Google set to launch virtual tour of Mount Everest

Google has announced that it is teaming with Ava Sherpa, a Nepalese mountaineer who reached the summit of the Mount Everest 21 times and Story Cycle, a nonprofit to take armchair travelers on a virtual tour to the top of the mountain through Google Maps.

According to Stuff.co.nz, the pictures do not take viewers to the top of the mountain but around the region such as the Phortse, Khumjung, Thame, Lukla, and the Namche Bazaar.

Google Maps' landing page states that in the shadow of the Everest, there is a group of sacred valleys known as the Khumbu. Khumbu has been for centuries the homeland of the Sherpa people.

Google shows the hidden treasures in the area "along the trail and off the beaten path".