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Lord of the Rings, Journey to Edoras Day Tour from Christchurch

Badge of ExcellenceChristchurch, New Zealand

Lord of the Rings Journey to Edoras from Christchurch

9 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Visit Edoras of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fame on this full-day excursion by 4WD vehicle to the peak of New Zealand’s Mt Sunday. Get a look at exclusive photos of Edoras under construction and learn from a knowledgeable LOTR guide about its transformation from tranquil countryside to mythical capital city of the Rohan people. Pose with replica props from the popular trilogy, such as Aragorn’s sword, Gimli’s axe and the flag of Rohan. Includes round-trip hotel transport from Christchurch plus a picnic lunch with sparkling wine.

Enjoy 360 degree views of the mountainous terrain from the summit of Edoras
Hear informative and entertaining commentary from your friendly guide
Sit down to a delicious picnic lunch with sparkling wine
Includes round-trip travel from your Christchurch hotel

What's Included

Picnic lunch with sparkling wine
Driver/guide
Live commentary on board
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

66 Gloucester Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand
Tours depart from outside the main entrance of the Canterbury Museum at COCA.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Your The Lord of the Rings day trip to the fictional village of Edoras in New Zealand’s Canterbury Region begins with morning pickup from your hotel. Hop into the 4WD vehicle for a drive west to Mt Sunday, better-known to LOTR fans as Edoras — the capital of Rohan and home to Meduseld, the hall of King Theoden.

You’ll bump along rocky terrain and traverse narrow streams en route to Edoras. On arrival at the movie site, follow in the footsteps of the noblewoman Eowyn, and stand at the summit for 360-degree views over alpine lakes, mountain peaks and high-country farmland below.

Your guide shares behind-the-scenes photos of Edoras under construction and points out significant geographical features of Middle-earth, including the Misty Mountains, the river Snowbourn and the valley of Harrowdale against the imposing Helms Deep. Learn why this particular site was selected by director Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Enjoy a picnic lunch (see the Itinerary for a sample menu) with a glass of sparkling wine, and pose for photos with replica props such as the flag of Rohan, Gimli’s axe, or the sword of Aragorn or King Theoden. Then hop back in your 4WD vehicle for the drive back to your Christchurch hotel, where your Edoras excursion comes to an end.

Canterbury Museum at CoCA (Pass By)

Mount Somers

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Lake Clearwater

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mount Sunday

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Mt Potts Lodge

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for child aged 4 and under

Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Please wear good footwear and bring along a warm jacket
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

268 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 268 reviews

An incredible day!

Hugh_W, Apr 2024

Though it was a long day, we had the most amazing time on our Journey to Edoras Day Tour. Our guide, Natasha, was so lovely the whole day, with stories of the making of the films. Her knowledge and humour shone through, and our trek up onto the rock culminated in breathtaking views and plenty of time to nerd out.

Great Tour

Robert_S, Apr 2024

Beautiful scenery, great tour guides and a really fun way to connect the landscape to the LoTR movies. Really well done and highly recommend if you’re a fan of the films!

A worthwhile adventure!

Tony_T, Mar 2024

Well thought through itinerary. Cheryl our guide was knowledgeable, considerate, kind and helpful. Private access to Mt. Sunday made the journey exclusive.

Best excursion ever.

Janice_B, Mar 2024

This was the best experience of New Zealand that we have done. Cheryl our guide was amazing and had so much to tell us of where we were plus lots of interesting anecdotes! The climb up mount Sunday was brilliant and the views around were breathtaking.

Journey to Happiness

Trac_G, Mar 2024

Excellent guide and tour. Great views and trek up Mt Sunday! Perfect weather. Very friendly service and run in a timely and efficient matter. Plenty of time and fun to enjoy.

Worth every minute

skhan2769, Mar 2024

Absolutely gorgeous, breathtaking scenery by a very knowledgeable guide, Cheryl. You don't necessarily need to be a LOTR fan to enjoy the scenery, but it does help. A perfect day with still weather and sun to climb Mt Sunday. We got to spend plenty of time on the Mt.

On to Rohan!

Mike_E, Mar 2024

For LOTR fans a 'must do' trip well worth the time. The insights from the tour guide, the videos and the climb up the hill are a great experience, let alone the possibility to pose with some weapons and flag. Even though no structure remains, a fantastic day trip

Great experience!!!

