What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

Edoras, capital city of Rohan in Lord of the Rings, once sat atop this isolated New Zealand mountain.

A naturally occurring tunnel in this Nordic mountain makes it look like it's been shot.

The once and future home of New Zealand's famed Pink and White Terraces.

These phallic stone spires once served as Tolkien's Paths of the Dead.

Some of the clearest water anywhere in the world.

Ruins of a 10th century church tucked away deep in a botanical garden.

A mushroom-shaped outcropping that has come to be the symbol for an entire town.

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.

This medieval Italian town is a sheer (and beautiful) cliffside defense.

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

Italy's curious field of mud volcanoes is named for being both gross AND salty.

Sitting on an Italian hilltop is this surreal fortress built by the mad inventor of electrohomeopathy.

Legends surround this jagged rock formation in the New Mexico desert.

This sandstone gorge in New York State's Adirondack Mountains is home to waterfalls, flumes, and more.

Once a menacing challenge for trailblazers, this trail is now the most scenic drive in Utah.

The largest natural travertine bridge in the world is nestled in a small canyon in central Arizona.

This rugged area of red rocks and arches is often considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Dyed by iron oxide over centuries, these sandstone rocks rise thousands of feet into the sky.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

The remains of a community that was forced to move for a dam that never materialized still rot in this Pennsylvania park.