Google Street View: How To See Machu Picchu Without All the Traveling Hassle
Peru's Machu Picchu can now be explored from the comfort of your own home, thanks to Google Street View.
Daily Mail reports that Google Street View users now have the ability to stroll around the ancient city site in Peru.
Touring around the place will let people see the greatest attractions in the area including the Pyramids of Giza, the Liwa Desert and the Arabian city of Petra.
It was also highlighted on the same report that people on a budget can opt to try this cheaper alternative to explore the historic site which was built in 1438 and since has been well preserved.
"People can also explore rare Inca art[i]facts and expert insights on the Google Cultural Institute, which is part of the Street View feature," added Daily Mail.
With this great technology,the Smithsonian said that people wanting to travel need not spend, fly thousands of miles and hike a steep mountain just to see the 7,970 feet tall Incan icon.
It added that this is very timely since the site could get harder to visit in the coming years because of the number of people visiting it.
Google senior staff engineer Daniel Filip, who took the images and videos from the Peru attraction, told The Guardian this was a goal achieved for the team.
"When I started, I had no idea we could do a project like Machu Picchu. We've been working for years to get permission for this," he explained.
He also noted that, aside from highlighting tourist spots around the world, the Google also wants to explore places which are not usually toured.
"We're also going to be expanding in Africa. We just want a completely comprehensive map, and the Trekker loan programme (where local organisations borrow the equipment to produce their own maps) is a good example of that," he added.
On October 2015, Google Street View became available in virtual reality through the Google Cardboard.
In the Google Developers' Blog, the company said that the aim of this new technology is "to bring the world just a little bit closer to everyone."
It added that the introduction of this development came with Google Cardboard's worldwide debut.
According to the blog, the Cardboard app is available in 39 different langguages in over 100 countries. The app is supported by both Android and iOS devices.
Along with this, the developer documents of Cardboard were also made available in 10 languages to aid developers in improving the VR experience of users.