How to Find a Stronghold in Minecraft: Best Tips and Tricks

Do you want to beat Minecraft and become a speedrunner while doing so? Or do you want a ton of rare resources early on in your survival world? The solution to both situations is learning how to find a Minecraft Stronghold and doing it fast. For that, we are here with an easy-to-follow guide that includes three methods to reach a Stronghold. These methods work on both Minecraft Java and Bedrock editions. So, with no time to spare, let’s dive right in!

What is a Stronghold in Minecraft

In Minecraft, a Stronghold is the name given to the main plot structure that generates beneath the Overworld. It is one of the largest structures in the game, comprising several rooms, libraries, and additional features. More importantly, the Stronghold is where the End portal spawns. You can use this portal to travel to the End dimension in Minecraft, and it’s where the Ender dragon lives.

The Stronghold only generates underground in the overworld dimension of Minecraft. At times, strongholds can even generate underwater, but are not exposed to water. In Minecraft Bedrock Edition, most Strongholds generate under a village. Meanwhile, in the Java edition, the Strongholds generate at random spots after almost every 2000-3000 blocks.

Unlike structures like the Ancient city, the stronghold doesn’t have a fixed height in the world generation. It’s best to search for the stronghold between the base level (Y=0) and the Bedrock level (Y=-64) of the world. As per the coordinates we found while testing some of the best Minecraft seeds, this is where most Strongholds spawn.

How to Find a Stronghold in Minecraft (2025)

There are three main ways to find Strongholds in Minecraft:

• Ender Pearls: The intended way to find the Stronghold without cheats or hacks in the survival world. More on it later.
• Map Tool: With the help of an online tool, you can analyze a seed code to find all strongholds in it.
• Commands: By activating cheats, you can use commands to locate the coordinates of the nearest Minecraft stronghold.

Method 1: Find a Stronghold Using Eye of Ender

Items Required to Find a Stronghold

In the survival game mode, you need the following items to reach a Stronghold:

• An iron pickaxe or stronger (better to have more)
• 3 Eyes of Ender (12 more to activate the End portal)

Since Strongholds spawn beneath the ground, you have to use pickaxes to dig and reach the structure. However, to find the spot where you have to dig, you need to use Eyes of Ender (made up of blaze power and ender pearls).

So, if you’re curious about the process to make an Eye of Ender in Minecraft, you can follow our linked guide here. Once the item is crafted, you can follow the steps below to find a stronghold in the game.

Use Eye of Ender to Locate Stronghold

Now that you have an Eye of Ender, follow these steps to use this item to find Strongholds in Minecraft:

• First, go to the overworld and throw an Eye of Ender using right-click or secondary action key. The thrown Eye will float 12 blocks towards the nearest Stronghold location.

• If the Stronghold is far, the Eye of Ender will float in an upwards direction.

• If the stronghold is near, the Eye of Ender will go downwards and even travel underground. You may have to dig to retrieve the Eye.
• Moreover, if the Eye of Ender is going precisely towards the same spot, that’s where you have to dig to reach the Stronghold.

• At times, the Eye of Ender might shatter when used. This happens randomly. So, it’s best to carry more than 12 Eyes of Ender to make sure you have enough of them on reaching the End portal.

Method 2. Using Seed Codes and Online Map Tool

Follow the steps below to find the coordinates of all the Strongholds in a Minecraft seed:

• First, check the seed code of your Minecraft world using the “/seed” command.

• Then, open the Chunkbase map analyzer using the link here. Then, paste the seed code of your world into the seed cell.
• Make sure the game’s version is set to yours and the dimension is set to “Overworld”.

• Once the seed code is analyzed, the map on Chunkbase will display all Strongholds in that seed with the Eye of Ender icon.
• You can click on the icons to find the coordinates for that specific icon.

Easiest Method to Find a Stronghold (Cheats and Commands)

The only right way to find a stronghold is by using the Eyes of Ender, following them, and digging down to get to the structure. Now, if you don’t feel like going through all this tough work, follow the steps below to use a command to find Strongholds:

• First, activate cheats in your Minecraft world. Without doing so, you can’t use any commands.
• Cheats can be activated in the LAN settings of the pause menu of the Java edition. In the Bedrock edition, you can toggle on the “Activate Cheats” option in the world settings.

• After activating the cheats, use the following command to locate the nearest Stronghold in your world:

/locate structure stronghold

• Once the command is executed, the game will display the coordinates of the closest Stronghold you can travel to.

• Now you can use the following teleport command to reach the same coordinates at once.

/tp <x coordinate value> <y coordinate value> <z coordinate value>

• Now, instead of digging down, consider changing the game mode to spectator and passing through the ground effortlessly.
• This way, you’ll find the structure, and once you reach there, you can change the game mode again to be able to interact with everything.

And just like that, you are ready to explore the End dimension by reaching the Stronghold in all Minecraft versions. But before you enter that dimension or even the Stronghold, it’s best to keep a collection of the best Minecraft potions around. For extra support, you can also bring a few of the best Minecraft enchantments on this dangerous adventure. Having said that, can you think of any other ways to find the Stronghold in Minecraft? Do tell us in the comments below.