Did you ever feel like you don’t know your surroundings that well? Are you looking for a smart way to identify mountains near you? Especially after moving somewhere and not being brought up in a particular area, it can be like that, and you probably never manage to find out all the names of each spot by yourself. For things such as the names of hills, mountains, or simply the peak of a nearby place you can see in the distance, this can be tricky as they are often not labeled with their name in Google Maps or other navigation software. So, is there an app for that? Can they help you plan for hikes or simply be in the know when someone talks about places?
Get to know the peaks around you with these apps
In fact, several apps want to solve that problem for you. Some are more glossy, and others are less so. Some claim they use an AI to recognize mountain shapes in your phone’s camera, while others do not explain how it works exactly.
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Some cost money, and others are free. However, I simply want to point you to a couple of options and not recommend a single one of those apps.
Start with PeakLens to identify mountains around you
PeakLens is free and has no ads while you use it. You can download only the region data that matters to you, and based on my tests, it works just fine even though it might not be the most sophisticated app out there. Is that a problem? No, it’s certainly not, and it solved the matter for me entirely. If it doesn’t work well for you, have a look at the alternatives.
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The renowned PeakFinder app as an alternative
If you think PeakLens isn’t working for you for whatever reason, you can have a look at PeakFinder instead. It costs a few bucks, but perhaps that’s what it’s worth for you. It has a better rating on the app stores, but with more revenue comes more marketing budget as well. But what else makes PeakFinder special?
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What I liked about PeakFinder’s website, however, beyond the Android and iOS apps, is that it offers an interesting user experience even for users on their laptops or regular PCs.
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What you can check on their website is not the AR-supported experience that works with your phone’s camera and compass. Still, it also provides interesting immersion into a 3D map that helps you browse around your location’s mountains. That doesn’t cost you anything, and you don’t even need to log in to do this.
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been done by Taras Bodnar.
