A year in travel photography: the 16 best images of 2022
Our editors’ annual roundup of their favourite photography is back — feast your eyes on the very best images from the past year, brought to you by National Geographic Traveller (UK) and Food by National Geographic Traveller.
Balazs Gardi’s photo shows us an intimate father-daughter moment: Eleonari Arce Aguilar and his daughter Guadalupe at Rancho Mesa San Esteban in the Sierra de San Francisco, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Read the piece about the dying culture of vaqueros, the cowboys of Baja California, here.
In our Jan/Feb 2022 issue, Jason Florio’s photo story took readers along the Gambia River on Africa’s west coast. While there are few villages on the river’s banks, most inland villages have a tenda (wharf) where fishermen can be seen in their canoes. Read the story.
Even the slowest of creatures can find peace in a moment of rest. This image of a sloth was part of photographer Jamie Lafferty’s shoot in Costa Rica for our March 2022 issue. See the photo story here.
A woman hangs lanterns during Bucheonim osin nal, Buddha's birthday, at Yongunsa Temple, Busan, South Korea. The day is a major holiday in Korea, where the temples come alive with colour and activity. During the day, people congregate at the temple to eat and pray. As night falls, the lanterns are lit, casting a colourful glow across the temple grounds.
For our May 2022 issue, Adrian Phillips discovers the mountains and fishing boats of postcard-like St Lucia. The volcanic island has had strategic importance for centuries and today is a destination rich in history and beauty. Seen above are fishermen delivering their catch to The Naked Fisherman restaurant in Smugglers Cove. Read it here.
As South Korean cuisine has grown in popularity internationally, the chefs of Seoul turn inwards and focus on putting locally sourced ingredients at the core of their menus. Hahna Youn gives us a breakdown of Seoul’s culinary scene, with Ben Weller’s photography accompanying the words. Here we see a truck selling drinks at Dongdaemun Design Plaza Youth Runway Market, a night market that to runs from April to October. Read the article here.
A black bishop is in hot water after a white rook threatens to capture it in this heated chess match, being played at the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, Budapest. As the largest medicinal baths in Europe, Széchenyi are one among the many bathhouses built by the Romans and the Turks. Read Adrian Phillips’ guide on how to spend 24 hours in the Hungarian capital here.
Kunene, in the north west of Namibia, is known for its harsh living conditions for both the humans and animals inhabiting its vast deserts. Peering across the landscape is local guide Robbin Uatokuja, captured by Scott Ramsay.
Photographer Cao Ky Nhan captures the enchanting green nipa palm forests in Vietnam’s Tinh Khe, a commune in the Quang Ngai province. The palm leaves glistening in the early-morning sunlight are used by local fisherfolk and farmers for roofing as well as decoration.
For our Dec 2022 issue Bella Falk writes about Guatemala’s highland region where the most celebrated craft is the centuries-old art of backstrap loom weaving and is practised mainly by Maya women. In the image is Marta Perez Dias, dressed in San Antonio Palopó’s traditional colours, using a spinning wheel to wind freshly dyed cotton onto a reel, ready for weaving.
For our Food by National Geographic Traveller Winter issue David Charbit uncovered Cornwall’s local culinary delights during winter months. In the image we see Chris ‘Ranger’, one of the last oyster fishermen in Cornwall, in his 50-year-old wooden oyster boat, the Alf Smyhters.
In our end-of-year Winter Sports guide, Simon Bajada presents us with the cowbell sounds and cheesemakers of the traditional Swiss mountain village Levron, just down the valley from the luxurious Verbier ski resort. In the image, photographer Pierre Menasse returns to the village of Le Chable with his St Bernard dog after spending the day up on the slopes.
