Emyn Muil

The Emyn Muil is a range of rocky, barren hills in Middle-earth, lying on both sides of the river Anduin above the falls of Rauros, between the lands of Rohan and the approaches to Mordor. A bleak labyrinth of stone ridges, cliffs, and ravines, the Emyn Muil is a difficult and disheartening country, and it is here that Frodo and Sam become lost and ensnared on the first stage of their solitary journey toward Mordor, and where they first capture Gollum.

The name Emyn Muil means the Drear Hills or the Dreary Hills in the Elvish tongue, and the country lives up to it: a maze of sharp stone, sheer drops, and confusing gullies, hard to traverse and offering little food, water, or comfort.

Geography

The Emyn Muil straddles the Anduin above the lake of Nen Hithoel and the great falls of Rauros, where the river plunges down toward the lands below. The eastern Emyn Muil, on the far side of the river toward Mordor, is a tangle of stony ridges and steep-sided ravines, treacherous to climb and easy to become lost in. At the head of the falls once stood the Argonath, the great carved Pillars of the Kings, marking the ancient northern bound of Gondor. South of the hills lie the Dead Marshes and the approaches to the Black Gate.

In the story

After the breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring at Amon Hen, Frodo and Sam cross the Anduin and strike out alone into the eastern Emyn Muil, intending to make their way to Mordor. They wander lost among the barren ridges and cliffs, unable to find a path down, until they are tracked by Gollum, who has followed the One Ring since losing it. Sam and Frodo capture Gollum as he tries to creep upon them down a cliff, and Frodo tames him with pity and an oath sworn upon the Ring, taking him as their guide. Gollum then leads them out of the Emyn Muil and on toward the Dead Marshes and the Black Gate, beginning the strange and fateful companionship of the three.