How to Get to the Abyssal Woods (Southeast Region) - Elden Ring Guide - IGN (2024)

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has a very dense and confusing map compared to the Lands Between. Many regions can be hard to reach despite how close they seem, requiring you to find hidden passages. This page contains the route on how to reach the Abyssal Woods region, found in the far southeast part of the Realm of Shadow.

How to Reach the Abyssal Woods in Shadow of the Erdtree

While you'll find a more in-depth explanation below, here are the steps required to get to the Abyssal Woods in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree:

1. Go to Shadow Keep dungeon at the top of Scadu Altus and defeat the Golden Hippopotamus.
2. Continue through the Shadow Keep’s main gate area until you reach a path leading to a drawbridge.
3. Take the ladder to reach a new area by the moat.
4. Keep going until you reach a room with a painting. Strike the wall to the right of it to reveal an illusory wall.
5. Climb inside the stone coffin.
6. Travel south from the flooded Ruins of Unte until you reach a waterfall.
7. Go south across the cliffs to the Recluses’ River Downstream Site of Grace.
8. From here, continue east to the the Darklight Catacombs.
9. Defeat Tap to Reveal.

The path to the Abyssal Woods is a long and convoluted one, as you’ll need to begin your journey in a Legacy Dungeon of all places.

To start, you’ll need to enter the Shadow Keep dungeon at the top of Scadu Altus, and defeat the Golden Hippopotamus at the keep’s main gate.

Make your way through the Shadow Keep’s main gate area until you reach the central path leading to a drawbridge guarded by a Fire Knight (which also connects back to where you fought the boss).

Instead of crossing the drawbridge to fight the Fire Knight, look to the right instead to find a ladder on the side of the path, leading to a hidden area down along the keep’s inner moat.

Follow the path to find a small darkened room with a painting “The Domain of Dragons”. However, this room also holds an important secret. Strike the wall to the right of the painting to reveal an illusory wall, leading to a stone coffin you can climb inside.

The coffin will take you to a large flooded area below the Shadow Keep itself, full of ruined Furnace Golems. Rest at the Castle Watering Hole Site of Grace before traveling onward. You’ll need to travel south from the flooded Ruins of Unte (and dodge a Furnace Golem that emerges from the water) to reach a series of waterfalls.

Stick to the eastern side of the falls and rest at the Recluses’ River Upstream Site of Grace to stop the Golem from chasing you, before continuing south. Note that the cliffside is full of holes, so move cautiously with Torrent to double jump over gaps. Eventually, you’ll be able to leap across to the western side of the cliffs above the river as you keep heading downwards and avoiding Flymen.

Keep sticking to the western side of the cliffs until you reach a dead end, and look below to find the Recluses’ River Downstream Site of Grace. Hop down to rest at it, then look over the cliffside here to find a series of large gravestones embedded in the cliff to carefully hop down to the river below.

Once you reach the river, head downstream until you reach the edge of the waterfall, and stick to the east side of the cliffs next to the falls. Just ahead, you can spot another series of gravestones embedded in the wall leading down from the side of the falls to another lower area.

Once you reach the ground, stick to the cliff walls and move along east while fending off Vulgar Militia to find the entrance to a mini dungeon, the Darklight Catacombs. You’ll need to traverse the entirety of this catacomb as it goes deeper and deeper underground, eventually leading outside to a boss fight.

Defeat Jori, Elder Inquisitor, and you’ll be granted access into the Abyssal Woods! You can find the Map Fragment by traveling south from the Forsaken Graveyard and following the foreboding signs south from the Woodland Trail and southeast to the Church Ruins.