Top 10 Alternative Places to Film The Hobbit

Rancorous labor disputes threatened the filming of The Hobbit, the prequel to the popular Lord of the Rings trilogy, until an 11th hour intervention by New Zealand's Prime Minister ensured the movie franchise would continue to call New Zealand home. With no disrespect to our Antipodean readers, TIME offers 10 other locales that would suit scenes from J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved book just as well.