Go palmtop tour of TN hotspots via Google maps

Following Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s arrival in India last year, the internet search giant has been working hard on his vision to get the next one billion people online. Part of that initiative has trickled down to Google Maps, which has now incorporated a set of new features, that spells good news for travel and history buffs in Tamil Nadu. Many sites of historical, spiritual, socio-cultural and archaeological importance across the state have now been made available on the Google Maps as part of a virtual tour –a 360-degree walkthrough of these sites. 

Sanket Gupta, Product Manager, Google Maps said, “We have tied up with various archaeological sites in India. The virtual tour option on Google maps is available on as many as 250 monuments and sites of architectural importance across the country. There are 44 sites in Tamil Nadu including monuments and education institutes mapped out for virtual tours. The two sites in Chennai are Fort St George and the Great Lakes Institute of Management.” 

Some of the landmarks featured in the tour include the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, the Big temple in Thanjavur, the shore temple and cave temples in Mahabalipuram, the Vivekananda Rock in Kanniyakumari and Vellore Institute of Technology. Gupta goes on to say, “A nifty touch is the usage of high resolution images to create this 360-degree view. So if you chance upon a signboard inside the buildings, you will be able to zoom in on it and clearly read the text in such images, which provides valuable information regarding the site.”