A torii is a traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. Photograph An eastern snake-necked turtle hatchling

An eastern snake-necked turtle hatchling peering out of pond water

ancient valley

A creek in a moss and lichen filled gully in a cool temperate forest

Village and farmland at the foot of the Virunga Mountains

A torii is a traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. Photograph An eastern snake-necked turtle hatchlingA torii is a traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. Meiji Shrine, Shinto Shrine, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.