Best natural defenses

[The Snowman]

The Vale doesn't need the Gate. It's mountain pass is a natural bottle neck that troops can be positioned on to ambush attackers. If anything, it's a better defensive bottle neck than where Moat Cailin is located. Attackers would have to get through here to even be close to the Eyrie. Then you've got to consider, if worst came to worst, boulders could be used to block the pass creating a massive issue for attackers; they would have to try to clear the blockage while under fire from above.

The Neck whittles attackers down naturally, with its terrain and not so friendly wildlife

[Woftis]

The Neck whittles attackers down naturally, with its terrain and not so friendly wildlife

I think that depends on whether the causeway is man made or not.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

North - the Neck, vast size

Dorne - Red Mountains, unforgiving desert

Vale - the Mountains of the Moon

Westerlands - big hills on one side, the sea on the other

Iron Islands - islands surrounded by dangerous waters

Reach - very large

Stormlands - rocky, the sea is very dangerous

Riverlands - the Trident provides some defence

Crownlands - er...the sea?

[Penguin king]

The vale would be a lot stronger if it weren't for the Mountain Clans. They're like a ready made mercenary army for any invader. Just promise them a share of the plunder and some choice land in the Vale, and they'll fight for anyone.

I think people are over estimating the danger of the Eyrie also. It may be dificult to take, but it's pretty easy to seige. There's only one real entrance. Control the gates of the moon, and the fortress becomes a prison. There's no other way to bring in reinforcements or supplies.

[Peptalk]

How come? The Vale has rich, fertile land. Dorne, doesn't.

The Eyrie sits isolated on the top of a very high mountain and doesn't have many options for bringing goods in should it be besieged (it has one entrance). If you can't bring the food in, it doesn't matter how fertile your land is. More like, the invaders would prolong their siege by making use of whatever can't be brought into the Eyrie.

Sunspear on the other hand is situated by the sea. The desert protects Dorne from any invaders come by land, leaving invasion by the sea the only reasonable option for a prolonged siege. One would think this closes the sea as a transport route for Dorne, but the sea stretches all along Dorne. It is vast and wide open and it would be difficult for a fleet to control all of it = easy to sneak by the fleet and into Dorne and Sunspear. And should they somehow be unable to bring in supplies over sea, the desert is harsh, but not impossible.

[Starfell]

The vale would be a lot stronger if it weren't for the Mountain Clans. They're like a ready made mercenary army for any invader. Just promise them a share of the plunder and some choice land in the Vale, and they'll fight for anyone.

I think people are over estimating the danger of the Eyrie also. It may be dificult to take, but it's pretty easy to seige. There's only one real entrance. Control the gates of the moon, and the fortress becomes a prison. There's no other way to bring in reinforcements or supplies.

But that's the beauty of it, to control the Gates of the Moon, you have to neutralise the military of the entire Vale first or else risk having an army at your back who can break the siege. You can't take the Eyrie without taking the Vale, and the Vale itself has what I'd consider to be the most formidable defences of any of the Kingdoms.

[Woftis]

The Eyrie sits isolated on the top of a very high mountain and doesn't have many options for bringing goods in should it be besieged (it has one entrance). If you can't bring the food in, it doesn't matter how fertile your land is. More like, the invaders would prolong their siege by making use of whatever can't be brought into the Eyrie.

Sunspear on the other hand is situated by the sea. The desert protects Dorne from any invaders come by land, leaving invasion by the sea the only reasonable option for a prolonged siege. One would think this closes the sea as a transport route for Dorne, but the sea stretches all along Dorne. It is vast and wide open and it would be difficult for a fleet to control all of it = easy to sneak by the fleet and into Dorne and Sunspear. And should they somehow be unable to bring in supplies over sea, the desert is harsh, but not impossible.

The Eyrie is just a castle in the Vale, I'm talking about holding the Vale itself.

[Penguin king]

But that's the beauty of it, to control the Gates of the Moon, you have to neutralise the military of the entire Vale first or else risk having an army at your back who can break the siege. You can't take the Eyrie without taking the Vale, and the Vale itself has what I'd consider to be the most formidable defences of any of the Kingdoms.

The Eyrie can only hold about 500 men. Until you've got military superiority over the rest of the Vale you can pretty much ignore it. It's not like Storm's end or Harrenhal where you've got space and graneries large enough to keep an army of thousands. It's a place where the Nobility can hide and wait for reinforcements, that's about it.

[Fat Mac]

Well I'm going to say that the Vale and North would be the hardest to take by sheer geography.

As to Dorne, sure the deserts are hot and the people are dangerous, but is it so hard to take Sunspear via the ocean? Or sail a sizable force up the Greenblood?

Those are the top 3 I'd say. After that I'd say the Westerlands and Stormlands, due to their hills, and after that the Iron Islands. Finally rounding the list up would be Reach then Riverlands.

