5 Middle Earth Locations You Can Visit in Real Life
For a long time, it was only possible to visit J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle-Earth through imagination. Traveling to the Shire and Rivendell and the realm of Gondor was only possible if you closed your eyes and let your mind wander as you read The Lord of the Rings.
But then Peter Jackson filmed his trilogy and transformed New Zealand into Middle-Earth.
Even though Tolkien created the legends and histories (and languages) of Middle-Earth to serve as the mythology that he felt England was missing, it only takes a few days in New Zealand to second-guess the good professor. Because New Zealand pretty much IS Middle-Earth, brought to life straight off the page.
And, the good news for LOTR fans is that many iconic places from Tolkien's stories can be visited for real in New Zealand.
Here are five Middle-Earth locations you can visit “for real”:
Hobbiton
The most recognizable location is Hobbiton — the movie set in Matamata in New Zealand's Waikato district that was used during filming of both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie trilogies. The set was mostly torn down after the Lord of the Rings movies, but it still drew fans wanting to see what was left. So, when they rebuilt the set for The Hobbit, they built it to last.
Today, Hobbiton really does feel like a place where hobbits could be hiding behind every round door or colorful bush. The attention to detail is incredible and makes Hobbiton a fun place to visit even if you aren't a fan.
How to get there: You'll have to book a tour of the Hobbiton movie set in order to see it. These tours aren't cheap, but I promise it's worth it! Book directly with Hobbiton Tours in Matamata, or book a day trip from Auckland.
Must-do: After your tour, be sure to visit the Green Dragon pub for a pint of hobbit-inspired ale (or ginger beer). The pub was built with tourism in mind, but the details here are just as intricate as on the movie set.
>> Read more about visiting Hobbiton.
Edoras
If you've ever seen The Two Towers (the second Lord of the Rings film), you'll remember Edoras. It's the capital of Rohan, land of the horselords, where a pale and sad Eowyn can often be seen standing outside the Golden Hall of Meduseld, her hair blowing forlornly in the wind.
You might also remember that this location is EPIC. And I'm happy to report that it's 100% real.
This is probably my favorite film location in New Zealand, simply because the best parts – the wide valley and the snow-capped mountains – are all real. No CGI required here, people. Even though the set itself is gone now, there's no imagination required to picture this as Rohan. It's almost as if Tolkien had seen a photo of Mount Sunday before he began writing about Edoras.
How to get there: Getting to Mount Sunday (the hill that the Edoras set was built on) requires about a 2-hour drive from Christchurch, and a bit of know-how in order to find the road that leads to Methven and Mt. Potts. I'd suggest driving yourself (and maybe staying overnight at the Mt Potts Lodge) or booking a day tour from Christchurch.
Must-do: Climb Edoras, of course! There's a small gravel parking lot and then a well-marked trail that will lead you to the top of Mount Sunday. The hike only takes about 30 minutes one-way. Pack a picnic to eat at the top if it's not too windy on the day you go!
>> Read more about visiting Edoras.
Trollshaws
If you watched the new Hobbit movies, you'll remember the scene (which was also a favorite of mine in the book) where Bilbo and the company of dwarves get captured and nearly eaten by a trio of trolls. This scene was filmed in a very unique corner of New Zealand known as Piopio, which is known for its limestone cliffs.
The filming took place on a farm owned by Suzie and Warrick Denize, who have now started a tour company to show people around the filming location. The couple are really passionate about telling their story and the tour through the wild, mossy forest on their farm is pretty cool.
How to get there: As you drive south of Auckland past Hamilton and Waitomo on Highway 3, you’ll reach Piopio and see a brown road sign pointing down a twisty road that says “Hobbit Filming Location.” Follow this road and you'll find Hairy Feet at the end. They run tours twice a day.
Must-do: Be sure to ask them if you can re-enact the scene in the cave where Bilbo is gifted with Sting and lays eyes on the blade for the first time.
>> Read more about visiting the Trollshaws.
Paths of the Dead
In Return of the King, Aragorn must walk the Paths of the Dead through the White Mountains in order to try to convince some undead dudes to fight with him in an upcoming battle. In the movie, most of the scenes inside the mountain were filmed on a set – but the part where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are riding the Dimholt Road to get to the mountain passage was filmed on location in New Zealand.
This part of the Paths of the Dead can be found in Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve in New Zealand's Wairarapa district. The Pinnacles are made up of ominous-looking gravelly hoodoos and do indeed feel rather creepy. If you walk far enough in and just stop and listen, you'll hear rocks trickling down, seemingly from the sky. It's a cool place for a hike whether or not you've ever seen a Lord of the Rings film.
How to get there: From Lake Ferry, you'll need to drive about 13 kilometers along Cape Palliser Road to reach the scenic reserve. There are no tours that will take you here (and no mention of Lord of the Rings at the site at all, really), so you'll need to have your own transport. There's a campsite at the reserve if you decide to stay overnight.
Must-do: Hike up into the Pinnacles, of course! You can't see the best bits from the parking lot.
>> Read more about visiting the Paths of the Dead.
Barrel River
In the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy (The Desolation of Smaug), Bilbo gets his “Barrel-Rider” nickname after stuffing the dwarves (and himself) into barrels and dumping them all into a river in order to escape from the wood elves. Much of this was filmed in a studio (if you haven't seen the behind-the-scenes footage of this, I can highly recommend it), but parts of it were filmed on a real river in New Zealand.
