INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN

COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society. Known as sadhus, they shun all home comforts for a life spent inside caves, forests and temples and can be found across India and Nepal. German banker and photographer Mario Gerth decided to find and photograph the sadhu people. The 38-year-old of Erfurt, Germany, says: “I have been obsessed with the sadhus for many years and set off in 2013 to look for them.

Other great stories
STUNNING UK LIGHTHOUSES

A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .

RARE BRONTE POEM FETCHES £92K AT AUCTION

A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .

ADORABLE SQUIRRELS PREPARE FOR EASTER BREAK

Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .

FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH

Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .

VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG

A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .

ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST

SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .

OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR

TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .

ARRR-DORABLE ONE-EYED PIRATE KITTEN

AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .

INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .

ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE

An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL TRIES HER HAND AT PHOTOGRAPHY

A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .

BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .