Contrary to popular belief, mountain tops are not the final destination point for all trips. Quite the opposite, most of the super scenic views are waiting for us by small mountain lakes and at mountain passes. Seen from afar, majestic peaks are presented in all their splendour, gorgeousness and beauty which is often reflected in mirror-like waters of the small perfectly still lakes. As much as I love conquering the peaks for an unobstructed 360 panorama, I still adore finding tranquil landscapes capturing the essence of alpine beauty.
Back in the days, PeakVisor was designed as a tool to easily identify mountains but almost immediately it evolved into an essential outdoors navigation tool thanks to incredible 3D maps. There are many more details than just peaks. It shows mountain huts, hiking trails, viewpoints, parking lots, cable cars etc. Most recently we added glaciers and towns into the mix. Now, there are lakes and mountain passes too, tiny and large, famous and almost unknown, they are all up for grab!
Having features like lakes and mountain passes on the map will help you better plan your trips and explore every single nook on your hiking adventures. As an exercise, try planning your hike in PeakVisor 3D map using a convenient parking lot as a departure point and a small mountain lake as a destination. You might find great itineraries.
Splendid lakes aside, mountain passes are well worth a visit as well. In regions like the Alps, mountain passes oftentimes become popular hiking trailheads and destinations, they are more accessible as many of them can be reached by car. In some regions, mountain passes might be even more important than peaks. They are crucial for navigation and orienteering. It is the case in Siberia where there are almost no trails to peak summits and most of them are still anonymous but there are a great many named mountain passes. Read our article about the Tunka National Park south of Lake Baikal for example.
Finally, please let me remind you that every object on the map, including lakes and passes, can be bookmarked or added to the wishlist using the Custom Waypoints feature which we’ve presented recently. That way, all your favourite lakes and mountain passes can be organized into groups to your liking.