The Lord of the Rings

The Shire, home of Frodo and Bilbo: round doors in green hills, the Party Tree and the Green Dragon inn. The village built for the films was rebuilt to last for The Hobbit and is now open to visitors.

Access · Private farm: entry only with a guided tour, booked ahead on the official Hobbiton site.

This young volcano is Mount Doom, the mountain where the One Ring was made and the only place where it can be destroyed. The films use it in wide shots, finished with effects.

Access · A short stop: the cone is seen from the roads around the park and from Whakapapa Village. The full Tongariro Alpine Crossing (about 19 km, 7 to 8 hours, check the weather) is a separate whole day. The summit is sacred to the local Māori tribe, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, who ask walkers not to climb it.

Gollum's pool: Faramir's men find Gollum catching a fish in the pool under this waterfall, and Frodo coaxes him out to save his life.

Access · Public: about 10 minutes on foot from the roadside car park, about 4 km from Whakapapa Village. Take the photo from the bank: don't go into the pool.

The woods where the hobbits hear "Get off the road!" and hide under the roots of a tree while a Black Rider sniffs for them. The pine forest on this hill above the city plays the woods near the Shire.

Access · Public town park, free; the tracks start a short walk from the city centre.

Not a film location: this is the workshop that made the armour, weapons, creatures and models for all six films. The Wētā Cave shop shows props and runs short tours of the workshop.

Access · Shop free; workshop tours are paid and best booked ahead.

Rivendell, the valley home of the elves where Frodo recovers from his wound and the Fellowship of nine is formed. The buildings were sets removed after filming; a sign marks the spot.

Access · Public regional park, free; the spot is signposted from the car park.

The gardens of Isengard, where Gandalf rides in to ask the wizard Saruman for help, before Saruman turns against him.

Access · Public park, free.

The rock spires on the road to the Paths of the Dead, where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli go to call an army of ghosts to fight with them.

Access · Public reserve of the Department of Conservation (DOC). The Pinnacles Ridge Track takes about 45 minutes each way: along the stream, then up to a ridge with a lookout. You see the spires from that lookout, not from among them as in the film: there is no track to their base or further up the stream. Stay on the track, as rockfalls and landslides happen, in the stream bed too. Don't cross the stream during or after heavy rain, bring water and check the DOC alerts before you go. Alert checked on 17 October 2026 (Destination Wairarapa): a slip has blocked the access road, and the track, campsite and car park are closed until the road is repaired. The plan leaves it out until then: check the DOC alerts before you go.

Edoras, the capital of Rohan, the kingdom of horse riders, with King Théoden's golden hall on top of this lonely hill. The town was built on the hill and taken away after filming.

Access · Public conservation land: about 1 hour there and back on foot from the car park. Nothing is left of the set.

The grass plain where the great battle in front of the white city of Minas Tirith was filmed, with the riders of Rohan charging. The city itself was a model and effects.

Access · Private farmland: visit only on a guided tour from Twizel, at the time you booked. Don't stop on the farm on your own.

Ithilien: Sam cooks a rabbit stew and tells Gollum about potatoes, then the hobbits watch Faramir's men ambush an army riding giant elephants, the oliphaunts.

Access · Public: a Department of Conservation campsite and the Bob's Cove track. Don't light a fire to recreate Sam's stew.

The people of Rohan leave their capital for the fortress of Helm's Deep: on these slopes the refugees walk, and Aragorn fights a warg, a giant wolf ridden by orcs.

Access · Private farm: you drive in with a paid entry code bought ahead (about NZ$75 per car); no walking or cycling.

The River Anduin: the Fellowship paddles elven boats through this gorge toward two giant stone kings, the Argonath, which were added in the studio.

Access · Public: seen from State Highway 6 and the riverside trail near Kawarau Bridge.

The Ford of Bruinen: the elf Arwen races across the river with the wounded Frodo, and the Black Riders who follow are swept away by a flood. The crossing was filmed here; the flood was filmed in Skippers Canyon.

Access · Public: a short walk from the main street of Arrowtown.

The beech forests and fields at the end of this road played Lothlórien, the golden wood of the elf queen Galadriel, and the valley around Isengard, the wizard Saruman's tower.

Access · Public gravel road; the fields and hills around it are private farmland.

Fangorn Forest, the old dark wood where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, on the trail of the hobbits, meet Gandalf again: he has come back from death as Gandalf the White.

Access · No sign or marked spot: the scenes were filmed in the beech forest along this road, north-east of Te Anau (State Highway 94, then Kakapo Road). Take your photos from the road. Pull over only where the car is fully off the road, on a straight stretch, never on a bend or in front of a farm gate. The land beside the road can be private: don't climb fences or walk into the forest without the owner's permission.

