Cover image taken by amateur Brazilian photographer chosen from National Geographic’s Your Shot photo community
Washington — National Geographic Traveler magazine today announced its annual Best of the World list, which highlights 20 must-see places to visit in 2016, as chosen by the Traveler editors. The magazine’s cover image was photographed by Victor Lima, a Brazilian amateur photographer, who submitted the photo as part of an assignment on Your Shot, National Geographic’s photo community. Lima’s striking image of a waterfall in Goiás, Brazil, was chosen by Traveler editors out of more than 34,000 submissions.
“This year’s Best of the World list truly represents travel’s superlatives,” said Maggie Zackowitz, National Geographic Traveler editor in chief. “Also we are thrilled to be the first major magazine to publish a reader photo as our cover image, especially one shot by an amateur photographer who bought his first camera just a year ago.”
Your Shot regularly asks its members to “go on assignment” with National Geographic by contributing photos around a theme, with the editors picking their favorites. For this assignment, Zackowitz asked Your Shot members to submit photos of their “best place” — the favorite destination to which they’ve traveled — to correspond with the Best of the World magazine feature. The editors’ favorite submissions, along with their comments, may be viewed online at http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/stories/best-world/.
Lima’s cover photo and the Best of the World list are featured in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Traveler magazine, available on newsstands Dec. 1, and online at natgeotravel.com/best-trips-2016.
The destinations featured in the 2016 Best of the World list are (in alphabetical order):
- Bermuda
- Capability Brown’s Gardens, Britain
- Côte d’Or, Burgundy, France
- Danube River
- Eastern Bhutan
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Greenland
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Hokkaido, Japan
- Masurian Lakes, Poland
- New York City
- Okavango Delta, Botswana
- Philippines
- Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
- San Diego/Tijuana
- Seychelles
- South Georgia Island
- Tangier and Smith Islands, Chesapeake Bay
- Uruguay
- Winnipeg, Canada