Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
about 15 hours ago
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
2 days ago
Ivan the Terra Bus
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: Ivan the Terra Bus
3 days ago
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All New Zealand Matamata Hobbiton
AO Edited

Hobbiton

The real life Hobbiton, this sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for The Hobbit film series.

Matamata, New Zealand

Added By
Trena Repp
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  Tara Hunt/Flickr
  Tara Hunt/Flickr
  Tara Hunt/Flickr
  Tara Hunt/Flickr
  Jeff Hitchcock/Flickr
  Joshua Eckert/Flickr
Hobbiton   movesbrit / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbiton   movesbrit / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbiton   movesbrit / Atlas Obscura User
  ladyredtravel / Atlas Obscura User
Another Hobbit hole. Cute little furniture and other details are amazing.   liyatukh / Atlas Obscura User
The artificial tree   pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the inn   pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbiton Renewed   Neal S / Atlas Obscura User
Most of the Hobbit holes are fenced off, but this one is open for photo ops.   lauravalerietaylor / Atlas Obscura User
  pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
  ambernz / Atlas Obscura User
  BrittanyZ / Atlas Obscura User
  ladyredtravel / Atlas Obscura User
The mill house   pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
Bilbo Baggins residence   pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
One of the sets   pfwilliams / Atlas Obscura User
Bag End   douglasjtimpe / Atlas Obscura User
  douglasjtimpe / Atlas Obscura User
Sam’s house   douglasjtimpe / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbiton   movesbrit / Atlas Obscura User
The valley of Hobbits   rachealanne83 / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbit Hole   rachealanne83 / Atlas Obscura User
Since filming of the Hobbit movies Hobbiton has remained as it is in the movies, like a living with village with tended gardens and fields   catniain / Atlas Obscura User
overlooking the Shire   jillala / Atlas Obscura User
Bag End   jillala / Atlas Obscura User
Hobbiton™ Movie Set Tours Buckland Road, Matamata, New Zealand   Cee
Hobbiton Village, New Zealand Unnamed Road, Matamata, New Zealand   Raelle Gann-Owens
Hobbiton™ Movie Set Tours Buckland Road, Matamata, New Zealand   Joshua Bayliss
A hobbit hole   lauravalerietaylor / Atlas Obscura User
  douglasjtimpe / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Once an unassuming farm, this hillside will never be seen the same way again after being chosen to act as a set for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" films.

Even before it was retrofitted with several Hobbit Holes to play the part of Hobbiton in Peter Jackson's adaptations of the classic Tolkien book series, this sheep farm seemed like a perfect stand-in for the famous fictional "Shire," home of hobbits everywhere.

Indeed, its natural likeness is undoubtedly the reason Jackson and his producers chose the location—with the only other qualification being that it's located in New Zealand, the unofficial real-life location of Tolkien's Middle Earth.

In September 1998, Sir Peter Jackson discovered the Alexander Farm during an aerial search for suitable film sites. Site construction started in March 1999. Filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy commenced in 1999 and lasted for three months. When the site was rebuilt for The Hobbit trilogy in 2009, these structures were built out of permanent materials. 

The entire reconstruction process took two years, yet filming The Hobbit trilogy began in October 2011 and took only 12 days. At its peak, 400 people were on-site, including Sir Peter Jackson, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Bilbo Baggins, and young Bilbo Baggins.

The farm is still an active sheep farm, but visitors can tour the area used for the set. Most of the Hobbit Holes are fenced off and you can't enter them, but one is specifically designed for visitors to enter and explore. Tour guides are employed to explain where in the movies each area appears – Bag End is a highlight, along with The Green Dragon, a whimsical old-world pub. In fact, The Green Dragon is now open for business, and at the end of the tour, you can have a drink there.

The set is very detailed and the hobbit holes are purposely made to look as though they have been there for years, complete with details like fake moss and many other small touches. There is laundry hanging, food displayed, salmon being smoked and other fish caught mimicking a very realistic set.

The tree at Bag End is a fake tree intended to preserve the area's appearance as it was in the film, even though the one featured in The Lord of the Rings was real. The film version was actually cut down and placed there for the movie. It died by the time they decided to film The Hobbit, so a fake tree with hand-painted leaves sits in its place, an exact replica of the original. 

