Middle-Earth (Specialty) Tours

Grand Tour of Valinor

Valinor, by Tim Kirk		 And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolle back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise. --RotK, "The Grey Havens"

RotK ends with Frodo's first glimpse of Valinor, but in this tour we'll take his arrival as our starting point. Passing by Tol Eresseä, the Lonely Isle, Frodo's ship would have struck ground in Tirion as Eärendil's ship did so long before. The Elves of that land no doubt welcomed him and helped him settle into his new home. And when he was ready, perhaps they led him on a tour of Eldamar and the lands of the Valar themselves.

Their halls are above the everlasting snow, upon Oiolossë, the uttermost tower of Taniequetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes....And if Manwë is with her, Varda heards more clearly than all other ears.... --The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta"
The Shores of Valinor,
by Ted Nasmith

Eärendil Searches Tirion,
by Ted Nasmith		 At the northern foot of Taniequetil a cleft called the Calacirya divides the great mountains of the Pelóri. Here sits the hill of Túna; and upon it, the Elven city of Tirion.

Upon the crown of Túna the city of the Elves was built, the white walls and terraces of Tirion; and the highest of the towers of that city was the Tower of Ingwë, Mindon Eldaliéva, whose silver lamp shone far out into the mists of the sea. Few are the ships of mortal Men that have seen its slender beam. --The Silmarillion, "Of Eldamar"

From here, the Elves might have led Frodo to Alqualondë, at the northernmost edge of their realm. It was here that the Teleri settled upon their arrival in Valinor. Unfortunately, the Swanships were long gone by Frodo's time.

And many pearls they won for themselves from the sea, and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the mansions of of Olwë at Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans, lit with many lamps. For that was their city, and the haven of their ships; and those were made in the likeness of swans, with beaks of gold and eyes of gold and jet. The gate of that harbor was an arch of living rock sea-carved; and it lay upon the confines of Eldamar, north of the Calcirya, where the light of the stars was bright and clear. --The Silmarillion, "Of Eldamar"


The Haven of the Swans, by Roger Garland

The Two Trees of Valinor,
by Roger Garland		 Now the Elves might lead Frodo through the pass of the Calacirya and on to the inlands of Aman. One of the first things he saw would be the mound of Ezellohar and the withered remnants of the Two Trees. No doubt the Elves would tell him the story of their lost beauty.

The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadows of his fluttering leaves. The other bore leaves of a young green like the new-opened beech; their edges were of glittering gold. Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light. --The Silmarillion, "Of the Beginning of Days"

Beyond the Ezellohar, spread throughout the inner bowl of the Pelóri, are the varied halls of the Valar. The Book of Lost Tales contains the best description of their many homes; here are a few choice quotes.

Map of Valinor by Karen Wynn Fonstad
(Click to enlarge)
 [I]n the plain in the full radiance of the Trees was a cluster of dwellings built like a fair and smiling town, and that town was named Valmar. No metal and no stone, nor any wood of mighty trees was spared to their raising....Separate from these and bordering upon the open vale was a great court, and this was Aulë's house, and it was filled with magic webs woven of the light of Laurelin and the sheen of Silpion and the glint of stars....

Ossë too had a great house, and dwelt therein whenso a conclave of the Valar was held or did he grow weary of the noise of the waves upon his seas. Ónen and the Oarni brought thousands of pearls for its building, and its floors were of sea-water, and its tapestries like the glint of the silver skins of fishes, and it was roofed with foam.

Lórien too dwelt far away, and his hall was great and dimly lit and had wide gardens. The place of his dwelling he called Murmuran, which Aulë made of mists gathered beyond Arvalin upon the Shadowy Seas.....[Yavanna] had given Lórien great wealth of yewtrees and cedars, and of pines that exuded drowsy odours in the dusk, and these hung over deep pools. Glowworms crept about their borders and Varda had set stars within their depths....

We must presume that Frodo met the Valar themselves, and received what healing they could give. I imagine he spent a long time in the courts of Lórien and Nienna in particular.
Even with all the healing Valinor could provide, Frodo still might not have found the strength to visit the last place on our tour. However, the Elves could hardly have told the story of the Two Trees without at least mentioning Avathar, home of Ungoliant. No doubt Frodo would have shuddered at the tale, remembering his own encounter with Shelob, a descendent of Ungoliant who nearly killed him in Mordor.

In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous form, weaving her black webs in a cleft of the mountains. There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun it forth again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished.
    Now Melkor came to Avathar and sought her out; and he put on again the form that he had worn as the tyrant of Utumno: a dark Lord, tall and terrible. In that form he remained ever after. There in the black shadows, beyond the sight even of Manwë in his highest halls, Melkor with Ungoliant plotted his revenge. --The Silmarillion, "Of the Darkening of Valinor"


Ungoliant and Melkor,
by John Howe
Full-size versions of these pictures are on display at Rolozo Tolkien and the official LotR movie site.