Myanmar, Burma, Mon State, Mt Kyaiktiyo. Mt Kyaiktiyo, or Golden Rock as it is popularly known, due to the continual application of gold leaf by male pilgrims, is one of Burma's most celebrated pilgri...

India, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad. The principal and once-grand staircase at the former British Residency in Hyderabad.

India, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad. A lobby alongside the main restaurants at the luxury Falaknuma Palace Hotel.

India, West Bengal, Barrackpore, nr. Kolkata. A marble statue of Sir William Peel (third son of Sir Robert Peel) stands in the gardens of Flagstaff House in Barrackpore, one of several which were move...

Australia, Northern Territory, Arnhem Land, nr Mt Borradaile. Aboriginal rock art in 'Major Art' shelter

Zambia, South Luangwa National Park, A safari vehicle drives along a sandy track.

Georgia, Tbilisi. Erected in the 1950s by sculptor Elguja Amashukeli, the 20m-tall aluminium statue of Kartvlis-Deda, or Mother Georgia, stands atop Solaki Ridge and dominates the city's old quarter.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Kashmir, Srinagar. Kashmiri schoolboys are paddled across Srinagar's celebrated Dal Lake in a shikara - small wooden boats still widely used for transport and tourism.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Kashmir, Srinagar. Tourists enjoy Srinagar's celebrated Dal Lake and its Zabarwan Hills backdrop from the comfort of a shikara - small wooden boats still widely used for transp...

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Thiksey Monastery, or Gompa, is one of the region's largest and most famous monasteries.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh. A Ladakhi woman wears traditional clothes including a turquoise-studded headdress, or perak, and a ceremonial brocade mantle or shawl.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Chemrey. A monk strolls around a chorten near the 17th-century Chemrey Monastery, or gompa, which stands on a hill overlooking Chemrey village.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Chemrey. Founded in the 17th century, Chemrey Monastery, or gompa, stands perched on a hill overlooking Chemrey village.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. In the vicinity of Thiksey Monastery, spacious luxury tents at the Ultimate Travelling Camp offer unrivalled comfort in the Indus Valley.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Chemrey. Founded in the 17th century, Chemrey Monastery, or gompa, stands perched on a hill overlooking Chemrey village.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Each morning after sunrise monks blow conch horns, or dung-dkar, from the rooftop of Thiksey Monastery.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Each morning after sunrise monks blow conch horns, or dung-dkar, from the rooftop of Thiksey Monastery.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Spacious luxury tents at the Ultimate Travelling Camp offer unrivalled comfort in the Indus Valley.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Spacious luxury tents at the Ultimate Travelling Camp offer unrivalled comfort in the Indus Valley.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Thiksey. Spacious luxury tents at the Ultimate Travelling Camp offer unrivalled comfort in the Indus Valley.

Portugal, Belem. A statue of the Virgin of Belém, or Nossa Senhora de Bom Successo (Our Lady of Good Success).

Portugal, Lisbon. Backed by the Church of São Vicente de Fora, a statue of Lisbon's patron saint - Saint Vincent of Saragossa, or Saint Vincent of Fora, in the Alfama district.

Portugal, Sintra. A sculpture depicting Triton, the mythological Greek god and messenger of the sea, graces the facade of the Pena Palace, or Palacio da Pena, in the Sintra Mountains near Lisbon.

India, Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro Valley, near New Ziro. At Lempia a villager belonging to the Apatani tribe participates in traditional shamanic rituals. He wears a rudimentary rain hat surmounted with...

India, Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro Valley, near New Ziro. At Hong a villager belonging to the Apatani tribe tends rice paddies. The Apatani have evolved a unqiue form of 'rice-fish' cultivation where alon...

India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang. An imposing statue of the Buddha dominates the 'Dukhang', or main prayer hall, of 17th-century Tawang Monastery which stands near neighbouring Bhutan and Tibet.

India, Assam, Balipara, Addabarie Tea Estate. The main verandah of Wild Mahseer's 'Heritage Bungalow' which was originally the residence of the tea estate's so-called visiting agent. The bungalow now...

Ecuador, Cotopaxi, Latacunga. A young boy wears a clown mask as one of the characters in the 'Fiesta de la Mama Negro', a popular annual celebration in Latacunga that fuses indigenous Quechua and Hisp...

France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Herault, Montpellier. The course libre is a bloodless spectacle in which the bullfighter attempts to snatch a rosette tied between the horns of a young bull.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar. Small wooden boats are often used by tourists to access Dal Lake's celebrated houseboats and by locals to cross sections of the lake and its nearby channels.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar, Dal Lake. Locals take small pleasure boats on the placcid waters of Dal Lake which is backed by the Zabarwan Hills.

India, Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar, Dal Lake. Backed by the Zabarwan Hills, locals often use small pleasure boats on Dal Lake and its channels and waterways leading to hamelts and suburbs of Srinagar.

Myanmar, Burma, Rakhine State, Sittwe. A young monk at Shwezedi Kyaung.

Myanmar, Burma, Shan State, Inle Lake. An Intha villager punts her small boat in a waterway at Maing Thauk village by Inle Lake, a region inhabited mainly by the Intha ethnic group.

Myanmar, Burma, Mandalay Region, Mandalay. Monks stroll across the celebrated teak-built U Bein's Bridge which crosses Taungthaman Lake near Mandalay.

Myanmar, Burma, Sagaing Region, nr. Monywa. At Bodhi Tataung, a kind of Budhhist-themed complex with temples and monasteries, stands the Laykyun Setkyar Buddha, one of the world's largest statues.

Myanmar, Burma, Mandalay Region, Bagan. Among Bagan's famous pagodas a villager gathers fodder from fields which have been cultivated for centuries.

Myanmar, Burma, Mandalay Region, Bagan. Often used by tourists to visit Bagan's pagoda-dotted plain, caparisoned bullocks pull carts through the site.

Myanmar, Burma, Mandalay Region, Bagan. In the heart of Ananda Pahto, or Ananda Temple, stand four gilded teak statues of the Buddha.

Myanmar, Burma, Bago Region, Bago. The imposing Mya Tha Lyaung Buddha, a statue of a reclining Buddha, lies in a compound adjacent to the famous Shwethalyaung Buddha statue.

Myanmar, Burma, Mon State, Mt Kyaiktiyo. Mt Kyaiktiyo, or Golden Rock as it is popularly known, due to the continual application of gold leaf by male pilgrims, is one of Burma's most celebrated pilgri...

India, Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar. A huge statue of the Hindu god Shiva, known as the Shiv Pratima, dominates the Maa Rajrajeshwari temple at Omkareshwar, an island in the Narmada River.

India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, Amber. Viewed from a watchtower on the long crenellated walls surrounding Amber Fort, the lofty walls of the Charbagh gardens in neighbouring Jaigarh Fort top a barren ridge.

India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, Amber. A village woman carries fodder gathered by the crenellated walls surrounding Amber Fort.

India, Rajasthan, Jaipur, Amber. A village woman gathers fodder on the crenellated walls surrounding Amber Fort.

India, Rajasthan, Abhaneri. Originally excavated in the 9th century, Chand Baori (or Chand Stepwell) is among the largest and deepest such wells in Rajasthan

India, Rajasthan, Ajabgarh. A turbanned village man smokes a long pipe.

India, Rajasthan, Rohet, Mihir Garh. Mihir Garh, or Sun Fort, is a luxury hotel built to resemble a medieval Rajput fortress.

India, Rajasthan, Rohet. A Bishnoi woman; the Bishnoi (or Vishnoi) are a distinctive conservation-minded Hindu sect founded in the 15th century who adhere to strict tenets.

India, Rajasthan, Nimaj, Chhatra Sagar. This unique hotel offers luxury tents atop a 19th-century dam built by Thakur Chhatra Singh

India, Rajasthan, Bhainsrorgarh. Now adapted as a heritage hotel, the roof terrace and dining area of Bhainsrorgarh Fort and Palace lends lovely views over the Chambal River.

Morocco, Anti-Atlas Mountains, Tafraoute, nr. Aguard Oudad. A young tourist pauses in a stone spiral artwork near the surreal Pierres Bleues ('Painted Rocks') near Aguard Oudad.

Oman, Muscat Governate, Muscat. The main swimming pool of the Al Bustan Palace Hotel.

Oman, Dakhiliyah Governate, Jebel Hajar, Balad Sayt (aka Bilad Sayt). The ancient and remote village of Balad Sayt lies deep in the Jebel Hajar.

Oman, Dakhiliyah Governate, Jebel Hajar, Balad Sayt (aka Bilad Sayt). The ancient and remote village of Balad Sayt lies deep in the Jebel Hajar.

India, Rajasthan, Nagaur. The informal al fresco dining terrace of Ranvas, a luxury hotel occupying part of Ahichhatragarh Fort.

India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Musicians at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, perform in front of the Jaswant Thada, a memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II.

India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. Perched atop a sheer rocky bluff, the main palace buildings of Mehrangarh Fort are guarded by a muscular arrangement of fortifying walls and gateways.

India, Rajasthan, Jodhpur. A Spanish flamenco troupe perform in the former zenana enclosure of Mehrangarh Fort during the Rajasthan International Folk Festival