Thanks to the simultaneous boom of amateur photography and the proliferation of social media sites, experiencing wanderlust is something that happens to us on a daily, if not hourly, basis. But the pangs we feel while paging through our childhood babysitter’s shots from a recent trip to Costa Rica or a co-worker’s weekend getaway to Vermont pale in comparison to what you’ll experience when viewing the more than 12,000 entries to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012, now in its 24th year. Click through for a slideshow of some of our favorite photos — all pulled from the “Sense of Place” category — and stay tuned for the official contest winners to be named in August.
The French Alps. Photo credit: Kamil Tamiola
Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo credit: Federico Senesi
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit: Ignazio Sciacca
Sibuan Island. Photo credit: Rizduan Abd Karim
Sapa, Vietnam. Photo credit: Kayla Beiler
Havana, Cuba. Photo credit: Jim Tardio
Morandava, Madagascar. Photo credit: Ken Thorne
Namaskard, Iceland. Photo credit: Andrea Coan
The Taj Mahal. Photo credit: Colin Roohan
Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo credit: Sara Coen
Bodhnath, Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo credit: Craig Ferguson
Salara de Uyuni, Bolivia. Photo credit: Takaki Watanabe
The Buzludzha Monument. Photo credit: Thomas Jorion
The banks of the Ganges River. Photo credit: NG HOCK HOW
The Tankwa Karoo National Park, Cape Town. Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker