How to Find and Activate the End Portal – Minecraft Java Edition

To reach the final boss, a player needs to know how to find the End Portal. This structure does not generate on the surface – it is always hidden deep underground inside a Stronghold. Searching for it blindly or by ordinary mining is inefficient. A special item – the Eye of Ender – is used to home in precisely on the target.

Preparation and resources

Before setting out on the search, you need to gather resources in the Overworld and the Nether.

Ender Pearls drop from Endermen. Their highest spawn density is in deserts at night or in the Warped Forest biome in the Nether. Blaze Powder is made from Blaze Rods, which drop exclusively from Blazes in a Nether Fortress. One rod crafts into two powders.

Recipe: 1× Ender Pearl + 1× Blaze Powder = 1× Eye of Ender.

Make at least 12 units for activating the frames themselves, plus 3–5 extra for the search process.

Finding the Stronghold

Step 1. Throwing the Eye of Ender

Take an Eye of Ender in hand and press the right mouse button (RMB). The item will fly up into the air in the direction of the nearest Stronghold, hover for a few seconds, and then fall to the ground. After it falls you can pick it up, but there is a 20% chance the Eye will break and disappear.

An Eye of Ender flying through the sky, pointing the way to the Stronghold

Step 2. Pinpointing the spot and descending

When you get within a few dozen blocks of the target, the thrown Eye will change its behavior – instead of flying forward, it will fly straight down. This means the Stronghold's generation is directly beneath your feet. Mark this block and start digging down.

An Eye of Ender flying straight down, indicating the digging spot

Step 3. Exploring the corridors

Descend until you run into stone brick blocks — these are the walls of the Stronghold. The structure generates at various depths, usually from Y=-10 to Y=40. Inside there are winding corridors, iron doors, libraries, and cells. Your goal is to find the main portal hall.

Entrance to the room leading to the portal

The portal hall and activation

The portal hall always has a characteristic look: stairs leading down to a pool of lava, and portal frames suspended above it. Right in front of the stairs is a Silverfish spawner. This block generates small mobs that hide in the surrounding stone. It is best to break it immediately with a pickaxe or pack it tightly with torches.

The portal consists of 12 frames arranged in a 5×5 square (the corner blocks are missing). Some frames may already contain Eyes of Ender — each frame has a 10% chance of generating filled. You need to insert your Eyes into the empty slots using RMB.

When all the frames are filled, a black abyss texture appears in the center. The portal is ready to use.

The End Portal hall with a Silverfish spawner

A fully activated End Portal with a black texture inside

Gear for the End dimension

Immediately after the End dimension loads, the battle with the Ender Dragon begins. There are only two ways to return to the Overworld: kill the boss or die. The minimum survival kit:

• A bow with the Infinity enchantment (or 64+ arrows) – to destroy the healing crystals on top of the obsidian pillars.

• A sword with the Sharpness III+ enchantment for melee combat.

• A bucket of water – for a safe descent from the pillars and to create a puddle that aggressive Endermen cannot step into.

• Building blocks (cobblestone or dirt) for climbing.

Conclusion

The process of finding a stronghold in Minecraft requires careful preparation: gathering resources, including a trip to the Nether for materials, crafting the necessary items, enchanting armor, and searching for the Stronghold. The flight mechanic of the Eye of Ender works flawlessly, but it requires a reserve of resources in case items are destroyed in the air. For players who use cheats or have admin rights on a server, there is an instant way to find the coordinates of the nearest stronghold – the command /locate structure minecraft:stronghold.