Scott_N, Mar 2024

Sheryl was so much fun. Loved her personality and enthusiasm during the tour. She took the time to get each passenger’s name and where we were from to help personalize the experience. The hike to the top of Mount Sunday made the tour with the time in the van.

Visit one on the infamous LOTR filming sites

Richard_K, Feb 2024

Our driver/guide, Cheryl was wonderful! So special to visit the place that LOTR was partially filmed and hear about why it was chosen by Peter Jackson, what it took to build the set and how long it took to film the scenes there. Loved every minute.

Lord of the rings fab day out

Susanne_L, Feb 2024

All of it it was fantastic our driver Natasha really knew her stuff the scenery was breathtaking!! A lovely day out!

Ubsolutely recommend it!

Veronika_K, Feb 2024

An amazing one day trip on our honeymoon. The bus drive went by fast with all the story telling and documentary videos. The guide was amazing!

Beautiful and Epic Lord of the Rings location

Annie_R, Feb 2024

This was one of the most epic experiences during our 6 weeks in New Zealand. It was so incredible to be in the landscape of Edoras/Rohan and feel like we were in Middle Earth - with very little to suggest human habitation in the landscape, we experienced full immersion (and the swords and axes were a nice touch!) It was one of the most beautiful places we visited on our trip to NZ, and the guide and commentary were great too. A long day with a bit of a hike up Mount Sunday, but so worth it. A must-do for any Lord of the Rings fan.

Stunning scenery.

Samuel_S, Feb 2024

This was an amazing day trip with stunning scenery. Our guide Maria was knowledgeable and entertaining. Definitely worth doing if you like LOTR.

This trek out to the middle of nowhere, filled with amazing beauty, was just what I would have expected of Middle Earth

Mary_L, Jan 2024

The ride is fairly long and our weather wasn't the greatest, but it was made interesting by the short stops along the way and the companionship with other movie fans. The location is far off the beaten path so it would be very difficult to find it and to see how just how it was used in the movie without a guide to help, so the cost of the tour was worth it. Amazing scenery there and all along the way. Climbing the hill itself was somewhat challenging but quite do-able and the view from the top amazing -- and our fellowship of 9 who made it felt quite accomplished!

Unforgettable experience!! A must-do day trip from Christchurch

Angelica_S, Jan 2024

This was one of our favourite days from our two week trip across New Zealand’s South Island. This was a small tour with about 12 people, making it more intimate and easy to chat to the group and get to know them more. Our driver and guide, Sheryl, was incredible — she kept everyone’s spirit and energy high throughout the entire day, which actually started off with pouring rain and grey skies! But the moment we entered the area of Edoras, the clouds cleared and the sun shone through. We spent the day hiking up Edoras, passing through beautiful streams and crossing a bridge. The view from the top itself is out of this world — something not many people can say they’ve witnessed. After spending some time at the top, we went to a lovely cabin close by where sandwiches, drinks and carrot cake was provided for lunch. We loved that this was a small tour group and didn’t take up the entire day - we arrived back home at 5:00pm, with plenty of time to have dinner.

LOTR

Elizabeth_N, Jan 2024

The views were amazing. Enjoyed the stories about the goings on during the filming of the movie. Our driver Cheryl was very informative!

The guide Cheryl made this trip - a must for any LOTR fan

Michelle_P, Jan 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed my day trip with Cheryl the fantastic guide. What a wonderful lady. Had so much fun and she is so knowledgable. I would not have gotten to the top without her as I was not as fit as all the other people in my group, but with her encouragement, and her letting me take my time, I got to the top. Highly Highly recommend if you're a Lord of the Rings fan.

A great day!

Anonymous, Jan 2024

Very personable and informative guide. We learned a lot and enjoyed the day. Thanks for the vegan lunch.

Hiking up to Edoras and...

Erica_J, Jan 2024

Hiking up to Edoras and dining at the lodge for lunch. The bus driver was very thorough and gave interesting details of theovie I never had heard before.

Didn’t stop at Lake...

Isabel_B, Jan 2024

Didn’t stop at Lake Clearwater (Just mentioned it is one the right hand side). The visit of “Edoras” was really good and made the tour acceptable.

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