To find a Nether fortress in Minecraft, pick one direction in the Nether and travel in a straight line for a few hundred blocks, watching for dark red Nether brick bridges and towers standing over the lava sea. Fortresses can spawn in every Nether biome, and if cheats are on you can skip the search with /locate structure fortress, which works on both editions. Below we explain how the Nether decides where fortresses go, the travel tactics that find one fastest, the command for each edition, and what to take once you are inside.
This guide is current for Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 and Bedrock Edition 26.50 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
How Nether Fortresses Spawn
The Nether is carved into large square regions, and each region gets exactly one big structure: either a Nether fortress or a bastion remnant, never both. In the Java 26.3 game files, those regions are 27 chunks (432 blocks) wide with a four-chunk gap on two edges, and a fortress is picked 2 times out of 5, so about 40% of regions hold one. Per the community wiki, Bedrock regions are 480 blocks wide and pick a fortress about a third of the time.
Two consequences matter for your search:
- Every region holds one or the other. If you find a bastion, the fortress you want is in a different region, so keep moving rather than circling.
- Basalt deltas favor fortresses. Mojang’s Rare Structures help article notes that bastions never appear in basalt deltas, and the community wiki explains that a region that tries to place a bastion there gets a fortress instead. The terrain in deltas is rough going, though.
Fortresses are spread out: long open bridges on tall pillars connect enclosed corridors, and parts often tunnel straight through netherrack. That size is on your side, since you only need to bump into one piece.
The Fastest Way to Find One Without Cheats
- Mark your portal. Write down your portal’s coordinates before you leave it. Our guide to showing coordinates covers the F3 screen on Java and the Show Coordinates setting on Bedrock.
- Choose one axis and commit. Walk, bridge or tunnel in a straight line along X or Z. Every 400 blocks or so you cross into a new region with a fresh chance at a fortress.
- Travel high over the lava sea. Open lava oceans give you long sightlines. A cobblestone bridge a few blocks above the lava lets you see bridges and pillars from far off, and cobblestone stands up to ghast fireballs better than netherrack.
- Listen and look for the residents. Blazes and wither skeletons only spawn in fortresses. If you hear a blaze’s breathing crackle or see floating fire mobs, a fortress is close.
- Try another direction. If a few regions come up empty or show only bastions, head back to your portal and pick a new heading.
Remember that one block in the Nether equals eight in the Overworld, so a long Nether walk is also a cheap way to scout your home dimension later. If you still need a way in, our guide covers how much obsidian a Nether portal needs.
How to Find a Fortress With the Locate Command
With cheats on, one command gives you the coordinates of the nearest fortress. Type it in chat while you are in the Nether:
- Java Edition:
/locate structure minecraft:fortress - Bedrock Edition:
/locate structure fortress
The game replies with the X and Z coordinates and the distance in blocks. On Java you can click the coordinates to paste a teleport command. Mojang’s Java 26.3 update also made structure searches faster. If your world does not have cheats yet, our guide to enabling cheats in an existing world covers both editions. On Bedrock, turning cheats on permanently disables achievements for that world.
What to Bring and What You Will Find Inside
Fortresses are dangerous. Blazes shoot fireballs from range, and wither skeletons inflict the Wither effect in melee. Pack a shield, a bow, plenty of food, spare blocks, and a gold armor piece so piglins you pass on the way leave you alone. Our best enchantments guide covers Looting, which raises your drops here.
What you are there for:
- Blaze rods. Blazes spawn around up to two blaze spawner platforms, per the community wiki. Each blaze killed by a player drops up to one rod, and Looting raises that. Rods become blaze powder for brewing and eyes of ender.
- Nether wart. It grows on soul sand beside the interior staircases and is the base of almost every potion. Take some home to plant.
- Wither skeleton skulls. These are rare drops: 2.5% per kill in the Java 26.3 loot table, rising to 5.5% with Looting III. Three of them summon the Wither.
- Loot chests. Chests sit in the corners of corridor turns. Per the Java 26.3 loot table, they roll two to four items from a pool that includes diamonds, iron and gold ingots, saddles, horse armor, obsidian, flint and steel and Nether wart, plus a 1 in 15 chance of a Rib armor trim template.
Stepping inside earns the “A Terrible Fortress” advancement on Java. Once you have gear, the deeper Nether holds the best material in the game; see our guide on where to find netherite. There is more in every Minecraft guide on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What biome are Nether fortresses in? Any of them. Fortresses can generate in all five Nether biomes, and the community wiki notes they are most common in basalt deltas because bastions cannot spawn there.
How far apart are Nether fortresses? On Java, each 432-block region holds either one fortress or one bastion remnant, with about a 40% chance of a fortress. Expect to cross a few regions before you find one.
What is the command to find a Nether fortress? On Java, /locate structure minecraft:fortress. On Bedrock, /locate structure fortress. Both need cheats.
Can a Nether fortress be underground? Yes. Fortresses often cut through netherrack, so parts of one can be buried inside walls, with only a bridge or pillar showing.
Why are blazes hard to find in a fortress? Blazes spawn near their spawners and within the fortress’s own spawning area, so explore the open bridges until you find a spawner platform.