The 10 best photos of people from Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year 2019

Pitchfork-wielding portraits of country life, remote tribes and wide-eyed schoolchildren. We've sifted through 1,000s of images to bring you the best of the best...

4 mins
Colourful fishing West Bengal/Jharkhand border, India (Debasish Chakraborty)

Colourful fishing West Bengal/Jharkhand border, India (Debasish Chakraborty)

This picture was captured in the bordering areas of West Bengal and Jharkhand.

In contrast to many other parts of India, the women here have come forward to uplift their socio-economic status, formed self-help groups, bought fishing nets and they are now earning their livelihood by selling the fish they catch at the village markets.

They are sending their children to school. This is one of the most remarkable examples of women empowerment that I’ve seen.

- Debasish Chakraborty, School Teacher 

Mountain farmer, South Tyrol, Italy (Josef Hinterleitner)

Mountain farmer, South Tyrol, Italy (Josef Hinterleitner)

During a mountain hike in the Villnösstal Valley in South Tyrol, I met this proud mountain farmer on a hay-strewn pasture.

- Josef Hinterleitner, Machine Technician

Krishnas with colours, Uttar Pradesh, India (Sanghamitra Sarkar)

Krishnas with colours, Uttar Pradesh, India (Sanghamitra Sarkar)

The little children are dressed like Lord Krishna and enjoying Holi – the festival of colours – in Vrindavan.

- Sanghamitra Sarkar, Doctor 

Human canvas, Ethiopia (Biljana Jurukovski)

Human canvas, Ethiopia (Biljana Jurukovski)

This portrait is of a young woman belonging to the remote Surma tribe that resides on the border of Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Surma people are an inspiration to me as they only use natural products to decorate and beautify themselves.

I asked the girl to stand in front of a dark backdrop as I wanted the whole focus of the viewer to be on her beauty and artistic skills.

- Biljana Jurukovski, Registered Nurse 

Fishing net Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam (Khanh Phan Thi)

Fishing net Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam (Khanh Phan Thi)

The local women are checking the net after a fishing vessel arrives back at the port. Their job is to patch up the perforated mesh before it heads out on its next job.

I took this photo while travelling in Nha Trang. Visiting the fishing port, I was fascinated by the colours of the nets while the women stood out against the blue background.

- Khanh Phan Thi, Banker

Incendies, St Petersburg, Russia (Pavel Galkin)

Incendies, St Petersburg, Russia (Pavel Galkin)

I was waiting for my friend near the subway, looked back and saw a couple who communicated emotionally: they hugged, kissed, laughed and cried.

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but their feelings were genuine. In total, I photographed them five times and each shot captured their emotion.

This picture left the biggest mark on my heart.

- Pavel Galkin, Cook 

You want it that big? Havana, Cuba (Bun Ngo Leung)

You want it that big? Havana, Cuba (Bun Ngo Leung)

This photo was taken of a lady haggling outside a butcher shop in Havana.

From the gesture of the shopkeeper, it seemed that she was trying to confirm the size of the piece of pork that her customer was trying to buy.

In Cuba, people love to eat, particularly sweet things like ice cream. Most of the buildings in Cuba, like this shop, are painted brightly – just as the Cubans are colourfully dressed too.

- Bun Ngo Leung, Retired 

Old woman, Lorestan Province, Iran (Meisam Abdoli)

Old woman, Lorestan Province, Iran (Meisam Abdoli)

An old woman with her keys
on the streets of the city of
Khorramabad.

- Meisam Abdoli, Librarian 

A celebration of Hindu tradition Dhaka, Bangladesh (Muhammad Amdad Hossain)

A celebration of Hindu tradition Dhaka, Bangladesh (Muhammad Amdad Hossain)

Thousands of Hindu devotees sit on the floor to worship in front of Sri Sri Loknath Brahmachari Ashram in the Narayanganj district during a fasting ritual called kartik brati or rakher upobash.

I had been planning this image in advance; using a prime lens, I took the image from the third floor of a nearby building.

- Muhammad Amdad Hossain, Student 

Hope, Tabriz, Iran (Milad Jalilian)

Hope, Tabriz, Iran (Milad Jalilian)

On the second day of my trip to Tabriz, I was looking around the big and historical city.

Around 1pm, I saw this girl waiting in traffic after a heavy rain – she’d just got out of school and was so full of energy and hope, but her mom was so tired of her and in a hurry to just reach her home and rest.

- Milad Jalilian

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