▌
2 productions
Lothlórien, Isengard and the Argonath in the valleys around the lake.
SC 00 · MAP OF THE FILMING LOCATIONS
Vladka Kennett · CC BY-SA 3.0EXT. GLENORCHY AND PARADISE – GLENORCHY
as Isengard, Lothlórien, Amon Hen
The beech forest at Paradise was Lothlórien and the approach to Isengard; Amon Hen and Ithilien are in the same valley. Also Beorn's house in The Hobbit.
Free; 45 minutes from Queenstown on the lake road. The locations are on private farmland, seen from the road or with the four-wheel-drive tours that have access.
Szilas · CC BY-SA 4.0EXT. KAWARAU GORGE – QUEENSTOWN
as The Argonath and the Anduin
The Fellowship rows between the Pillars of the Kings on the Kawarau River; the statues were added digitally. Also the Ford of Bruinen at Arrowtown and Skippers Canyon nearby.
Free, seen from the road or from the jet boats and the bungy bridge; 25 to 35 minutes from Queenstown.
Pseudopanax at English Wi… · Public domainEXT. EARNSLAW BURN – GLENORCHY
as The road to Rivendell
The company walks up the glacier-hung valley with waterfalls behind them on the way to Rivendell in An Unexpected Journey. The valley is a dead end under Mount Earnslaw; the shoot went in by helicopter.
Free but hard. DOC rates the Earnslaw Burn Track expert-level: four to six hours one way from Lovers Leap Road off the Glenorchy–Paradise road, poorly marked, with windfall, river crossings and repeated search-and-rescue call-outs; the upper valley is private land. Most visitors fly: Heli Glenorchy lands in the basin on a flight of 45 to 70 minutes from Glenorchy aerodrome, NZD 625 per adult in 2026.
NOTEOn foot it is an overnight trip, camping at the forest edge, no phone coverage. The flight is expensive and the only way to see it in a day.
Vladka Kennett · CC BY-SA 3.0EXT. PARADISE – GLENORCHY
as Beorn's house
The exterior of Beorn's house was built on Arcadia Station at Paradise, beyond Glenorchy, for The Desolation of Smaug and removed after the shoot. The same valley was Lothlórien, Isengard and Amon Hen in The Lord of the Rings.
The road from Glenorchy to Paradise is public and free, 45 minutes from Queenstown plus gravel; the house site is on private station land. The Glenorchy four-wheel-drive tours have access and stop there. On your own you see the paddocks and the mountains from the road, which is most of what was on screen.