A flat map hides the drama of terrain, but QGIS can turn an elevation model into a three dimensional landscape you can tilt, rotate, and explore. A 3D terrain model makes mountains, valleys, and floodplains instantly intuitive for non specialists, and it is surprisingly easy to build once you understand the two ingredients: an elevation surface and a draped image. This guide builds a complete 3D view in QGIS's native 3D map view, no extra software required.

Start with a digital elevation model for your area, clipped to the extent you want to show, and reprojected to a projected CRS in metres so vertical and horizontal units match. Thirty metre SRTM data works well for regional terrain, while LiDAR or drone derived elevation models give spectacular detail for small sites. Load a satellite image or shaded relief raster to drape over the terrain; a true colour Sentinel-2 composite or a hillshade both work beautifully, and the choice depends on whether you want realism or analytical clarity.

Open a new 3D Map View from the View menu, and set its terrain to your DEM layer. The key setting is vertical exaggeration, which multiplies heights so terrain relief is visible at the scale of your view. A value of 1.0 shows true proportions, which often looks disappointingly flat for regional maps, while 1.5 to 3.0 exaggerates relief enough to read valleys and ridges clearly without looking cartoonish. Experiment with this value, because the right exaggeration depends on your terrain: gentle lowlands need more exaggeration than rugged mountains.

Set your draped imagery as the texture on the terrain, and adjust the 3D view's lighting to bring out relief. QGIS lets you control the camera angle, tilt, and field of view, so start with a low oblique angle, about thirty to forty five degrees above the horizon, which shows both the terrain shape and the map pattern. Fly around the model by holding the mouse controls, and save camera positions as bookmarks if you need to return to the same view for a presentation or a series of exports.

Add vector layers to the 3D view for context: roads, rivers, and boundaries drape onto the terrain automatically, while point features can be shown as 3D symbols or billboards. Labels in 3D views need care, because they can clutter quickly, so show only the most important names and keep the font large and legible. For a finished product, export a high resolution image from the 3D view, or record a camera animation flying over the terrain, which makes a compelling addition to reports and presentations.

Three dimensional views are not just for presentation; they help you check analysis too. A watershed boundary that looks odd on a flat map often reveals its problem immediately in 3D, where a ridge or valley explains the shape. Similarly, a proposed road alignment or flood extent can be judged far more intuitively when you can see the terrain it crosses. Use the 3D view as a sanity check throughout a project, not only as a final flourish.

For more advanced work, the Qgis2threejs plugin exports your 3D scene as an interactive web page that anyone can open in a browser and explore, which is ideal for sharing with clients or the public. Start with the native 3D view, master exaggeration and camera control, and you will have a skill that turns ordinary elevation data into maps people actually remember.