Three moments of the trilogy were filmed around these two lakes. North Mavora Lake is Nen Hithoel, where the Fellowship (the nine companions guarding the Ring) pulls the boats ashore at the end of the river journey and the hobbits hide from the Uruk-hai, Saruman's orc soldiers. The Mararoa River by the swing bridge at the south lake played the Silverlode as the Fellowship leaves Lothlórien, and the forest edge nearby is where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find a burnt pile of orc bodies.

Access · Public conservation park with a DOC campsite (fee). The road in is long and mostly gravel, with no shops or fuel: bring what you need. The swing bridge over the Mararoa River is at the south lake. Check the DOC page before you go.

Dimrill Dale: after the wizard Gandalf falls in the Mines of Moria, Aragorn leads the grieving Fellowship down the rocky slopes outside the mines. The ground scenes were filmed around this small mountain lake; the tourism board also names Mount Owen, in Kahurangi National Park, which is seen only from the air.

Access · Summer only: in winter the lake and the track are part of the Remarkables ski area. The Lake Alta Track starts behind the ski area buildings, about 1.5 hours return, steep and rocky in places. Check the weather and the DOC page before you go.

Emyn Muil, the maze of rocks where Frodo and Sam get lost on the way to Mordor and first catch Gollum, the creature who owned the Ring for centuries. The Whakapapa ski area around it was also used for the opening battle, where Isildur cuts the Ring from the hand of Sauron, the Dark Lord.

Access · Public, inside Tongariro National Park. Outside the winter months, it is about a 30-minute walk from the car park at the top of Bruce Road, past the bottom of the Sky Waka gondola. Mountain weather changes fast: check before you go.

The flood at the Ford of Bruinen: the elf Arwen calls up the river, and a rush of water sweeps away the Black Riders chasing the wounded Frodo. The crossing itself was filmed on the Arrow River; the flood was filmed on the Shotover River in this canyon.

Access · Skippers Road is a narrow gravel road with steep drops, and guides call it one of the most dangerous roads in the world: check your rental car contract before you drive it, or see the canyon on a jet boat or 4WD tour.

On the Mangawhero River just above these falls, Gollum, the creature guiding Frodo and Sam toward Mordor, catches a fish with his bare hands. Nearby, in a clearing, the two hobbits pass a ruined stone column. Some guides link Gollum's pool to Tawhai Falls instead, so both waterfalls carry the name.

Access · Public, inside Tongariro National Park: a short walk from the roadside car park. The road climbs to the Tūroa ski area: check conditions before you go.

The gardens of this old estate appear twice. Its lake is where Sméagol and his cousin Déagol go fishing at the start of The Return of the King: Déagol finds the Ring in the mud, and Sméagol kills him for it and slowly becomes Gollum. The lake and its white bridge also appear in Lothlórien, the golden wood of the elf queen Galadriel.

Access · Private estate: you can visit only on a guided garden walk booked ahead on the Fernside website (walks start at 11am; the days change by season). Check before you go.

The River Anduin: after leaving Lothlórien, the Fellowship paddles its elven boats south down the great river. Some of the boat scenes were filmed on this stretch of the Hutt River, between Moonshine Bridge and Poets Park.

Access · Public: Poets Park is a free riverside park on the Hutt River Trail, a path for walking and cycling along the water.

Some scenes of the battle of the Pelennor Fields, in front of the white city of Minas Tirith, were filmed in this coastal park, including the Nazgûl (the Ringwraiths on their flying beasts) and the mûmakil, giant elephant-like beasts. The main plain of the battle was filmed near Twizel, on the South Island.

Access · Public regional park, free, with walking and cycling tracks. No sign marks the filming spot.

This pine forest near the coast played two woods: the Trollshaws, which the hobbits cross on the way to Rivendell, and the woods near Osgiliath, which Frodo, Sam and Gollum walk through after Faramir, the Gondor captain who held them prisoner, lets them go.

Access · A working pine plantation with no marked filming spot. Check which forest roads and tracks are open to the public before you go, and keep clear of logging areas.

Chetwood Forest: after the village of Bree, the ranger Aragorn, then known as Strider, leads Frodo and the other hobbits away through the woods while the Black Riders hunt them.

Access · Public: Canaan Downs Scenic Reserve, reached by a gravel road from the top of Tākaka Hill, with a DOC campsite and walking tracks. Check road conditions before you go.

The rocky high plateau around this lake played Rohan, the open country of the horse riders, in the trilogy.

Access · Remote: reached only on gravel back-country roads (about 30 km from Omakau). The high part of the road is closed in winter, from early June to late September. There are no services: bring water and fill up with fuel before you go.

The Dead Marshes: Gollum leads Frodo and Sam across a swamp where the faces of dead warriors float under the water, and Frodo, drawn in by them, nearly drowns. The film's aerial views of the marshes were shot here from a helicopter.

Access · DOC conservation land with no track and no marked filming spot, and the farmland around it is private. The best public view is from Mount York Road, about 2 km from State Highway 95: stop where the car can pull fully off the road and look from there. Don't cross fences or walk into the bog.