Were there any other ways into Mordor?

Question

The two ways that Frodo considers in order to make his way into Mordor are The Black Gate and The Pass of Cirith Ungol.

These seem to be the only ways that anyone considers taking at any point, yet they both seem nigh impassable due to the dangers i.e. the amount of Sauron's forces watching The Black Gate, and the proximity to Minas Morgul & Dol Guldur as well as Shelob's lair at the pass.

So were these the only two ways that people approaching from the West could get into Mordor?

I can believe that geographically these were the only two ways to cross the mountains from the West, but could one simply walk into Mordor anywhere else, such as coming from the East?

If there were more ways into Mordor, what was stopping Frodo from entering through that way? Was it better guarded, were they unknown to the Fellowship, or would the journey to get to these alternative entrances have been too difficult?

Answer 1

Possibly.

• An early (1944) draft of The Two Towers indicates a pass in the southern Ephel Dúath, called the Nargil Pass:

  Now Orcs have passed south through Nargil pass into the Southland beyond [? River] Harnen.

  ^{History of Middle-earth VIII The War of the Ring Part 3: "Minas Tirith" Chapter 1: "Addendum to 'The Treason of Isengard'" (ii) The Muster of Rohan}

  Nargil Pass appeared on a map drawn by Tolkien in 1943. However it doesn't appear on any subsequent maps, so its canonicity is unclear

  It seems plausible that there are other ways over (or through) the mountains; mountains are unpredictable, and it's not at all unprecedented for them to form in a such a way that would allow you to slip through.

However, the major barriers preventing Frodo from taking an alternate route are

• Time. Between Sauron's ongoing war against the rest of the world, the hobbits' dwindling supplies, and the mounting effort Frodo has to make to resist the Ring's influence, there's an enormous incentive to get the Quest over with quickly. They could perhaps have found another way, but would they have done so in time (and, more importantly, would they have believed they could have found one in time)
• Lack of guidance. Mordor is not extensively charted, and the Ephel Dúath even less so. This is related to the above, but they had no guide able to lead them any other way. Gollum, on the other hand, does know a way out, and they know he's not lying (because they know he escaped before, and they know that escape via the Black Gate is implausible at best). Cirith Ungol may be a crappy bet, but it's a known quantity

Answer 2

Not a joke answer: you can get there by air.

Gwaihir the Great Eagle and his brothers Landroval and Meneldor rescued Sam and Frodo from Mt. Doom.

Answer 3

The only other way would have been to walk the long way around and to then approach Mordor from the East. This would have added on about 1,500 miles to the journey and would have taken time that they simply did not have.

Answer 4

If the question is meaning to ask, was there another physical possible entrance, most likely. But if the question is meant to ask, was there another realistic entrance given the scope of the task, probably not. Look at the maps and see Orodruin's proximity to the Black Gate and Frodo's entrance, both are quite good as access to the mountain. If Frodo entered Mordor from almost anywhere else, he would have to venture significantly farther across the interior. From the experience he had on a strong trip through Mordor and other descriptions of the land, it seems untenable that another entrance is possible to meet the end of Frodo's task.

Answer 5

Only one point is missing from the above. It is also possible to enter Mordor from the South, as the Haradrim do. But that route would require going past Minas Morgul all the way to the southern end of the mountains that separate Mordor from Ithilien - too far a journey for the time allotted. Aragorn had gone that far south in earlier years, before the Fellowship, but the journey took him many years.

Sauron built the mountains of Mordor to keep his vassals in and his enemies out. The only three passes were the Black Gate, which he guarded, Minas Morgul, once Minas Ithil, which Gondor used to keep vile creatures in Mordor, and now guarded by the nine Nazgûl, and the secret pass near it, guarded by Shelob.

All in all, a pretty strong defense.

Answer 6

What has been overlooked here is that the east and south are enemy territory guarded and patrolled by allies of Sauron. To the east, the Easterlings and to the south the armies of the Haradrim both of which would most likely detect and capture Frodo, Sam and Gollum, not to mention none of them know the way, Gollum knew the way in from the west over the secret stair. Approaching from the east also has the added issue that they would pass by Sauron's fortress at Barad-dûr on their way to Mount Doom (it is east of Mount Doom) increasing their risk of capture by Sauron.