So in order I'd say

1. North

2. Vale

3. Dorne

4. Westerlands

5. Stormlands

6. Iron Islands

7. Reach

8. Riverlands

The Crownlands are hard to place. Crackclaw point was notoriously hard to take, and if anyone did take it, it wouldn't have been for long. But overall I'd put them between Iron Islands and Reach.

[Night's Ranger]

lets look it like this.open gates for 10 min and who will enter first.

You can take Vale if you enter it,what means that if you open gate enemy army is right outside and it will be in in about 2min(you can sent thousand of climbers on mountain and on team will open gate)

For North,if you open Moat Cailin,who says that you can charge?if you remember when Ned and Bolton where going through neck,they had to put lumber to cross.Even if you enter,harsh vasteland will crush you.North is biggest of all kingdoms.

Dorna takes 2 place,because of desert(Dorna was taken by Young Dragon)

1)North

2)Dorna

3)Vale

[Manderlay]

The North, The Vale and Dorne have the best Natural Defences.

The mountains of the moon act as a natural defence for the vale, there is only one pass to reach the Vale of Arryn and the Gates of the Moon and Eyerie, that pass is protected by the Bloody Gate, which hasn't been taken by any invading armies, it has formidable defences and the narrow pass is a bottle neck for enemy armies, exposing them to arrows, burning oil, stones and such. Its an impossible task to take the Bloody gates unless you have Dragons.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

The Vale,

Advantages: Almost completely surrounded by mountains, excluding two entrances. Very fertile land means they will likely have large supplies of food available in the castles.

Disadvantages: Can be reached by sea via Gulltown (although I imagine that the only two points of access to the Vale would have strong defenses. Also because it's so close to the rest of Westeros long supply lines are not a problem.

Personally, I'd have to give it to the Vale. The North and Dorne are about equal, but the problem with them is that they have a whole coast that can be accessed by sea, whereas all of the Vale's (presumably substantial considering the fertility of the land) military force can be concentrated in two points.

There seems to be a misconception on Gulltown. It is a big thriving port, but in no way it is the only point of access from the sea. The Vale has a coastline of more than 4000 miles. That isn't exactly a 4000 mile long, 200 feet high sheer cliff.

If you put that as an advantage, the only ways to invade the North would be straight through White Harbour (similar size and somewhat stronger defenses) or the Planky Town (somewhat smaller and weaker).

[Ice Turtle]

1, North

2, Skagos

3, Dorne

4, Vale

5, Iron Islands

6, Westerlands

7, Bear Island

8, Stormlands

9, Kings Landing

10, Tarth

11, Riverlands - real pain in ass to move armies around thanks to all those rivers

12, Shield Islands

13, Dragonstone

14, Fair Isle

15, Arbor

16, Reach

[Mine Is Not The Fury]

The North, the Vale and Dorn.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

The Vale has a coastline of 4000 miles? I find that hard to believe considering Westeros is supposed to be the same size as South America - which the variation in latitude is the equivalent of about 5000 miles... and from looking at maps of Westeros, the Vale is definitely not the majority of the coastline of Westeros.

Even so, I understand your point, there are other opportunities to land armies on the coast of the Vale of Arryn. But not only is getting men ashore like that a tricky business even when you're not being attacked, it's bloody hard to get supplies ashore without a harbour (of which there is only one). So, even if an army could be landed without challenge, I doubt they would be able to get the supplies required to feed this army ashore without use of Gulltown.

The coastline as zigzaggy as it is, not as a straight line. The Vale is full of peninsulas and bays.

The second paragraph holds true for the North (White Harbour) and Dorne (Planky Town) as well. Either it's an advantage for all three or for none at all.

[Boy and Girl Wadish]

Dorne was never attempted to be conquered with dragons. Rhaenys was on her way to conquer Dorne during Aegon's conquest but she was needed elsewhere so she never actually attacked Dorne. And later the Martell's married into the Targaryen dynasty thus making sure they would never be attacked by the Targaryen's.

Dorne was attempted to be conquered using dragons but Aegon wasn't able to do so because the Dornish weren't stupid enough to meet them out in the open and opted for guerilla warfare. It was so effective that Aegon eventually pulled out his forces and left Dorne alone until Daeron I eventually brought Dorne to the fold, and Baelor the Blessed further solidified the ties between the Targaryens and the Martells through marriage.

[TalalOfDorne]

Dorne, The Vale, and The North

[The Knight of Grey Garden]

The Neck, seriously a swamp is pretty much any army worst nightmare.

I'm surprised no one thought about living in a fortified mountain like dwarfs in LOTR, I mean I could see it work well against dragons.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

The Neck, seriously a swamp is pretty much any army worst nightmare.

I'm surprised no one thought about living in a fortified mountain like dwarfs in LOTR, I mean I could see it work well against dragons.

Because GRRM writes realistic and gritty. That doesn't work at all.

[The Knight of Grey Garden]

Because GRRM writes realistic and gritty. That doesn't work at all.

Well we know there is alot of mines in ASOIAF (Iron islands, Westerland), why you don't think it could be change in a inner fortress.