Caras Galadhon

Caras Galadhon was the chief city of Lothlórien, at the center of the whole woodland.
In the Naith of Lórien, the heart of the Silvan Elven realm, it was built within the Mallorn trees that Galadriel received from Gil-galad. It served as the residence of Celeborn and Galadriel.
== Description ==
Caras Galadhon was circular in shape and about three thousand feet from east to west. It was surrounded by a wall of green earth and a deep fosse, or moat. On the western border, a long stone road outside the fosse ran for many dozens of miles also surrounded the city. The city could be accessed through a set of great gates which faced southwest.
The city was a host of Mallorn trees where the Elves lived in flets atop the trees. Located in the city's center, atop the largest Mallorn in the city, was the flet of Celeborn and Galadriel and the Chamber of Celeborn.
Other notable features were Galadriel’s garden and her mirror, both in the southeast quarter.
== History ==
The building of the city was probably started by the Silvan-speaking Nandor elves who first settled the forest area of Lórien during the Time of the Trees under the light of stars, and was no doubt completed by the city's later Sindarin lords. No doubt beautiful during the days of Amdír and his son Amroth, it was their successors Celeborn and his wife Galadriel that made the city into a blissful but isolated Elven haven.
During the events of the War of the Ring, the Fellowship of the Ring was brought through Lórien to Caras Galadhon, and there met the lords of the Galadhrim. Around the time of the siege of Minas Tirith Lórien was besieged itself by Dol Guldur, three times.
During the Fourth Age, after Galadriel had left Lórien, Caras Galadhon was ruled by a lonely Celeborn as capital of a Lórien which now spanned both sides of the river Anduin. However not long after Celeborn himself departed to live in Rivendell and the city came to be deserted. It is unclear just how this came about since most of Lórien's people were Silvan Elves and, presumably, not necessarily inclined to leave Middle-earth so soon after Sauron's fall; there are different references to the Fate of the Elves of Middle-earth scattered throughout Tolkien's published works. Caras Galadhon is called a "great city" in the Lord of the Rings, and the impression is that its population numbered in the thousands. However, the "Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" in Appendix A depicts Caras Galadhon as wholly abandoned by the time of Aragorn II Elessar's death.
Caras Galadhon is the main inhabited area in Lothlórien, where players cannot enter until they prove their friendship to Galadhrim. The map and general layout of the city is replicated from the map in The Atlas of Middle-earth. The city hosts most major gameplay facilities and is composed of a large number of flets on different levels, connected by multiple ladders and staircases. It is rather hard to navigate and thus several quests consist solely of directing the player to various point of interest, then challenging him to find them again. The Company Pavilion, Galadriel's Garden and the House of Celeborn are also located there.