Location from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Spider's Pass — a treacherous mountain crossing into Mordor guarded by Shelob's lair and an orc watchtower, known only to those desperate or foolish enough to use it.
Cirith Ungol is a place designed to kill you in stages. First the stairs — the Straight Stair and then the Winding Stair, carved into sheer cliff faces with drops that vanish into darkness. Then the tunnel — Shelob's Lair — where the darkness is absolute, the air thick with the stench of her kills, and the webs catch at your face and hands. Something large breathes in the blackness ahead of you. Then, if you survive the spider, the orc tower, garrisoned by soldiers who hate each other almost as much as they hate intruders. The pass is Mordor's back door, and it exists because even Sauron considered Shelob sufficient guard. Gollum knows this path from his years of creeping in Mordor's margins, and his willingness to lead Frodo here is the most dangerous thing about him — he is counting on Shelob to do what he cannot bring himself to do directly. The tunnels echo with a horrible wet clicking sound, and the webs are old and new in layers, some containing things that are best not examined closely.
A steep, winding stair carved into the Mountains of Shadow, climbing from the Morgul Vale to a narrow pass between two peaks. Shelob's Lair — a network of tunnels reeking of death — blocking the path near the top. Beyond the lair, the Tower of Cirith Ungol: a black stone watchtower built by Gondor to guard AGAINST Mordor, now turned inward by orcs to guard against escape. The stairs are slick with moisture and crumbling in places.
Also known as: Cirith Ungol, the Spider's Pass, Shelob's Lair, the Pass of the Spider