National Geographic Travel @natgeotravel

natgeotravel Photo by @lucalocatelliphoto Monacobreen in Svalbard is named in honor of the first Prince Albert of Monaco, a famed explorer of the early 1900s. This glacier is famous for its iceberg calving. When ice breaks off it makes for an impressive spectacle, with the cracking of the ice echoing out for kilometers like sharp thunder. Today it is endangered by climate change and is thawing and breaking off at an unprecedented pace. During an expedition to Svalbard, I witnessed the change occurring in these spectacular lands. The warming caused by our emissions has twice the impact in the Arctic, making it one of the environments most endangered by our activities. Monacobreen is just one of the many glaciers that are calving quicker every year, a signal that new solutions to live on our planet must be found soon for the preservation of the Arctic. To discover more stories about our environment, follow me @lucalocatelliphoto #svalbard #arctic #glacier #landscape #environment

natgeotravel Photo by @DaisyGilardini During my recent trip to Antarctica, I focused on photographing icebergs. Most of us know that as much as 90 percent of an iceberg lies below the waterline. I use my underwater case to try to capture both worlds above and below the blue line. Split shots are not easy to achieve in cold water. Most of the time you shoot blind, holding your gear over the side of a Zodiac. Usually you end up shooting hundreds of images and get only a few that are fine. Follow me @DaisyGilardini for more images and stories behind the scenes. #Antarctica #ice #iceberg #conservation #climatechange

natgeotravel Photo by @juancristobalcobo A dog stands on a pier looking out to the waters of the Caribbean Sea on Isla Fuerte in northern Colombia. #colombia #caribbeansea #islafuerte

natgeotravel Photo by Matt Borowick @mborowick It’s a bit deceiving to look at the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park from this angle. Standing around 16 meters (52 feet), the Delicate Arch is one of the most famous spots in the park. It's a must-see for any tourist traveling around the area. Follow @mborowick for more pictures like this. #delicatearch #archesnationalpark #adventure #utah #mountains

natgeotravel Photo by @junmichaelpark After sitting in hours of gridlock, a traveler looks out at the winding roads of Zoji La, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Zoji La is a vital mountain pass at 3,528 meters (11,575 feet) high, connecting Ladakh of Tibetan culture and Kashmir Valley of Islam culture in northern India. Because of its high altitude and treacherous weather conditions, the pass is closed in winter. Even in normal conditions, an accident or broken-down car can cause a long holdup on the narrow and winding road. In January 2018, the Indian government approved the construction of Zoji La Tunnel, the longest bidirectional tunnel in Asia. The tunnel’s construction will take seven years, and it will reduce the crossing time of the pass from 3.5 hours to 15 minutes. For more photos and stories, follow @junmichaelpark

natgeotravel Photo by @dina_litovsky I love walking at night in New York City, looking for the vibrant colors that saturate many of the streets. This was taken in Chinatown. For more images, follow me @dina_litovsky

natgeotravel Photo by @kiliiiyuyan A Diné (Navajo) cowboy looks out over the herd of cattle he is driving to auction. On Navajo land, sheepherding and cattle ranching remain important livelihoods in the 21st century. Follow me @kiliiiyuyan for more on the relationship between people and the natural world. #navajo #arizona #cowboy

natgeotravel Photo by Muhammed Muheisen @mmuheisen I captured this picture last November in Registan, the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It felt like I was taking a walk through history. For more photos and videos from different parts of the world, follow me @mmuheisen and @mmuheisenpublic #muhammedmuheisen #Uzbekistan #Samarkand #Registan

natgeotravel Photo by @BabakTafreshi Slowly swipe to see the entire night view of this impressive Maya temple in Tikal known as the Great Jaguar. In fact, you may hear the big cat if you spend enough time in this jungle at night. Protected in a national park in Guatemala, jaguars freely roam around the temples after dark, when tourists have departed. When I visited last year with special permission from the Guatemala Ministry of Culture to document the site at night, the tropical sky had cleared after thunderstorms. As you see in the second slide, constellation Taurus (the Bull) and the Pleiades star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters) were rising above the 47-meter (154-foot) pyramid, which dates to A.D. 750. There are both old stories and new studies on the importance of the Pleiades to the Maya. One myth is that the people of Tikal believed they came from Pleiades, and the seven important pyramids of the Grand Plaza in Tikal represent the pattern of Pleiades. There is no doubt that some Maya pyramids were built to reflect astronomical events, and from atop Tikal’s pyramids, perhaps ancient astronomers tracked the movements of celestial objects, keeping time for rituals and agriculture. The Maya calendar was one of the most advanced of the ancient world, thanks to astronomical observations. When Pleiades rises at sunset and is visible for the entire night in November, that’s when the dry season and harvesting begin. Explore more of the world at night @babaktafreshi and @twanight #tikalnationalpark #guatemala #maya

natgeotravel Photo by @MartinEdstrom Camping on Gillöga in the Stockholm archipelago, you're about as far out in the Baltic Sea as you can get (if you want to camp on land). Kayaking here can be tricky, as you need to be careful not to get surprised by heavy wind, but it rewards you with a myriad of islands and islets to explore. The Gillöga archipelago is notoriously hard to navigate by boat, so as a kayaker you get these views mostly to yourself. Follow @MartinEdstrom for more adventures in the Nordics. #ExploringHome #Sweden #archipelago #kayaking

natgeotravel Photo by Robbie Shone @shonephoto Mountains always remind us how small we really are, never more so than in the Dolomites. Climbers and mountaineers are always chasing that perfect blue sky, but the Dolomites often look their best with some clouds breaking up the panorama, especially when the sun is rapidly disappearing. As the peaks in the distance begin to recede into darkness and the shafts of light become even thinner and weaker, the already extraordinary ambience of this fascinating and beautiful place becomes, for a fleeting moment, even more haunting. Here the longest suspension bridge in the Dolomites is seen in the final moments of daylight. The Ivano Dibona via ferrata is a restored historical route, which was used by Italian troops during World War I

natgeotravel Photo by @francescolastrucci It's Moroccan mint tea time in the 600-year-old Dar Seffarine riad in the Medina of Fez. The intricate stuccos, elaborate carvings, and colorful geometric zellij tile work have their roots in the town’s history. Founded in the ninth century, the walled city of Fes el Bali is among the largest and best preserved medieval fortifications in the world. The UNESCO World Heritage site has more than 9,000 alleys. Fez is a maze of narrow streets lined with shops, stalls, and architectural jewels like fountains, palaces, madrassas, mosques, and riads (the traditional Moroccan house, built around a patio or garden). These buildings are a fusion of Moorish and Moroccan architectural styles. Follow me @francescolastrucci for more places, daily life, and stories around the world. #morocco #architecture #dailylife