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Top shots: virtual tourism
Check out the view from Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro or visit the Everest Base Camp without stepping out of your home
Virtual tourism has caught on globally, and trips to the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, the Serengeti and Louvre are now possible without taking your eyes off the computer screen. Now, armchair tourists have more to cheer about.
Google Street View has added views from some of the world’s tallest mountains to its online map service.
“Whether you’re scoping out the mountain for your next big adventure or exploring it from the comfort and warmth of your home, we hope you enjoy these views from the top of the world,” Google adventurer Dan Fredinburg said in a blog post he posted on behalf of the entire expedition team. “With Google Maps, you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses, and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face,” he added.
Some of the mountain ranges features include, Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe, and the Mt Everest base camp in Nepal. This imagery was collected with a simple lightweight tripod and digital camera with a fisheye lens. A behind-the-scenes look of how these images were captured by the expedition team, is also available online.
