Burj Khalifa view among top travel shots of the year

A night view looking hundreds of metres down from the Burj Khalifa’s observation deck has been named one of the top travel photos of 2013, by the National Geographic website.

National Geographic selected 50 photos as the 2013’s best from the thousands submitted through the year. The nature journal mined its daily selected best travel photo, chosen each day from photos sent in as travel submissions by photographers, to compile the shortlist.

The Burj Khalifa’s observation deck is the highest in the world, situated on the 124th floor of the 163-floor, 829-metre building that took seven years to build. The tallest building in the world has also become one of the most recognised since opening in 2010. It formed a core part of the plot of the 2011 Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, was part of reality TV show The Amazing Race, and features in music videos and video games. Spectacular fireworks shows based around the building — a staple of Dubai’s New Year’s Eve celebrations — are also beamed around the world through videos on YouTube. Alongside the photo of Dubai from above, the others declared the best in 2013 include a photo of the northern lights in Norway, a snow shower falling on the colosseum in Rome, and an incredible shot of colourful commuters moving at pace through Mumbai’s Churchgate railway station.

Various websites around the world, including the Mirror in the UK and msn.com, featured the photo from the Burj Khalifa as part of a selection of the overall winners.

Visit travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-of-travel-365/2013/ to see the entire 50 shots. — news@khaleejtimes.com