20 travel destinations inspired by Lord of the Rings

Snowdon Forest – Southland, New Zealand

To see another seemingly haunted location in the film, The Lord of the Rings fans can also stop at the Snowdon Forest Conservation Area. This conservation is full of woods and open valleys for nature enthusiasts to explore. It also served as the filming location for the Fangorn Forest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a supposedly haunted place that our heroes are initially afraid to enter.

Merry and Pippin, of course, soon discover why the Fangorn Forest is deemed as being haunted—it’s actually home to the Ents. These tree folk are the reason that those who enter the Fangorn Forest hear whispers, and they’re also the reason some travelers don’t return.

Because Merry and Pippin mean the forest no harm, one of the Ents—Treebeard—reveals himself to the hobbits and helps them find their way out of the trees. Treebeard and the other Ents also eventually wind up helping Merry and Pippin defeat the dark powers at Isengard, an action that the Ents see as revenge for Saruman tearing down parts of the forest.

The Bog Pine Paddock in the Snowdon Forest Conservation is also the spot where Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are reluctant to enter the Fanghorn Forest, but they do so in order to track down Merry and Pippin. When they first come upon the wizard, they’re afraid he might be an enemy. They soon realize that their friend is not lost, and that he’s returned to them more powerful than before.

In addition to being the Fangorn Forest, the Snowdon Forest Conservation Area is also a great place to find hiking and recreational activities for families, fishermen, and even hunters.