The Rings of Power: What (and Where) Are the Undying Lands?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 5, “Halls of Stone.”

Early on in Rings of Power Season 2’s latest episode, “Halls of Stone,” Pharazôn namedrops a legendary Lord of the Rings locale: the Undying Lands. So, what — and just as importantly, where — are The Rings of Power‘s Undying Lands, according to Lord of the Rings canon?

What Are the Undying Lands in Lord of the Rings Canon?

The Undying Lands is one of many names for a continent far off the west coast of Middle-earth. It’s home to the angelic Valar and the Elves — both of whom are immortal. Hence the “Undying Lands” moniker, although Lord of the Rings scribe J.R.R. Tolkien makes it clear that visiting this realm doesn’t grant mortals eternal life. Nor is it Heaven in the conventional sense (despite how it’s referred to in Peter Jackson’s big screen Lord of the Rings trilogy). Instead, the Undying Lands — and more specifically, the settlement there, Valinor — is the place where Elves go to hang out with the rest of their kind (plus a bunch of cosmic beings) when they’re done living in Middle-earth.

And “go” is the operative word, too. Elves have to physically travel to the Undying Lands; they don’t automatically arrive in one of Valinor’s cities when they kick the bucket (remember: it’s not Heaven). On the contrary, dying is actually the least direct way an Elf can kick off their living afterlife. Dead elves’ spirits first have to take a timeout in the Halls of Mandos — a quasi-limbo on the outskirts of Valinor — before they’re reborn in new physical bodies and allowed into Valinor proper. So, what these Elves save in travel time, they lose in the layover!

Related: The Rings of Power: Does Míriel Get Her Sight Back in the Books?

How Do You Reach the Undying Lands?

You sail there — but only if you’re invited to. The Valar have strict rules about who can (and more importantly, can’t) visit the Undying Lands. Short version: it’s an Elf-only situation. They occasionally make exceptions for mortals — Frodo and Bilbo (and possibly Sam and Gimli, too) earned the right — but this is super rare. And if you’re a Númenórean? Forget about it. The Valar cannily predicted that the nearby island kingdom’s human population would eventually rock up in the Undying Lands in search of immortality, so they banned them from even sailing near Valinor.

But — spoiler warning! — telling Númenor “no” doesn’t work forever. In the Second Age, Pharazôn (egged on by Sauron) decides to invade the Undying Lands. As you’d expect, going to war against the Valar pans out poorly; a quick word with their boss (and The Lord of the Rings universe’s supreme being), Eru Ilúvatar, and Pharazôn and his fleet are scuttled. Eru Ilúvatar doesn’t stop there, either. Aside from sinking Númenor itself, he transforms the then-flat world into a globe and yanks the Undying Lands out of there! So, from here on out, only Elves can reach the Undying Lands via a mystical path.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.