From the mountain pilgrimage of a Peruvian tribe to a leopard and cub sharing a tender moment: Stunning award-winning travel photographs revealed

Christopher Roche from the UK won the Spirit of Travel category with this image of around 80,000 pilgrims descending upon the Sinakara Valley in the Peruvian Andes to celebrate the festival of Qoyllur Rit’i – a mixture of Inca and Catholic traditions. During the final night, bands of Ukukus head up to the holy glaciers at an altitude of 18,300ft to perform initiation rituals. At dawn they descend back into the valley, carrying large crosses on their backs

On one of the coldest days last winter, Kirsten Quist from Canada was inspired to capture the luminous structure of this frozen fire pit in Edmonton, Alberta, winning her the Live the Adventure category. She said: 'I loved the contrast of fire and ice, as well as the way both the blue light and ash-covered icicles framing my subject Halley Coxson. A big challenge was the near -30ºC temperature, which caused my camera to malfunction and halted shooting until I was able to warm things up with some body heat'

Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year, David Rosenzweig, from America snapped this endearing shot. 'The eternal bond between a mother and child is one that transcends the animal kingdom,' he said. 'One early morning in the Timbavati Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa, we came across this female leopard. She was clearly searching for something and continued calling until she reached an open road. Just as she arrived, her cub came running out of the bushes. The ensuing interaction between the mother and cub proved the love that the two share for each other'

Johan Sundelin from Sweden won the Under Exposed category with this image of sea lions on Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. He said: 'While snorkelling with a colony of California sea lions I quickly noticed two particular photography challenges. The first was how to avoid the attention of the large, aggressive and protective alpha male. The second was the enormous speed of the animals in the water. Lying very still in the water and using high ISO solved the issues. That allowed me to freeze this moment of tenderness using only natural light'

The Light on the Land category was won by Stian Nesoy from Norway and was taken in Hardangervidda National Park in Norway. 'After days of frigid snowstorms, a break in the weather revealed an otherworldly landscape near these hunters’ cabins,' he said. 'The little footprints were left behind by a lone arctic fox during its relentless search for food in this barren wilderness'

Netherlands photographer Alice van Kempen won the Wildlife Insight category with her powerful image of elephants in Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park, South Africa: 'In Africa, poachers slaughter an elephant every 15 minutes to supply the demand for ivory – that’s 96 beautiful creatures a day. In 2016, as of the middle of September, there had been 36 elephants killed by poachers in the Kruger National Park alone – the highest number since 1982. With this in mind, I wanted to create a photograph to reflect the situation the elephants are in. I chose to capture the sad look of one of the elephants; a dark image that lets you focus on the tusks'

'We grow flowers on our balcony at home, which offer many photographic opportunities,' said Justin Garner from Manchester, who won the Small World category.' I noticed the rich textures in the blue anemone’s petals, and I waited for the flower’s textures to be at their best. Choosing to shoot on an overcast day prevented harsh shadows from the sun affecting the image. I used a plant clip to steady the flower, enabling me to take 15 shots that I then photo stacked in post-processing'

'Having driven several miles up a minor road, we came to the small harbour at Holm in Langøya, Norway,' Pete Hyde from the UK said of his winning image in At the Water’s Edge category. ' After a short walk, we were presented with this wonderful view up a small side-branch of Gavlfjorden. The soft, misty light and the calmness of the water were perfect for conveying the peace and tranquillity we were privileged to enjoy'

For the Wildlife Insight category Andy Skillen from the UK submitted this entertaining image from Baffin Island, Canada: 'In temperatures approaching -50°C, and after days of tracking on snowmobiles, we found a mother polar bear. She had left the den a few days earlier and had just killed a seal at the base of an iceberg. In this image she is lowering herself from the top of the iceberg in order to return to the seal carcass, while her newborn cubs hide out of sight'

'This was pretty much the first image I captured in the Dolomites, Italy, so I was caught a bit by surprise,' Chris Davis from the UK said of his Light on the land piece. 'We were hiking to the more famous Tre Cime (Three Peaks) and had stopped for a bite to eat at a mountain hut. The sun was going down behind a huge peak to our right and then for about five minutes the visual combination of mountains, clouds and light were cranked up. Instantly I knew this was the kind of shot I was after on this trip, so I quickly set up and waited for the light to creep across the scene so that it caught the foreground area, adding another layer of depth to the image'

'While open-water diving at Protea Banks in South Africa searching for hammerhead schools, my eyes fell upon a sizeable and animated figure,' said Pier A Mane from South Africa and Italy.' Unable to identify it from afar, I slowly approached it and saw it was the largest crown jellyfish I have ever seen. With no background objects or diver present to provide perspective, and wishing to exalt this jellyfish in all its stunning colours, majestic size, and dancing elegance, I opted for a cropped head shot to magnify its presence'. The image got him shortlisted for the Under exposed category

William Eades from Australia took this image for At the Water’s Edge in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia: 'The size of this storm was immense, stretching 500km inland and producing winds of up to 80mph. It caused havoc in Melbourne first with 20,000 power outages, and then commenced its 18-hour mission up the coast of east Australia. After causing the evacuation of beaches across Sydney, the front reached our small town by nightfall, where a friend and I were waiting to intercept it'

'My wife and I were having breakfast in the tiny and dark Queens Café in Udaipur, India,' said photographer Mark Boyd. 'We were watching life pass by the only light source, the doorway. Suddenly this beautiful marmalade cow appeared. I grabbed my camera while the sacred beast paused to look in. I slowed my breathing and steadied my elbows on the table as I clicked the shutter. I love capturing images of India’s street cows in strange places. For me, this image sums up India'. It was shortlisted in the Spirit of travel category

Jonathan Miles from the UK said of this image in the Live the adventure category. 'Ben Alder is one of the great mountains of the central Highlands in Scotland and a day trip there in winter is a challenge. A friend and I cycled eight miles to Culra bothy, then climbed the Long Leachas ridge, which was shrouded in cloud. The weather conditions cleared briefly on the summit and then again on the descent of the Short Leachas ridge, giving a spectacular view across the frozen landscape to Beinn Bheoil'

This image snapped at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska got Riccardo Marchegiani from Italy shortlisted for the Young OPOTY: 'It was a rainy day in the park and bears were all around us. Some were sleeping while others were busy fishing. The one in this photograph was running because other bears that wanted a salmon he had just caught and were chasing him'

For the Small world category Mart Smit from the Netherlands took this image of a stag beetle in Vierhouten, Gelderland: 'One morning I went to a forest to search for the biggest beetle we have: the stag beetle. This male was just leaving the ‘battlefield’ and was heading for a higher spot from which to fly away. I changed my macro lens for a wideangle lens, as I wanted to show the stag beetle’s natural environment'

A new book, Outdoor Photographer of the Year: Portfolio II has collected over 160 of the best photos submitted to the competition and will be published in March