MERIT PRIZE: This photo of Ceský Krumlov in Czech Republic was taken from the castle in the town. It is a perfect viewpoint to get a panorama of the historical town.
MERIT PRIZE: This "end-of-the-world" swing in Banos, Ecuador hangs over a deep abyss and is connected to a treehouse that is also a seismic monitoring station. In the background, an erupting Mount Tungurahua can be seen. Minutes after the photo was taken, the area was evacuated.
MERIT PRIZE: While exploring Burrough Market in London, this photographer caught these four women dressed in vintage white dresses eating ice cream in front of a shop.
MERIT PRIZE: This photo was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune in the Tadrat region of the Sahara Desert in Algeria. The man resting is Moussa Macher, a Tuareg guide, who led the photographer and a group up the dune. The Tadrat region is famous for its red sand and rock paintings of animals that used to live there.
MERIT PRIZE: This photo was taken in a small Southern Indian village during the Mayana Soora Thiruvizha festival. The festival is devoted to Angalamman, a guardian deity worshiped in Southern India.
MERIT PRIZE: This photo was taken at the end of a three-day horseback ride from Bushman's Nek in South Africa to Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho. The horses were taking a rest after the long ride.
MERIT PRIZE: A young monk finds the perfect light source to read his book inside his pagoda in Old Bagan, Burma.
THIRD PLACE: During the spring snowmelt In Tragöss, Austria, the lake level of Green Lake rises more than 30 feet. Lasting only a few weeks, the water covers the hiking tails, meadows and trees.
SECOND PLACE: In Mea Shearim, an ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem, Aaron and Rivkeh have just been married after only one meeting. They are about to stay together alone for the first time.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: This photo was taken while on a storm-chasing expedition in Tornado Alley in the US. This storm in Julesburg, Colorado was supposed to produce a tornado, but never did. It only produced brief funnels, large hail, and rain.
National Geographic Traveler isn't the only one with amazing contest photos...