The gorgeous location makes it easy to see why this was chosen for The Shire. The farm is in the middle of the countryside, still seemingly hidden from the modern world. A GPS is helpful in locating it since there aren't really any signs directing you where to go.

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Film Locations Abandoned Film Sets Architecture

Know Before You Go

Tours depart from 3 sites: The Shire’s Rest, Matamata i-SITE, and Rotorua. The Hobbiton tour includes walking through the Party Tree, the Party Field, Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit, Bag End, the Watermill, and finally finishing at The Green Dragon (a cafe), a complimentary cider, all handcrafted and exclusive to Hobbiton Movie Set, will be served.

It’s 111 miles from Auckland to Hobbiton. Almost everyone that visits New Zealand rents a car or a motor home to explore. Given this, you do not need to organize your tour with a third-party service unless you need transportation to The Hobbiton Movie Set. In short, buy tickets directly from The Hobbiton Movie Set and drive to the location. Once you arrive, it’s private property, and then you do need to take a tour. You cannot get to The Hobbiton Movie Set yourself, nor can you see it from a distance. You must take the bus included in your ticket.

Make sure that you purchase tickets in advance. They sell out daily.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Wild New Zealand: Exploring the North & South Islands

Stunning landscapes, unique wildlife, and rich Māori culture.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

TLara

Edited By

Blindcolour, icatsstaci, belaroundtheworld, movesbrit...

  • Blindcolour
  • icatsstaci
  • belaroundtheworld
  • movesbrit
  • JohnLydus
  • Allison
  • Neal S
  • jillala
  • catniain
  • BrittanyZ
  • rachealanne83
  • douglasjtimpe
  • pfwilliams
  • liyatukh
  • lauravalerietaylor
  • ambernz
  • ladyredtravel
  • jyackabonis
  • kclou
  • theannemeadows

Published

January 13, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://theworldtravelguy.com/hobbiton-new-zealand-epic-movie-set-tour-of-the-shire/
  • https://www.belaroundtheworld.com/hobbiton-movie-set-tour-lord-rings-matamata/
  • https://britonthemove.com/hobbiton/
Hobbiton
Matamata
501 Buckland Road
Matamata, 3472
New Zealand
-37.872091, 175.68291
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Big Dog and Sheep

Tirau, New Zealand

miles away

The Tree Church

Ohaupo, New Zealand

miles away

The Huddleston

Hamilton, New Zealand

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New Zealand

New Zealand

Oceania

Places 141
Stories 45

Nearby Places

Big Dog and Sheep

Tirau, New Zealand

miles away

The Tree Church

Ohaupo, New Zealand

miles away

The Huddleston

Hamilton, New Zealand

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New Zealand

New Zealand

Oceania

Places 141
Stories 45

Related Stories and Lists

The Ultimate Guide to Stunning, Surprising, or Hidden Filming Locations

List

By Michelle Cassidy

Moose Milk and Hobbit Farms: 8 Examples of Outsider Agriculture

farms

By Jeremy Berke

10 Places 12-Year-Old Me Would Love to Live

observatories

By Shannon Moore Shepherd

After the Wrap: The Post-Shooting Life of Sixteen Film Sets

film locations

By Kimberly Wadsworth

Related Places

  • The southward-facing entrance of the house.

    Jamestown, Rhode Island

    Conanicut Island Lighthouse

    This storybook New England home is actually a decommissioned lighthouse.

  • Washington, D.C.

    The Exorcist Stairs

    The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.

  • The famous leg lamp

    Cleveland, Ohio

    A Christmas Story House and Museum

    The home made famous by the 1983 holiday classic is now a perfectly preserved shrine to the movie.

  • Sculptured House

    Golden, Colorado

    The Sculptured House

    This iconic science fiction house still looks like something from the future.

  • The Egasse-Braasch House at sunrise

    Los Angeles, California

    Egasse-Braasch House

    The house where Good Will Hunting was written is a surreal fairytale abode.

  • Ennis House from House on Haunted Hill

    Los Angeles, California

    Ennis House

    This weird abode has inspired everything from the "House on Haunted Hill" to a robot hunter's pad.

  • Chemosphere

    Los Angeles, California

    Chemosphere

    This ultra-modern home clings to the slope of the Hollywood Hills on a precarious stilt.

  • The Zorthian Ranch

    Altadena, California

    Zorthian Ranch

    The cobbled together compound of a deceased artist which now serves as a filming location.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.