with the landscape during a summer solstice midnight party in Iceland's Blue Lagoon. Marking the beginning of the season, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year, falling on June 20 or 21.

 

Colosseum, Rome --- Photograph by Gabriele Forzano, Reuters --- A rare snow shower falls on Rome's Colosseum, built 2,000 years ago to host gladiator duels, battle reenactments, and other public spectacles. Today the 50,000-seat amphitheater serves Rome in another capacity: as a major tourist attraction.

 

Fisherman, Bangladesh --- Photograph by Pronob Ghosh, National Geographic Your Shot --- A Bangladeshi fisherman flings open a traditional blue net to catch tiny shrimp. His village, Gabura, is in southwestern Bangladesh and has been studied for the effects of climate change.

 

Burj Khalifa, Dubai --- Photograph by LOOK/Alamy --- The observation deck at the Burj Khalifaâthe tallest building in the world at 2,716.5 feetâoffers a panoramic view of the flat desert shores of sea-level Dubai. The building took seven years to build and holds a number of other records, including most number of stories, highest outdoor observation deck, and tallest service elevator. 8BIM

 

Cherry Blossoms, Japan ---
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic ---
In Japan the nighttime viewing of cherry blossoms in spring, like these at Kyoto’s Hirano Shrine, is a special event. “The cherries’ only fault: the crowds that gather when they bloom,” wrote Saigyo, a 12th-century poet.

 

Lake Mývatn, Iceland ---
Photograph by Jonas Bendiksen, National Geographic ---
"Pseudo craters" mark the land surrounding Lake Mývatn in Iceland. The southern part of the lake rests on a lava flow that was emitted 2,000 years ago. The pseudo craters are continually formed as water trapped beneath the Earth's surface turns to steam and explodes through the layer above.

 

Deer Creek Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park ---
Photograph by Corey Rich, Aurora ---
Most of the nearly five million people who visit Grand Canyon National Park each year simply take in the stunning views from the rim. The more adventurous descend the canyon and get up close to rock that dates back 1.8 billion years. Here, hikers traverse Deer Creek Trail, an overnight trip that’s one of the most popular routes in the park.

 

Arctic Fox, Canada --- Photograph by Norbert Rosing, National Geographic --- Before dawn, a brilliant full moon illuminates the snowy landscape of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, home to an arctic fox. The fox's coat changes color with the seasons; as the snow melts it begins to turn grayish brown.

The worlds 10 best places to see penguins

Naturally dressed for any black-tie affair, penguins unfortunately get few party offers, probably on account of their ridiculous waddle and that offensive habit of coughing up dead fish.  Yet, cute as hell, we just can't help but bring the party to them.  Here are some of the best places on the planet to catch these remarkable birds in action - on their own terms! | Arlo Hemphill

 

South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Subantarctic Islands: More
penguins, elephant seals and albatross than you can shake a stick at!
All of the allure of Antarctica at half the distance (from the tip of
South America that is). One of the world's last true wildlife
spectacles. Photo by Jad in Antarctica - OtterBox

 

Mainland West
Antarctica: Want to see the March of the Penguins first hand? This is
where that beautiful mess goes down! Home to emperor penguin rookeries
and Antarctica's highest peak, Mainland West Antarctica is a true
adventure traveler's ice dream come true! Antarctica: McMurdo / Emperor
Penguins - elisfanclub

 

Boulders Beach, South Africa: I love jackass
penguins, they seriously rule! And in South Africa - or Africa period
for that matter, this is where to see them. Beautifully ironic
juxtaposition with the Cape Town beaches, sun, sand, surf and sharks.
Couldn't be more surreal, or more real South Africa. A great little
spot. Photo by Paul Mannix

 

Punta Tombo, Argentina: Amazing. Camelids
walking amongst scores of penguins in a desert. Add maras and elephant
seals to the equation, and you have all of God's creatures jumbled up
into a jigsaw puzzle that only makes sense to Darwin. Love this place.
Amazing beautiful and utterly fascinating. Photo by Rafa

 

Paracas National Reserve: Peru's wildest
coastal treasure. A truly raw, starkly beautiful corner of the world -
home to abundant Humboldt penguins. geoglyphs, sea lions and guano birds
galore. Paracas alone is reason enough to visit Peru. Photo by
Frank_am_Main

 

Yécapasela Reserve, Ushuaia, Argentina: Ushuaia may be
the gateway to Antarctica, but you'll start feeling the penguin
infestation before you are even out the gate. Yecapasela is home to
thousands of Magellanic penguins, along with a nice handful of gentoo
penguins and rock cormorants. I'm confused as to whether it's a coastal
wonderland or black-tie only convention, but I love it. The universe
left magic dust at the tip of South America. Photo by Liam Quinn

 

Antarctic
Peninsula: The Antarctic Peninsula is the Antarctica most people get to
see. An immense strip of land jutting into the Southern Ocean, it is
home to penguins, seals, killer whales and every shade of ice you can
possibly imagine. This is also the region of Antarctica most impacted by
climate change. It's an icy world in a state of rapid change. Catch it
now before it's character is lost to us. Photo by Liam Quinn

 

Penguin
Parade, Philip Island, Australia: Amazing! Each sunset, hundreds of
little fairy penguins emerge from the chilly Southern Ocean, waddle up
the beach and into the bushes to locate their chicks, patiently waiting
in nest burrows. The Penguin Parade has an excellent visitor facility
with arena seating, an educational center and a network of boardwalks,
allowing you to observe the penguins up close without disturbing them.
Photo by angrysunbird

 

Pinnacle Rock, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Probably the most iconic
landmark in the Galapagos Islands. This place is fantastically beautiful
and even more fantastically interesting. There is a bizarre history of
military occupation around the pinnacle and best of all, the penguins
live here! Photo by Peter Gene

 

South Islands, New Zealand: Who would ever expect to see penguins in a land that looks surprisingly (or not) like the Lord of the Ring's Middle Earth? But even weirder than that is, who'd expect to find penguins living in the rainforest?? Well, that's New Zealand for you, a land of oddities and contradictions at every corner. Here on the South Island, you'll find three of the world's most unique penguins - the little blue penguin (the world’s smallest penguin), the rare yellow-eyed penguin, and that rainforest-dwelling fiordland crested penguin. And in such a dramatically beautiful landscape, these are truly penguins in paradise! Photo courtesy of Gogobot

Water Car

Two Heads Girl

Bill Gates Car and Reception

 Bill gates car and Reception Office at Microsoft

Hansika Motwani

 The pretty teenager who says she loves doing ad films.Has done several ad films for famous brands like Samsung Electronics, Bournvita, Pepsi and Santro opposite "Sharukh Khan" In a very short time of time she achieved the peak , as a child actress and said there is nothing more she can do now .... than complete her studies which has been neglected for long. She would be back after 3-4 years probably but no longer as a child actress .And heres she's back. She is well known to Hindi Tv audience as a Child artist.She is well known for her characters in "Des main nikla hoga chand"and the all time super hit serial "Kyunki Saas bhi kabi bahu thi". and Hum 2 hain na where in she played a dual role. She is also seen as a child artiste in the super hit movie Koi Mil Gaya starred Hrithik Roshan and Priety Zinta. She is also seen in other movies like "Jaago" and "Hum Kaun Hai". She has now became the Brand new Actress of the Tollywod industry. She says that iam just a small girl and i pray god to give me nice offers in the industry. She has got many offers in tollywood, Kollywood, and bollywood industries.