How To Find a Woodland Mansion in Minecraft (2026 Guide)

There are two ways to find a woodland mansion: buy a woodland explorer map from a master-level cartographer villager (14 emeralds and 1 compass), or type the command /locate structure minecraft:mansion in a world with cheats enabled. This guide walks through both methods step by step.

_{This guide is current for 2026 (Minecraft 26.2, Chaos Cubed).}

Woodland mansions are naturally generated structures in Minecraft that can only be found inside dark forest biomes. These buildings contain loot and special rewards, including diamond blocks and totems of undying. You can also renovate the mansion to your liking and live inside as your own house!

Due to their rarity, it’s unlikely you’ll randomly find a Woodland Mansion while exploring. Luckily you can locate them with the help of a woodland explorer map.

This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know about how to find a Woodland Mansion in Minecraft.

Step One: Obtain a Woodland Explorer Map

Woodland explorer maps are essential to finding a woodland mansion in Minecraft. These maps can be obtained through villager trading with a cartographer villager. The woodland explorer map is a master-level trade (level 5, the highest rank), which means you’ll have to repeatedly trade with the cartographer until it levels all the way up and the map appears in the trading menu.

Colorful particles will surround the villager each time a level is unlocked, and you can check its current rank by the badge it wears (a master wears a diamond badge). The woodland explorer map costs 14 emeralds and 1 compass. Trading with villagers is also a source of Minecraft XP, so leveling a cartographer pays off twice.

Tip: on the way up, journeyman cartographers also sell ocean explorer maps and trial explorer maps (which lead to trial chambers), so you’ll collect some bonus adventures while unlocking the mansion map!

Step Two: Follow The Map

The next step to finding a woodland mansion in Minecraft is to open the map and travel towards the structure. Hold the map in your hand and look at the ground to enlarge it on your screen. Every map has a white dot (your location), a house (woodland mansion), and a sketch of the world.

Note that the map is not to scale and in this photo the woodland mansion is actually about 3000 blocks away from the player!

Use the map to determine which general direction to go, for example in the above photo the player would need to travel south-east from their current location until reaching the woodland mansion. Remember, the player location is the white dot in the top left corner and not the crosshair.

To travel a specific direction (southeast in this example map), use the debug screen (F3 on PC) to find which direction you’re facing. Keep turning and checking the F3 screen until you’re facing the correct direction, travel that way, and eventually you’ll find a woodland mansion inside of a dark forest!

The Fast Way: Use the /locate Command

If you don’t mind using cheats, the /locate command finds the nearest mansion instantly. Here is how:

1. Make sure cheats are enabled on your world or server.
2. Open the chat and type: /locate structure minecraft:mansion
3. The game replies with the coordinates of the nearest woodland mansion.
4. Click the coordinates in chat to teleport there, or travel to them on foot if you’d rather keep it fair.

This works on both Java and Bedrock Edition. For more commands like this, check out our full list of Minecraft commands.

Step Three: Explore and Enjoy the Woodland Mansion

Now that you’ve successfully found a woodland mansion, you can explore and collect all the rewards! There are many chests inside containing loot similar to dungeons, including diamond armour. Also, you’ll also find hidden rooms where you can find diamonds!

Two types of illagers live inside the mansion: vindicators (axe fighters) and evokers (magic users that summon vexes). Evokers are the important ones: every evoker drops a Totem of Undying when killed, guaranteed. The totem of undying can revive you upon death (when held in one of your hands), which makes it one of the most valuable items in the game. Note that illagers don’t respawn when they’re killed, so a cleared mansion stays clear.

Keep an eye out for allays too! These friendly blue flying mobs are locked in small jail cells inside some mansions. Break them out and they will follow you around, and if you hand an allay an item, it flies off to collect matching dropped items for you. Rescuing allays is one of the best reasons to raid a mansion.

One more looting tip is that mansions have far more loot than your inventory can hold, so bring an ender chest with a few shulker boxes inside. Fill a shulker box, tuck it back into the ender chest, and nothing gets lost even if you die on the trip home.

When you’re finished and decide to leave the area, it’s a good idea to leave a marker to remind you where the mansion is. One way to do this could be by using a beacon beam to mark the location.

Tip: If you’re having trouble finding a woodland mansion on a new world, try searching online for a recent woodland mansion seed made for your game version. Old seeds won’t generate the same world on current versions.

Woodland Mansion FAQs

Why does the cartographer keep giving me the same map?

Each cartographer picks one nearby mansion when its map trade unlocks, and buying again from that same villager always gives the same map. To get a map to a different mansion, level up a new cartographer in a village far away from the first one.

What drops the Totem of Undying?

Only evokers drop the Totem of Undying, and every evoker drops exactly one when killed. Evokers spawn in woodland mansions and in raids, so mansions are the safest place to farm your first totems.

Do allays spawn in woodland mansions?

Yes. Allays are found locked in small jail cells inside woodland mansions (and at pillager outposts). Break the cell open and the allay will follow you. Give it an item and it collects matching dropped items for you.

How rare are woodland mansions?

Woodland mansions are among the rarest structures in the game. They only generate in dark forest biomes and are often thousands of blocks from spawn, which is why an explorer map or the /locate command is usually needed to find one.

That covers our article on how to find a woodland mansion in Minecraft. Do you have any questions or additions? Leave a comment below!