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JapanA woman dressed as a chondara, a traditional clown from the Japanese island of Okinawa, participates in one of Tokyo's many street festivals. This photo originally published in National Geographic Traveler magazine in the February/March 2018 issue. Subscribe to Traveler here.

Photograph by James Whitlow Delano, National Geographic

Best travel photos of 2018

Here are the year's best photos from National Geographic Travel.

ByJeff Heimsath

December 11, 2018

National Geographic has a long history of bringing the world into our readers’ homes and inspiring them to get out and explore their own. This year was no different–from smoldering volcanoes in Indonesia to intricate crop circles in England to awe-inspiring root bridges in India, we took our readers around the globe to experience unique stories in striking destinations. Here are our favorite photos captured this year.

Join us on our journeys into 2019 @natgeotravel.