September 24, 2009

Zooming in: a Rough Guide to the world in pictures

A new Rough Guides book collates images from their photographers' travels that aim to perfectly capture a place, through local people, traditions, sights and monuments

Earthbound images: Kathakali performance, Fort Kochi, Kerala. South India — Tradition: A young boy prepares to take part in Kathakali story-plays, Kerala’s most popular and best-known ritual art form. Map coordinates: 9.968348, 76.243229 Photograph: Tim Draper/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Sumo wrestlers, Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan — Tradition: Top-ranked sumo wrestlers performing dohyo-iri (ring entering ceremony) in Tokyo. The age-old pomp and ceremony surrounding Sumo, Japan’s national sport, and the titanic clashes of the near naked wrestlers can be witnessed at the National Sumo Stadium, Rydgoku. Map coordinates: 35.696934, 139.793488 Photograph: Martin Richardson/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Mask theatre at Hahoe folk village, South Korea — Tradition: Mask theatre at Hahoe folk village near Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The Hahoe Folk Village in Korea makes an evocative location for performances of Hahoe Pyolshin-gut Talnori, an age-old masked dance, which has been designated Important Intangible Cultural Asset Number 69 by the government. Map coordinates: 36.539059, 128.516704 Photograph: Tim Draper/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Traditional costumes of Nebaj, western highlands, Guatemala — Tradition: A group of young children model the spectacular turbanesque headdresses and intricate huipil (blouses) that define the town’s costume and Maya identity in Nebaj, Guatemala. Map coordinates: 15.409124, -91.147428 Photograph: Tim Draper/Rough Guides

Earthbound: Fiery celebration, Valencia, Spain — Tradition: The people of Valencia, Spain celebrate their patron saint’s day and the passing of winter with a fiery party of ferocious proportions. The main feature of the festival is the fallas effigies themselves, which are erected around the city. Map coordinates: 39.469757, -0.376949 Photograph: Damien Simonis/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Tribal market, main road in louang prabang, central Laos — Keepsakes: These extraordinary dolls, painstakingly pieced together in a colourful tribute to the country's ethnic diversity, can be found in the Tribal Market in Luang Prabang, Laos. Map coordinates: 19.895766, 102.143197 Photograph: Tim Draper/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: A nautical antique store in downtown Portland, Maine, US — Keepsakes: Nautical antique stores are a speciality in Portland, Maine, and perhaps the most sought-after objects are the carved figureheads that once graced the great clipper ships of the 19th century. Map coordinates: 43.657091, -70.253507 Photograph: Dan Bannister/Rough Guides

Earthbound: Varadero Beach, Cuba — Keepsakes: A hawker peddles colourful souvenirs on the beach at Varadero, Cuba. Map coordinates: 23.165910, -81.230421 Photograph: Lydia Evans/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Panjiayuan antique market, south east Beijing, China — Keepsakes: Porcelain figurines cluster for space amid the bric-a-brac of the Panjiayuan Antiques Market in Beijing. Map coordinates: 39.875982, 116.458254 Photograph: Tim Draper/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Bread in a anime character can, Akihabara, Tokyo — Keepsakes: Japan’s enduring obsession with the vending machine means that you can find almost anything in a can, like this bread in it’s shiny anime, manga-like cartoon, armour. Map coordinates: 35.700398, 139.771321 Photograph: Martin Richardson/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Amber Fort, Rajasthan, India — Tourist trail: Most visitors to the Amber Fort in Rajasthan, India, opt to walk up the steep road to the fort, but those wishing to make the ascent in true maharaja style can hire their own elephant for the climb to the palace gates. Map coordinates: 26.987779, 75.854448 Photograph: Simon Bracken/Rough Guides

Earthbound: Hot air balloon, Serengeti, Tanzania — Tourist trail: From inflation and lift-off at dawn to the (often bumpy) landing, a hot-air balloon is the perfect roost from which to view the awesome Serengeti. Map coordinates: -2.108899, 34.843140 Photograph: Suzanne Porter/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Niagara Falls, US — Tourist trail: Niagara Falls in the US is an awesome spectacle and boats such as the Maid of the Mist have been ferrying passengers through Niagara’s dense mist of spray since 1846. Map coordinates: 43.080220, -79.075835 Photograph: Enrique Uranga/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Staircase at Vatican Museum, Rome — Tourist trail: The beautiful stone spiral staircases in Italy's Vatican Museum are a cool relief after queuing under a relentless Roman sun for hours. Map coordinates: 41.906553, 12.454022 Photograph: Natascha Sturny/Rough Guides

Earthbound images: Tourists photographing the Monna Lisa, Musee Louve, Paris — Tourist trail: The Musée du Louvre in Paris is crammed with masterpieces but few visitors are able to resist the allure of the Mona Lisa, if only to see what all the fuss is about. Map coordinates: 48.860833, 2.336740 Photograph: Lydia Evans/Rough Guides

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