1. In a system including an image source and a portable communication device having a screen, a method for enabling visual navigation of a geographic area from the portable communication device, the method comprising: receiving a first user input specifying a first location in the geographic area; retrieving from the image source a first image associated with the first location, the image source providing a plurality of images depicting views of objects in the geographic area, the views being substantially elevations of the objects in the geographic area, wherein each image is a commposite image generated based on image frames acquired by an image recording device moving along a trajectory; displaying on the screen a direction identifier for indicating the viewing direction depicted in the first image; receiving a second user input specifying a navigation direction relative to the first location in the geographic area; determining a second location based on the user specified navigation direction; and retrieving from the image source a second image associated with the second location.