Lord of the Rings

Ashburton District High Country Become Edoras

Nestled in the Ashburton District's high country sits Mt Sunday - a sheer-sided hill in the middle of an expansive plain in the Rangitata River valley - a hill made famous by Peter Jackson's oscar winning trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.

Mt Sunday was the set for Edoras, the fortress city of the Rohan people in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The production crew took nine months to build the set at the top of sheer cliffs, building Golden Hall and surrounding buildings at the top, with the gatehouse and more buildings at its foot.

At the end of filming the set was dismantled and the area returned to its natural state. Although none of the actual set remains, the spectacular views of Mt Sunday sitting all alone in an expansive river plain surrounded by the Southern Alps is well worth the trip, not to mention the scenery you pass through to get there.

Various guides provide tours to Mt Sunday in the Rangitata River Valley and a Journey to the film site of Edoras can be downloaded below for those wanting to make their own way there.

"Never shall I forget the utter loneliness of the prospect only the little far away homestead giving sign of human handiwork, the vastness of mountain and plain, of river and sky; the marvelous atmospheric affects sometimes black mountains against a white sky, and then again, after cold weather, white mountains against black sky."
- Thus wrote Samuel Butler in his classic novel Erewhon, a fine description of a harsh landscape that for eleven months become Edoras, the capital city of Rohan.

"Mount Potts, near Methven, provided some of the most glorious locations, with an isolated hill in wide valley, buttressed by sheer cliffs, which couldn't have been closer to Tolkien's Edoras. We built the exterior of the Golden Hall and surrounding building on top with the gatehouse and more buildings at it foot, with everything in between added post-production."
- Alan Lee - Conceptual Artist/Set Decorator, The Lord of The Rings

Click below to download the 'Journey to the Film Location of Edoras' pdf flyer.

Journey to the Film Location Edoras Adobe Acrobat Document: 993 KB, 2.4 minutes @ 56kbps

 Join Hassle-free Tours on a Lord of the Rings Tour. Their full day tour from Christchurch or Methven day includes: 4WD access onto Mt Sunday/Edoras itself, a delicious champagne picnic lunch, full running commentary from their friendly and knowledgeable kiwi tour guides and spectacular scenery you will never forget.