Ephel Dúath

On the map the Ephel Dúath make the long hooked barrier that gives Mordor its shape. Their northern end meets the Ered Lithui at Cirith Gorgor, where the Black Gate was set across the gap. From there they run south, with Ithilien and the Anduin on the outside and the plain of Gorgoroth on the inside, before bending east above Harondor and Khand.

The range is double, an outer ridge and an inner one, with a dry trough between them that the orcs used as a road. Sheer cliffs and ash slopes made climbing pointless, so all traffic funneled through the guarded gaps. That is why the Council's plan came down to a choice between the Morannon and the passes above Minas Morgul. Orc forts stood along the inner side, while Gondor's Rangers watched the outer slopes from hidden camps such as Henneth Annûn, so the range worked as a guarded frontier rather than an empty wilderness.

Frodo, Sam and Gollum traveled along the outer feet of the range through Ithilien, then turned up into the mountains at the Cross-roads. After crossing at Cirith Ungol they walked north inside the inner ridge before turning east across Gorgoroth toward Mount Doom.

Events at this place

1. SA 1000 · The Lord of the Rings

   The mountains fenced by Sauron

   Sauron chose Mordor for its natural walls and garrisoned every pass through the Mountains of Shadow.

2. TA 3019, March 12 · The Lord of the Rings

   Frodo and Sam cross the range

   In March the hobbits climbed the stairs above Minas Morgul and crossed the Ephel Dúath through the pass of Cirith Ungol.

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