A Famous Lord Of The Rings Filming Location Has Re-Opened In New Zealand

A Lord of the Rings filming location in New Zealand is re-opening to the public after 11 years, but it may be some time before people can visit it due to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on travel globally.

Deer Park Heights in Queenstown, New Zealand has re-opened for public visitors, and those lucky enough to visit can walk in the same places where scenes from The Towers and The Return of the King were filmed. Specifically, Deer Park Heights is the site of the Warg attack and Aragorn's fall off the cliff from The Two Towers, as well as the refugee camp where Eowyn serves Aragorn some questionable soup.

You can see a more detailed breakdown of Lord of the Rings filming locations here at the Deer Park Heights website. The movies X-Men: Origins Wolverine and Pete's Dragon were also filmed partially in the park.

It costs $55 NZ to enter the park for a self-driving tour, and people can stay as long as they want as they drive across the landscape and take in the sights. No commercial vehicles, buses, or vans are allowed. The location remains a working farm, so attendees can also have a gander at deer, goats, donkeys, pigs, and other animals.

Owner Mike Mee told Lonely Planet, "It's such an amazing location and it seems a shame to not share it. We want to welcome visitors to a great fun, good value family day out for those who want to spend time in the outdoors and with our animals."

Due to the global COVID-19 crisis, the Deer Park Heights park might be inaccessible to people outside of New Zealand for the time being. The country recently lifted all of its restrictions in its most populous city, Auckland, after new cases dropped zero as of October 19.

Amazon's big-budget Lord of the Rings TV show is currently filming in New Zealand.