Wondering how to find the End Portal in Minecraft? If you want to travel to The End, then there’s only one means of transport – an End Portal. Taking the leap into another dimension takes commitment, as once you dip a toe in the End Portal, there’s no backing out.
We’re sure you’ve got your reasons for visiting the End. Maybe you want to take down the fearsome Ender Dragon, maybe you need some precious resources like End Stone or Chorus, or perhaps, like us, you just like the bleak endless view of the void. Whatever your reason, you’ll need to hop into an End Portal to get there.
How to find the End Portal in Minecraft
You can only find the End Portal in the portal room of a stronghold. To find a stronghold, you need to use Eye of Enders to lead you to their location, before digging quite deep underground to find it. Once you do, you’ll find it hanging over a pool of lava. Most End Portals already have some Eyes of Ender in place, with a 10% chance of generating with an existing eye.
Stepping into the activated End Portal will immediately transport you to the End, without any way of stopping it. Once you arrive at the End, you’ll spawn in the middle of a central island, with smaller islands visible around to explore. To access these outer islands or leave the End, you’ll need to defeat the Ender Dragon found on the main island. This will open up a portal to either ‘complete’ the game and return to the regular Minecraft overworld as we know it – or further explore the outer islands.
How to create an End portal in Minecraft
Although in survival mode, you’ll need to find a stronghold to activate an End Portal – in creative, you can create your own.
Here’s the End Portal recipe:
- 12 x Eyes of Ender
- 12 x Portal Frame Blocks
Mark out a 3×3 section on the ground, then once standing inside that zone you need to line your Portal Frame Blocks along the perimeter of that 3×3 square.
No matter if you built your own or found an End Portal in a Stronghold, place all 12 of the Eyes of Ender in their respective blocks to activate it. Make sure that you place all of the Eyes of Ender vertically as the portal won’t open if you place even one Eye of Ender horizontally. You’ll know it has worked when you can’t see the lava (if you’re looking at the stronghold version) or the ground (your own created version).
If you’re travelling to The End, make sure you come prepared to take on the Ender Dragon and all the other Minecraft mobs lying in wait. Here’s how to build a Minecraft shield, as well as how to enchant your weapons for the best chances of completing Minecraft and returning to the overworld in one blocky piece. If you’re struggling to find a stronghold, these Minecraft seeds containing End Portals cut right to the chase.