Daniela Tommasi, Svalbard (PEOPLE WILDERNESS 2023)

This is an aerial image of a group of trekkers exploring one of the last untouched wilderness areas in the Polar Regions – the island of Svalbard, in the Arctic. The north side of the island, which is situated less than 1400km from the North pole, is home to fjords, glaciers and majestic mountains and is only accessible by boat and zodiacs. Exploring and trekking on land requires the use of guides that must carry flares and weapons for protection against occasional polar bear attacks. Most of the wildlife seen on land though are reindeers, walruses and large colonies of nesting arctic birds. A true icy wonderland!

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.