J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies are no longer a thing of the books and movies, as millions head to New Zealand to discover their magic.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”

There is enchantment Down Under. Burrowed deep in the town of Matamata in New Zealand, near the foot of the Kaimai Ranges, is Hobbiton, the village or “shire” of Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is the real “Middle and it is the new face of the tourism economy of New Zealand.

Back in the fall of 2012, my aunt, who was living in Auckland, invited me to visit her. After landing at the Auckland airport and extending the customary salutations, all I kept thinking about was that I was in the land of Hobbiton, and that, yes, I could actually visit it. A few days later, we were on our way from Auckland to Matamata.

The charm of Hobbiton and the Shire lies in the fact that it is the setting of two different sets of cinematic trilogies, based on some of the most read, and best-loved. The first is the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). The second, more recent one, is The Hobbit trilogy: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and the soon-to-be-released There and Back Again (2014).

Ever since the release of the first Lord of the Rings movie, tourists have poured into New Zealand, many interested in taking The Lord of the Rings from the realm of fantasy and witnessing it as reality at Hobbiton’s fan experience. In addition to this, there are tours to the set of Helm’s Deep, Minas Morgul and so on.

With the release of An Unexpected Journey in 2012, even the New Zealand government made concerted efforts to ride the expected spike in fans interest in The Hobbit movies, as was the case back in 2002, when LOTR released. I remember the Hobbiton tour guides telling us that even their prime minister visited Matamata, and asked people to visit this area during a press conference. Apparently, the prime minister was hopeful that Hobbiton will help improve tourism and its associated industries.

Hobbitton, like the hobbits themselves, hasn’t disappointed the Kiwis.

New Zealand received a record 2.7 million overseas visitors in 2013, providing a lift to retailers, tour operators, the hospitality industry and the economy through a $365 million spend. In December 2013 alone, New Zealand recorded the highest number of arrivals in any month with 381,000. Per news reports, most visitors were arriving from Australia, the United States, Canada, Germany and China. It is safe to say that many a fan of Tolkien’s books is heading to New Zealand.

Driving down to Hobbiton, it becomes clear how the landscape lends itself to the mystical allure of the trilogies. The journey is magical, inviting and overwhelming. We drove south from Auckland, through the fantastically green rolling hills and lush pastures of Waikato [district]. After a few hours’ drive, there it was: Hobbiton, in all its enchanting glory, casting spells on those who have lived by the ring.

The tour is aided by local guides. The starting point is a café, ticket shop and a toy shop, thematically named the Shire’s Rest Café and Shire Store. Hobbits are, of course, food-loving creatures; tea, coffee and cakes at Shire’s Rest Café are served with the same touch of hospitality that Frodo might offer to his guests.

From the café, visitors are seated in a van that drives them to the movie set after passing through many farm gates. The set doesn’t quite feel like a set. It is more like an actual village. The hobbit holes have been seamlessly woven into the natural landscape. When you get to “Bag End”, you’ll find the hobbit-holes where Bilbo and Frodo Baggins lived. Going from one hobbit hole to the next, it seems that actual hobbits might pop out of their holes and that a certain gray-cloaked wizard might make an apearance.

The whole set is decorated with barrels, carts and props. From the movies and books, we know that the Hobbits like gardening. Across the set, therefore, are gardening tools for visitors where they can actually do the gardening too. There are tea mugs placed over some tables too, which gives you the feeling that the hobbits are actually here and enjoying their activities. You can also see smoke coming out of the chimneys.

The attention to intricate detail is exciting and exhilarating: an oak tree, for example, been reconstructed in fibre glass moulded on the original. Its thousand of leaves were made in Taiwan and individually wired in place. The tree has been painted again, right down to each leaf.

Passing over the fields and crossing a stony bridge past the Hobbit mill, one reaches the “Green Dragon Inn” — a replica pub that serves brewed beer and ginger-ale, bringing to a close what is most definitely an exciting fan experience.

Fascinating, isn’t it? If ever you visit New Zealand, Hobbiton should be the first place you want to visit and you’ll thank Peter Jackson (The movie director) and of course me as well, I bet!

And if not, well there’s always Helm’s Deep!