The Pelorus River is located in Nelson near the top of the South Island. Seeing the river is cool, but if you really want to see things from Bilbo's perspective, you'll want to get ON the river. It's possible to kayak here and stop at a few spots you might recognize from the film – plus the scenery is pretty awesome in general.
How to get there: I would go with Pelorus Eco Adventures, which offers a themed “Barrel Run” kayaking tour that's easy and suitable for everyone.
Must-do: If someone in your party isn't kayaking, have them take some shots of you on the river! Or take a GoPro along to capture your own photos.
These of course aren't all the Middle-Earth-y locations that you can find in New Zealand. The whole country was used for filming, after all. But many of the other recognizable locations (like the Rohan plains and the Pelennor Fields) are located on private land and are therefore tough to get to on your own.
These five are all easily accessible by the public, though, and are some of the more iconic and cool locations that you can find!
(If you DO want to visit even more locations, check out this Lord of the Rings tour of New Zealand!)
Which of these Middle-Earth locations would YOU most like to visit?
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Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
I took a buzz-feed quiz and it says I belong in middle earth and now that I see it its actually incredibly awesome to live there lol i wish that whole house was my art room that way it would be peaceful and so many landscapes to draw in middle earth. juat go to this link.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiespain/design-house-discover-your-fictional-world-quiz
Haha, how fun! I would also love to live in Hobbiton!
Tolkien’s sons went to Stonyhurst school in Lancashire near clitheroe and the hurst green area was influential in the creation of “Middle Earth”
Hi is there anything which highlights the best order and distances between locations so you get an idea how many days would be needed to do which things?
Hi Dave! This isn’t really written as an itinerary, as these spots are spread out across both islands of NZ. To see them all (and everything in between), you need probably at least 10-14 days! The order they’re in from north to south is Hobbiton, Trollshaws, Paths of the Dead, Barrel River, and Edoras.
Question about private land not access to public, how do you find the information on which locations you can’t visit on your own unless it’s with the tours or etc.
I got a lot of my information by going on several tours. But in general, if it’s private land there will be fences or other barriers, and also potentially signs letting you know it’s private land. And of course I never recommend jumping fences or ignoring these sorts of signs!
Have built a replica Hobbit style house in my garden,just doing the inside now,the outside has round door made from a cable drum reel, round and arched windows clad in artificial grass and cedar wood shingles,now growing climbing plants up and over the front and sides.Newzealand is a must for the future maybe my Honeymoon x
How fun! I’d love to have my own hobbit house!
I have been to the loaction of Hobbition with a friend of mine Joseph Choughfeh It is was amazing time when Joseph and I went on our quest to the loaction of Matamata and we were quite amaze.It was very wonderful and beautiful remarkable thing that Peter Jackson did for the films of the Lord of the Rings, I am very proud of Peter what he did for the whole 3 books?? and made it in 3 amazing movies, my three favorite characters and actors who are in these movies is Argaron who played by Viggo Mortensen, Awern who played by Liv Taylor and Legolas who played by Orlando Bloom and I am very proud of my fan to them what they did the movies. the last movie of the Reutrn of the King I was very happy infact that Aragorn was about to be the king of Middle Earth, with his Queen Awern on his side and loved her…. and Thank you so much Peter Jackson that you made a amzaing effort of making these movies with all the actors and Actress’s on your side I am so too proud of you peter that made me a very happy women with Down Syndrome who is now just turned 31 years old yesturday Thank you Peter
Hi, it’s possible to rent a car and go on my on, to make my own time there to visit the places where I can make beautiful picture in hobbit and elf to the hobbit house and other places there or it is possible to go there just like a organized tour…???
You can drive to most of these places on your own, but many of them (including Hobbiton, the Trollshaws, and canoeing on the barrel river) do require guided tours. The only ones you can visit entirely on your own are Mount Sunday (Edoras) and the Paths of the Dead site.
Thank you.
My sister and I traveled to most of these places in NZ, just a couple months ago and we used your blog like a guide while we were planning our trip. Here is a video of our time there.
https://youtu.be/WmhncpT6QQo
Glad to hear my blog was helpful when you were planning your trip!
Hobbiton in Matamata has been on my to bucket list forever. But after reading your article, I would love to do the Barrel’s run and visit Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve. The photo you have there is unlike anything I’ve seen having travelled to quite a few unique places in the world, and would love to check out the landscape! Thanks for the detailed article! I am planning to visit NZ next year and this is getting me excited! I just don’t know how I’m going to have time to see all that NZ has to offer!
They’re all awesome spots! But I totally get the struggle of trying to fit everything in in New Zealand – it’s pretty much impossible since there’s so much to see!
No wonder a visit to NZ is a must! ：）
[…] and towering mountains make it the perfect stand in for the world of Tolkien’s imagination. Hobbiton came alive in Matamata, Waikato for the original trilogy, and was rebuilt permanently for The Hobbit trilogy. Edoras, capital of […]
Nice article Amanda! The places we saw in movies, one would think they are imaginary but you made them look real and close. New Zealand is in top of my wishlist too. Hopefully, it will get ticked soon.
Even parts of New Zealand that haven’t been featured in movies look like they could be – it’s an amazing and beautiful country!