Places in Middle-earth
Orc-path from Cirith Ungol to Isenmouthe
Type: Roads, Lanes, Ways
Region: Mordor/Allies
Location: A track in Mordor, along the western edge of the deep cleft valley between the Ephel Dúath and the Morgai; runs between Cirith Ungol and Isenmouthe, the entrance to the northern valley of Udûn.
Description:
[They] were deep in the valley between the mountains. It sloped up gently northward, and at its bottom went the bed of a now dry and withered stream. Beyond its stony course they saw a beaten path that wound its way under the feet of the westward cliffs. Had they known, they could have reached it quicker, for it was a track that left the main Morgul-road at the western bridge-end and went down by a long stair cut in the rock to the valley's bottom. It was used by patrols or by messengers going swiftly to lesser posts and strongholds north-away, between Cirith Ungol and the narrows of Isenmouthe, the iron jaws of Carach Angren.
It was perilous for the hobbits to use such a path, but ... Frodo felt that he could not face the toil of scrambling ... in the trackless glens of the Morgai. ...
So now they crossed the stony bed and took to the orc-path.... The cliffs at their left were overhung, and they could not be seen from above; but the path made many bends....The Return of the King, LoTR Book 6, Ch 2, The Land of Shadow
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 8Aug06
