Orfalch Echor

The Orfalch Echor, also known as the Way of EscapeThe History of Middle-earth, The War of the Jewels, Part Three. The Wanderings of Húrin and Other Writings not forming part of the Quenta Silmarillion: I. "The Wanderings of Húrin", pgs. 271, 302 and the Hidden Way, was a great ravine in Beleriand that the Dry River of the Echoriad ran through.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, chapter XXIII: "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin", pg. 239
The overall length of the Orfalch Echor, from beginning to end, was roughly ten miles.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Gondolin"
==History==
The Orfalch Echor was once a river tunnel of the Dry River, which was a former tributary of the river Sirion.
When Gondolin was first built, the Orfalch Echor was fortified by seven sturdy gates throughout the ravine, which were heavily guarded by many Elves. At the beginning of the ravine was an arched gate that led to the Gate of Wood, which was guarded by the Dark Guard. Tuor and Voronwë were guided through here by Elemmakil on their way to the Gate of Steel, where the Warden of the Great Gate awaited. The ravine opened up at that end to a high sward that overlooked the Vale of Tumladen with a clear view of the city itself.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part One: The First Age, I: "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin"
In YS 502, after Húrin was released by Morgoth, he went to the Orfalch Echor in the Dry River and discovered that the old Way of Escape had been caved in by "a great fall of stones beneath a sheer rock-wall". Even the arched gate was buried. He called out to Turgon afterwards, and went away after receiving no response, though some spies reported this development to Morgoth in Angband.
==Etymology==
Orfalch Echor was a SindarinThe Silmarillion, "Appendix", entry echor name possibly meaning "High Cleft of the Outer Circle", containing the Noldorin word or ("above"), and the Sindarin words falch ("cleft, ravine") and echor ("outer circle; encircling").Orfalch Echor on eldamo.org
==In other versions==
In the earliest form of The Fall of Gondolin, the Orfalch Echor was an artificial ravine that was built by the Gondolindrim to act as an evacuation route Morgoth learned of this route from Maeglin, and set a dragon at the entrance which killed many of the survivors who refused to travel through Idril's secret way.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter III. "The Fall of Gondolin", pgs. 163, 189
==In adaptations==
===The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey===
In the first film of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, the Longbeards of Thorin II's company pass through a ravine called the Hidden Pass, which an Amazon X-ray trivia note specifies is a typical entrance to an Elven realm. Despite this note, the only realm that ever had such a pass was Gondolin, thus making this pass an adaptation of the Orfalch Echor.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ዖርፋልጭ ዐችሆር
Arabic 	أورفالش إيكور
Armenian 	Որֆալճ Եճոր
Belarusian Cyrillic	Орфалч Ечор
Bengali 	ওর্fঅল্ছ এছর্
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Орфалч Ечор
Danish 	Orfalch Echor (De Omkransende Bjerges Kløft)
Georgian 	ორფალხ ეხორი
Greek 	Ορφαλχ Εχορ
Gujarati 	ઓર્ફાલ્ચ ઇકોર
Hebrew 	אורפאלך אכור
Hindi 	ॐर्फ़ल्छ एछोर्
Kannada 	ಆರ್ಫಾಲ್ಚ್ ಎಕೋರ್
Kazakh 	Орфалцһ Ецһор (Cyrillic) Orfalch Echor (Latin)
Macedonian Cyrillic	Орфалч Ечор
Malayalam 	ഓർഫാൽക്ക് എക്കോർ
Marathi 	ऑर्फॅल्च इकोर
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Орфалч Ечор
Nepalese 	ॐर्फ़ल्छ एछोर्
Pashto 	ورفالچه ېچهور
Persian 	ورفالچه هچهور
Russian 	Орфалч Ечор
Sanskrit 	ॐर्fअल्छ् एछोर्
Serbian 	Орфалч Ечор (Cyrillic) Orfalch Echor (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඕර්ෆල්ඡ් ඒඡොර්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Орфалчҳ Ечҳор
Tatar 	Орфальч Эчор
Telugu 	ఓర్fఅల్ఛ ఏఛొర
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Орфалч Ечор
Urdu 	ورفالچه ےچهور
Uzbek 	Орфалч Эчор (Cyrillic) Orfalch Echor (Latin)
Yiddish 	ױרפֿאַלשה ײשהאָר ?
==References==
de:Orfalch Echor
it:Orfalch Echor
pl:Orfalch Echor
ru:Орфалх Эхор
Category:Cliffs and Ravines
Category:Gondolin
Category:Passes
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Tunnels