The highlight of the area has to be Mount Ngauruhoe which was used as the stand in for Mount Doom – the place where the one ring was forged and then (spoiler alert!) ultimately destroyed by the hobbits. It’s hard not to be impressed by this incredibly conical 2000 year old mountain peak, which is essentially a gigantic mound of ash. You can climb Mount Doom / Ngauruhoe, from the car park it is a five to six hour return walk. Be aware though that this is not a simple task – the entire cone is largely constructed of soft ash, so is somewhat akin to climbing a sand dune. Down is far easier than up. The views from the top though rival any view you can get in New Zealand. As well as Mount Doom there are a whole range of other locations in the area. Most notable of these is the Emyn Muil area, which was filmed on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, the north island’s highest peak. Finding this location is easy – park in the car park at the “top of the Bruce”, a short drive from Whakapapa village, and head to the bottom of the chair lift.

圖片編號： 73630115
拍攝者： Yurix