James Cameron did not invent Pandora from imagination alone. The environments, ecosystems, and cultures seen throughout Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and now the third movie Avatar: Fire and Ash, were shaped by real landscapes on Earth that already defy scale and logic. Some locations influenced the film’s most recognizable visuals, while others informed cultural design, creature behavior, and entire narrative arcs. Understanding these inspirations reveals how closely Pandora is rooted in reality.
For those of you who think that the world of Avatar can only be experienced in imagination, think again because our planet is what Pandora is. The beauty, the charm and the magic the film brings can be experienced in this world.
Here are the real-life Avatar locations that inspired the settings in the movies.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
Avatar scene reference: The Hallelujah Mountains and aerial flight sequences in Avatar (the first movie)
The towering sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park served as the primary visual reference for Pandora’s floating mountains. While the film digitally exaggerated the formations and removed their bases to create the illusion of levitation, the shape, density, and vertical drama of the pillars are directly taken from this landscape.
Mist frequently obscures the lower sections of the columns, naturally recreating the floating effect seen during Jake Sully’s early flight scenes. After the release of Avatar, one of the park’s peaks was officially renamed “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain,” confirming the connection.
Visitors experience Zhangjiajie through elevated walkways, cable cars, and cliffside viewpoints that closely match the film’s wide establishing shots. Glass bridge crossings and panoramic observation decks provide the same sense of height and exposure that defined Pandora’s aerial geography.
You can explore the Zhangjiajie National Park, its avatar mountains and the glass bridge with a private guided tour.
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Avatar scene reference: Pandora’s ancient highlands and vertical waterfalls
Angel Falls, plunging nearly 1,000 meters from a flat-topped tepui, is the tallest waterfall in the world—and one of Earth’s most dramatic natural wonders. Its sheer, vertical drop and misty spray create a sense of otherworldly scale, which directly inspired the iconic waterfalls cascading through Pandora’s highlands in the first Avatar movie.
These isolated table mountains, some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, are home to unique ecosystems untouched by humans, mirroring the diverse and self-contained ecological zones of Pandora. Director James Cameron and his design team studied these formations to capture the feeling of landscapes that predate humanity itself.
Visiting Angel Falls is an adventure in itself. Located within Canaima National Park, access usually requires a river expedition or scenic flight, immersing travelers in Venezuela’s lush jungle and emphasizing the remoteness and grandeur that made Cameron’s vision so vivid.
Waipoua Forest, New Zealand
Avatar scene reference: Omaticaya clan forest and Hometree environment
Waipoua Forest reflects the visual scale and spiritual framework of the Omaticaya clan’s home. The forest contains massive kauri trees, some over a thousand years old, which is like the towering proportions of Pandora’s forest interiors. More importantly, Māori beliefs surrounding land as ancestry is similar to the Na’vi’s deep spiritual connection to their environment.
You can walk beneath the towering trees of Waipoua Forest with a guided tour from Auckland. Experience the tall trees and the sounds of the forest that is as close as can be to what Pandora and Avatar’s Hometree is.
Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan
Avatar scene reference: The Tree of Souls
Ashikaga Flower Park’s famous wisteria tree closely resembles the visual design of the Tree of Souls. While not an official filming reference, the cascading structure of the vines, combined with their canopy-like spread, aligns strongly with Pandora’s spiritual centerpiece. During peak bloom and night illumination, the resemblance becomes particularly striking, evoking the scenes where the Na’vi gather beneath glowing branches.
Visitors move through flower tunnels and beneath the wisteria canopy, creating a sense of immersion similar to the Tree of Souls sequences in the film. There are two ways to visit Ashikaga Flower park as it’s a day trip from Tokyo.
One way is by hopping on the shinkansen (bullet train) if you’d like to make the journey by yourself. Make sure to purchase the park tickets online so you can skip the long queues and get in easier.
Another more hassle-free way is by booking a private day tour from Tokyo. This way you wouldn’t have to do all the travel hassle by yourself.
No matter which option you prefer, to see Ashikaga’s famous wisteria in all its Pandora-like beauty, make sure to be there at night when the wisteria flowers come alight. That’s when you feel like you are standing beneath the Tree of Souls in the Omoticaya clan’s forest.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand
Avatar scene reference: Bioluminescent forests and cave systems
The bioluminescent glow seen throughout Pandora was inspired in part by real glowworms found in the Waitomo Caves. These organisms emit light through a chemical reaction, creating star-like patterns across cave ceilings. Cameron’s team studied this phenomenon to design environments where light behaves as a living element rather than an artificial source.
Visitors drift through the caves by boat in near silence, observing a ceiling that closely resembles Pandora’s glowing night scenes. You can get to Waitomo glowworm cave from Auckland via a full day small group tour that takes you on a bioluminescent adventure with lunch included!
Humpback Whale Watching
Avatar scene reference: Tulkun and Metkayina in Avatar: The Way of Water
The marine environments of Avatar: The Way of Water were heavily influenced by real coral reef ecosystems and whale behaviour. Cameron’s experience in deep-sea exploration informed the movement patterns and intelligence of the Tulkun, which strikingly resembled humpback whales known for complex communication and long-term memory.
The Great Barrier Reef provided a visual and biological reference for Pandora’s coral structures. While you might not be able to talk with a Tulkun in real life, you can come pretty close to it with whale watching experiences. Alaska has some of the best humpback whale spotting tours that you can explore.
Māori Tribe, New Zealand
Avatar scene reference: Metkayina clan culture in Avatar: Way of Water
The Metkayina clan draws heavily from Polynesian and Māori culture especially their tā moko tattoos, ceremonial movement, and powerful communal traditions such as the haka. The Metkayina’s ocean-centered identity, strong kinship bonds, and warrior spirit echo cultural values deeply rooted in Māori life.
Māori tribes maintain a deep ancestral bond with the ocean, shaping their identity, survival, and spirituality around water. Coastal iwi fish, navigate, and pass down ocean knowledge through generations, treating the sea as a living ancestor rather than a resource. The Metkayina mirror this relationship by building their entire way of life around the reef.
In New Zealand, visitors can experience this living culture through a guided visit to New Zealand’s traditional Maori village known as Mitai Maori village , where people actively share carving, weaving, song, and ceremonial performances. These immersive encounters connect travelers to the real-world values that inspired the Metkayina clan, their community, respect for nature, and life shaped by the ocean.
The Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea
Avatar reference: Mangkwan clan of the Ash Na’vi in Avatar: Fire and Ash
For Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron drew inspiration from Papua New Guinea’s volcanic regions, where fire, ash, and ritual coexist as part of everyday life. During his visit, the raw intensity of these volcanic regions and the way people adapt to them, particularly the Baining people who lived beside the land’s volcanoes, influenced how he envisioned Pandora’s most formidable clan – the Mangkwan of the Ash Na’vi.
Instead of portraying a specific community, Cameron and his team drew directly from Papua New Guinea’s volcanic terrain. Smoking craters, ash-covered slopes, and lava-lit skies became the foundation for the Ash Na’vi’s environment, culture, and hardened worldview. These landscapes introduce a volatile side of Pandora that contrasts sharply with its forests and oceans.
Travelers can experience this dramatic setting through guided volcano tours across Papua New Guinea, especially around Rabaul Caldera. These expeditions place visitors inside the same fire-shaped environments that inspired the Ash Na’vi and expanded Pandora’s world beyond water and jungle.