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
MUM SPENDS THOUSANDS ON FAKE BABIES INSTEAD OF HER REAL KIDS

A mum-of-two has splashed out £20k on her seven reborn dolls, but refuses to treat her real kids .

ADORABLE HARVEST MOUSE CLIMBS DANDELION

Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .

I LOST HALF MY WEIGHT AND BECAME A WOMAN

Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror .

WIFE CELEBRATES MARRIAGE BY SNOWBOARDING IN WEDDING DRESS

SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .

THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

HUNGRY HERON STRUGGLES TO HOLD ONTO ITS CATCH

A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .

THUG FISH LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT BATTER PHOTOGRAPHER

STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .

THE END OF THE WORLD CINEMA

SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .

ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN

HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .

TEMPLE OF ZOOM

WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .

UNLIKELY PLAYMATES: BRAVE CHICKS PLAY WITH A PYTHON

A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .

SLEEPING BEAUTIES

Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .