The Putangirua Pinnacles (also known colloquially simply as The Pinnacles) are a geological formation and one of New Zealand's best examples of badlands erosion.They consist of a large number of earth pillars or hoodoos located at the head of a valley in the Aorangi Ranges, on the North Island of New Zealand, in the Wellington region. Part of the Paths of the Dead sequence in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was filmed on location here,