Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) has just announced the winners of its 2019 competition. Among tens of thousands of submissions, the judges have selected the best of the best. The winners come from all corners of the globe and show us just how incredible, diverse, but also harsh our planet is.

The contest has been around for 17 years. In 2019, more than 20,000 images were submitted from both professional and amateur photographers. They come from as many as 144 countries, and the main prize went to Katy Gomez Catalina from Spain. Katy is a doctor of veterinary science, and she has become the first-ever Spanish overall winner of the international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY).

Katy won the award for her portfolio of eight black & white images. They are atmospheric and diverse, covering different subjects: from the Batwa people of Uganda, to the esplanade of the Louvre in Paris. She is also the second-ever female overall winner so far, “and a very, very worthy winner” as TPOTY’s co-founder Chris Coe pointed out.

Along with Katy’s portfolio, there are almost 200 more images awarded in the contest, either as single photos or within photographers’ portfolios. A part of the voting process was also open to the general public this year with the People’s Choice award. People voted for online for 100 images shortlisted by the TPOTY judges, and there were more than 11,000 votes. The highest number of them went to Robin Yong and her photo of an elderly lady and her strong young male companion.

We bring you some of the winning images below, but you can see the entire gallery on TPOTY’s website. The winning photos and will go on display from 7 April to 12 May in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London. They will also be displayed in the South Transept of Chester Cathedral in June, and a TPOTY exhibition will feature at the Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah (17-20 September).