Where Is Rivendell in 'The Lord of the Rings'?

You can visit the most beautiful place in the world and it may still have nothing on Rivendell. Sadly, this fictional realm is reachable only by way of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books and watching the subsequent adaptations.

Also known as Imladris or Karningul, Rivendell is a paradisiac place in Middle Earth, home to prominent Elves like Elrond, Celebrian and Arwen. Rivendell may not be the most beautiful place in the worlds but in Middle Earth, it almost has no peer. If anything, its beauty stands in stark contrast to the rank and decay of Sauron's Mordor.

Rivendell is situated west of the Misty Mountains or the Hithaeglir, at the periphery of a gorge through which the river Bruinen courses. According to The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Rivendell lies on the same latitude as Tolkien's hometown Oxford, hence the temperate and semi-continental weather. 

But Tolkien was not inspired by Oxford while writing about Rivendell. He dreamed up this Elven outpost in the aftermath of a hiking trip to Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland. Rivendell must have come out from something so comely.

Municipality of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland. Photo via SBA73

Peter Jackson found the filming location for Rivendell in 2001's The Fellowship of the Ring in Kaitoke Regional Park in his native New Zealand.

Sign to the area where they shot Rivendell scenes in Kaitoke Park. Photo via HDRF

via diane_rooney

As for the structures and other features of Rivendell, CGI performed the magic.