A mobile platform uses orientation sensors and vision-based tracking to track with absolute orientation. The mobile platform generates a panoramic map by rotating a camera, which is compared to an image frame produced by the camera, to determine the orientation of the camera with respect to the panoramic map. The mobile platform also estimates an orientation of the panoramic map with respect to a world reference frame, e.g., magnetic north, using orientation sensors, including at least one accelerometer and a magnetic sensor. The orientation of the camera with respect to the world reference frame is then determined using the orientation of the camera with respect to the panoramic map and the orientation of the panoramic map with respect to the world reference frame. A filter, such as a Kalman filter, provides an accurate and stable estimate of the orientation of the panoramic map with respect to the world reference frame.