TORONTO — Visitors looking to hike the famous jagged rock formation featured in the Lord of the Rings movies have been warned to avoid the area due to volcanic activity at Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island’s Tongariro national park, New Zealand.

GNS Science raised the alert level to 2 stating “moderate to heightened volcanic unrest” and “volcanic unrest hazards, potential for eruption hazards.”‘

Mount Ruapehu is the largest active volcano in New Zealand. The last time this volcano erupted was in 2007, causing a 7 minute earthquake.

The department of conservation has warned trekkers to stay out of the summit hazard zone, within 2km of the centre of Crater Lake.

The landscape formed the scenery for Mordor’s hissing wasteland in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is a popular hike amoung tourists to the country.