Alternative Places to Film The Hobbit
Rancorous labor disputes threatened the filming of The Hobbit, the prequel to the popular Lord of the Rings trilogy, until an 11th hour intervention by New Zealand's Prime Minister ensured the movie franchise would continue to call New Zealand home. With no disrespect to our Antipodean readers, other locales that would suit scenes beloved book just as well.
The Shire
Home of the diminutive Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo, as well as the rest of Hobbit-kind — is a place of pastoral simplicity and beauty.
Location: The Lake District, U.K.
The Trollshaws
As Bilbo embarks on an adventure in the company of the wizard Gandalf and a host of dwarves, he walks through a hilly wooded expanse marked by ravines and moors.
Location: Himachal Pradesh, India
Rivendell
When imagining Rivendell, the sylvan citadel of the elf lord Elrond, Tolkien supposedly thought of the mountainous valleys of Switzerland.
Location: Huangshan, China
The Misty Mountains
The Carpathian mountain range is one of Europe's longest, winding its way from Poland down into Romania.
Location: The Carpathian Mountains, Eastern Europe
Gollum's Cavern
In the Misty Mountains, Bilbo finds himself alone in a deep, dark cavern where he first comes into possession of the Ring of Power and then meets the creature twisted by its magic "Gollum" paddling a boat through a rock pool.
Location: Reed Flute Cave, China
Mirkwood
Bilbo and his cadre of dwarfs voyage through Mirkwood, a forested realm of secretive wood elves, wolves and malevolent giant spiders.
Location: The Black Forest, Germany
The Desolation of Smaug
The malevolent dragon Smaug — The Hobbit's most monstrous villain — laid waste to the region around his lair in the Lonely Mountain.
Location: The environs of Chernobyl, Ukraine
The Lonely Mountain
The Lonely Mountain, once the seat of a prosperous dwarf kingdom, has been usurped by Smaug.
Location: Mount Fuji, Japan
Laketown
Tai O, a fishing village on the remote western coast of Hong Kong's Lantau Island, is not quite the same thing as Tolkien's Laketown, also called Esgaroth, but it's close.
Location: Tai O, Hong Kong
The Iron Hills
Fleeing the ravages of ice dragons, a group of dwarf exiles sets up a community in the mineral-rich Iron Hills. The clan would later go to Bilbo's aid in a battle by the Lonely Mountain.
Location: Cappadocia, Turkey
The Shire
Home of the diminutive Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo, as well as the rest of Hobbit-kind — is a place of pastoral simplicity and beauty.
Location: The Lake District, U.K.
The Trollshaws
As Bilbo embarks on an adventure in the company of the wizard Gandalf and a host of dwarves, he walks through a hilly wooded expanse marked by ravines and moors.
Location: Himachal Pradesh, India
Rivendell
When imagining Rivendell, the sylvan citadel of the elf lord Elrond, Tolkien supposedly thought of the mountainous valleys of Switzerland.
Location: Huangshan, China
The Misty Mountains
The Carpathian mountain range is one of Europe's longest, winding its way from Poland down into Romania.
Location: The Carpathian Mountains, Eastern Europe
Gollum's Cavern
In the Misty Mountains, Bilbo finds himself alone in a deep, dark cavern where he first comes into possession of the Ring of Power and then meets the creature twisted by its magic "Gollum" paddling a boat through a rock pool.
Location: Reed Flute Cave, China
Mirkwood
Bilbo and his cadre of dwarfs voyage through Mirkwood, a forested realm of secretive wood elves, wolves and malevolent giant spiders.
Location: The Black Forest, Germany
The Desolation of Smaug
The malevolent dragon Smaug — The Hobbit's most monstrous villain — laid waste to the region around his lair in the Lonely Mountain.
Location: The environs of Chernobyl, Ukraine
The Lonely Mountain
The Lonely Mountain, once the seat of a prosperous dwarf kingdom, has been usurped by Smaug.
Location: Mount Fuji, Japan
Laketown
Tai O, a fishing village on the remote western coast of Hong Kong's Lantau Island, is not quite the same thing as Tolkien's Laketown, also called Esgaroth, but it's close.
Location: Tai O, Hong Kong
The Iron Hills
Fleeing the ravages of ice dragons, a group of dwarf exiles sets up a community in the mineral-rich Iron Hills. The clan would later go to Bilbo's aid in a battle by the Lonely Mountain.
Location: Cappadocia, Turkey
Source: TIME
