Tech

The 12 most remote locations Google Maps' cameras have traveled

Megan Willett-Wei

2015-10-20T14:32:11Z

You may just use Google Maps to see where you're going, but the website is filled with hidden gems that go beyond pure navigation.

While people love to stumble on weird or bizarre Google Street Views, the best ones take armchair travelers to locations they never dreamed of in Kenya, Mongolia, or the upper reaches of Canada.

Thanks to the Google Maps Trekker program, camera operators can strap on a 40-pound, 15-lens camera attached to a backpack and journey to attractions that can't be reached by car. Google Maps has relied on its "Trekkers" since 2007 to wander the globe — literally off the beaten path — to show people what our world really looks like.

We asked Google Maps to tell us the most remote locations their Trekkers have ever trekked. So from the Northern Lights in Finland to a wildlife reserve in Kenya, keep scrolling to see the most remote places on Google Maps.

Churchill is a small town in northern Manitoba, Canada, that is known as the "Polar Bear Capital of the World." It's very far north near the west shore of Hudson Bay.

Source: National Geographic

Explore Churchill, Manitoba, Canada on Google Maps here.

One Trekker saw the Northern Lights from Pitkäjärvi lake in Finland. It's a long lake with almost no dwellings, making it seem entirely reclusive.

Source: Mäntyharju-Repovesi

See the Northern Lights from Finland's Pitkäjärvi lake here.

This is the Avenue of Baobabs in Madagascar's Andranomena Special Reserve. The trees look like they're growing upside down with their roots in the air, and can live to be 1,000 years old and grow over 80 feet high.

Source: Andranomena Special Reserve

Explore Baobab Avenue in Madagascar's Andranomena Special Reserve here.

The Atol das Rocas is in the South Atlantic Ocean and is a part of the Brazilian State. It's a biological reserve used solely for scientific research and is almost completed undisturbed by people.

Source: UNESCO

See the Atol de Rocas in Fernando de Norohna, Brazil, here.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is a UNESCO world heritage site. The archaeological spot is actually the remains of two different capital cities of the Khmer Empire from the 9th and 15 centuries.

Source: UNESCO

Walk around Angkor Wat in Cambodia here.

Mola molas are a large ocean sunfish that can be found in the cold waters of Crystal Bay in Bali. Because the current can be so strong, only experienced divers are allowed in Crystal Bay.

Source: Atlantis Bali Diving

Go deep diving with the Mola Mola in Bali's Crystal Bay.

Khövsgöl Nuur is a lake in Mongolia near the Russian border and is more than 2 million years old, making it one of the 17 most ancient lakes on earth.

Source: Lonely Planet

See Khövsgöl Nuur, Mongolia's largest freshwater lake, here.

The Samburu National Reserve is in Kenya and one of 56 of the country's protected areas. There are over 50 species of animals and over 450 species of birds living on or near the reserve.

Source: Samburu Council

Virtually hike across the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya here.

Gombe is a national park in Tanzania that is known for its chimpanzee habitat. Though it's the smallest national park in Tanzania, the park was made famous by Jane Goodall when she studied the chimpanzees in their natural surroundings.

Source: Tanzania National Parks

See the sites like Kakombe Falls in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, here.

Google teamed up with a Nepalese mountaineer to take pictures on Mount Everest. Though the pictures don't take armchair travelers to the top of the mountain (yet), it shows the communities around the base of the mountain including the Phortse, Khumjung, Thame, Lukla, and the Namche Bazaar.

Source: Business Insider

Get to know the communities at the base of Mount Everest here.

The Rio Madeira is one of the biggest waterways in South America at 2,020 miles long. It's also one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon River and is a protected area in Brazil.

Juma sustainable development reserve google maps

Source: InternationalRivers.org

Explore the waterways of the Rio Madeira in the Amazon Rainforest here.

Google Maps published Street View photos of the roads surrounding Egypt's Great Pyramids of Giza in 2014. If you can't make it to Egypt, now you can walk around the historic site online.

Source: Google

Take a tour of the pyramids, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, here.

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