“The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!”
“And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim!”
Sound familiar? These words are spoken between Aragorn and King Théoden of Rohan in The Return of the King, the third and final film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
For those of you who are a little rusty on your Lord of the Rings trivia, here’s a synopsis: Rohan is one of the kingdoms of Middle-earth, and the Rohirrim are the horselords who call Rohan home.
Edoras is the capital city of the Kingdom of Rohan, and is where much of the action takes place in the second and third films. You can see Edoras in the two screenshots above.
Legolas (well, J. R. R. Tolkien) describes the city of Edoras far more eloquently than I ever could:
“A green hill rises upon the east. A dike and mighty wall and thorny fence encircle it. Within there rise the roofs of houses; and in the midst, set upon a green terrace, there stands aloft a great hall of Men. And it seems to my eyes that it is thatched with gold. The light of it shines far over the land.”
Sounds pretty magical, eh? We thought so too, which is why we decided to visit the city of Edoras for ourselves during our trip to New Zealand.
Mount Sunday, NZ: Filming Location for Edoras / the Kingdom of Rohan
Mount Sunday is a low-set “mountain” (I used quotations here, because that term is certainly a stretch) isolated in the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand’s South Island. It sits in the middle of a flat, barren river plain, and is surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges in the far distance.
Awestruck by Mount Sunday’s rugged beauty, film director Peter Jackson chose the rocky outcrop as the filming location for Edoras, capital city of Rohan, in his film adaption of The Lord of the Rings.
The film crew actually constructed the entire town of Edoras on top of Mount Sunday, including the Golden Hall of Meduseld. Sadly, the full set was dismantled and removed at the end of filming.
That said, travelers and The Lord of the Rings fans who are willing to venture just a bit off the beaten path can still visit Mount Sunday and the place where Edoras once stood.
It’s a remarkably beautiful location all on its own, but with a bit of imagination, you can feel the fantasy city of Edoras come to life.
How to Visit Edoras (Mount Sunday)
We visited Mount Sunday during our drive between Mount Cook and Christchurch, which also included a stop at Lake Tekapo. All said and done, the detour added about 2 hours to our 4-hour drive, for a total of 6 hours of driving. No doubt a long travel day, but it was well worth it.
Alternatively, you can simply visit Mount Sunday as a day trip from Christchurch. It’s roughly 2 hours from Christchurch to Mount Sunday by car, each way. In either case, the final hour of your journey to Edoras will take you down a long, seemingly-endless gravel road.
On either side of this bumpy gravel road are golden-colored fields and alpine mountain ranges in the far distance. Traveling down this road is slow going; just settle in and enjoy the scenery for the next hour or so. It’s a beautiful drive! We played The Hobbit audiobook through the car speakers to help pass the time.
The road is two-way, and you’ll have plenty of notice if another car is approaching; you’ll see the cloud of dust traveling towards you before you see the car itself.
About 20-30 minutes into our drive down the gravel road, we were surprised to pass a string of campsites and even a small trailer park. Turns out, Mount Sunday is located within Hakatere Conservation Park, which is known for its many recreational activities.
After continuing through the barren backcountry and crossing over a few strikingly-clear streams, we arrived to the small gravel parking area near the Mount Sunday trailhead.
There were a handful of cars in the lot when we pulled up, but honest to goodness, I have no idea where any of those people actually were.
We passed a group of four older hikers during our walk back to the car after climbing Mount Sunday, and also saw two younger guys who arrived to the summit a little while after we did.
And that was it! For all but those two instances, we had Mount Sunday completely to ourselves.
The signs say to budget 45 minutes for the walk to the top, though we ended up doing it in closer to 30 minutes. Granted, we were moving at a pretty fast pace; I didn’t wear my hat and wanted to minimize my time in the intense New Zealand sun.
But I do recommend taking your time if possible, because the views along the way to Mount Sunday are breathtaking. It’s about the journey, after all!
We got our first glimpse of “Edoras” almost right away, and the views only became more impressive as we drew closer to the base of the hill.
Crossing the small (one person limit!) suspension bridge along the way was quite fun as well. What I wouldn’t have given to lounge in that cool blue water after climbing and descending Mount Sunday!
After crossing the bridge, you’ll be in a prime position to snap some nice photos of Mount Sunday.
See if you can envision the city of Edoras perched on top of the rocky hill, with the Kingdom of Rohan’s banners flapping in the wind.
And can’t you imagine the Riders of Rohan galloping through those golden fields on horseback? Or maybe Gandalf and Aragon, with Legolas and Gimli in tow?
At last, we reached the base of Mount Sunday. Up to this point, the hike had been almost entirely flat.
But the climb to the top of the mount was deceptively steep; I decided to power through and essentially jog to the top, which left me winded and heaving by the time I reached the top—but also awestruck.
Derek and I were the only two people up here, completely surrounded by the rugged New Zealand backcountry (or sweeping kingdom of Rohan, depending on who you ask).
Although the town of Edoras is no longer there, if you use your imagination, you can sort of picture where the Golden Hall of Meduseld might have once stood, towering over the rest of the village.
I had never felt like more of a kindred spirit to Eowyn—number one badass babe of the film series—than I did in that moment I spent looking over the golden landscape, with the wind whipping through my hair.
Because of its isolated location in the middle of a vast plain, there are incredible views in literally every direction from the top of Mount Sunday.
Pick a view, grab a seat on a rock, and soak in all that beauty and majesty.
It’s incredibly serene way up here, and feels a world away from the city of Christchurch (even though it’s just two short hours).
We also couldn’t believe how fortunate we were to have this pristine scenery all to ourselves! I’m not sure if we just got lucky with the timing of our visit, or if the mountain is always this empty. But visiting Mount Sunday easily felt like the most off-the-beaten-path thing we did in New Zealand.
It was also fun trying to imagine where the various buildings of Edoras once stood. Considering that nothing is left of the set, this is a pretty difficult challenge. We did manage to snap a few photos that line up with scenes from the films though!
Eventually, we saw two fellow travelers making their way through the plains, towards the base of Mount Sunday. We decided to allow them the magic of ascending to a completely empty Edoras, just as we had, and began our journey back down the hill.
The hike back to the carpark was quicker than the way up; only around 25 minutes in total. From there, it was back in the car and onwards 2 hours to our accommodation in Christchurch.
Visiting Mount Sunday: Practical Information
- There is no fee to visit Mount Sunday, or to park in the lot.
- The drive to Mount Sunday is roughly 3 hours from Lake Tekapo, 4 hours from Mount Cook, and 2 hours from Christchurch.
- No matter which direction you come from, the final 45-60 minutes of the drive are down an unpaved gravel road.
- There is absolutely zero shade during this hike, so wear sunscreen! A hat is a smart idea too, although it’s quite windy at the top of Mount Sunday, so you’ll likely need to hang onto it.
- The hike to Mount Sunday is partially located on private property, and we saw signs saying that commercial tours are strictly prohibited. I have seen Edoras tours online, so be warned that these may be breaking the rules of the property owners.
- Be sure you have plenty of gas in your car; once you turn down the gravel road, there are no gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, etc.
Are you a fan of The Lord of the Rings movies and books? Would you be interested in visiting Lord of the Rings filming locations in New Zealand, like Mount Sunday / Edoras?
Leave a Reply