If you’ve ever hit a wall in your Minecraft survival world because you can’t access netherite, blaze rods, or ender pearls, you know how critical inter-dimensional travel is. One of the first questions new and returning players ask is how do you make the portal in Minecraft that unlocks all those high-value resources and endgame content. I’ve been building these portals since the Nether first launched, and I’ve messed up enough times to know exactly what works, what wastes resources, and what mistakes will leave you stuck in the overworld for hours. I once spent three hours hunting for obsidian only to realize I could build the portal in place over a lava pool, so I’m passing that shortcut along to save you the hassle.
How Do You Make the Portal in Minecraft for the Nether: Full Survival Mode Walkthrough
The Nether portal is the first inter-dimensional portal most players build, since it gives you access to resources you need to progress to the End and beat the Ender Dragon. You can build it as soon as you have access to lava, water, and either a diamond pickaxe or a flint and steel. Before you start building, gather these supplies to make the process as smooth as possible:
To build the portal, first create a frame that is 4 blocks wide and 5 blocks tall. If you’re saving obsidian, leave out the four corner blocks – the portal will still activate without them. Once the frame is built, use your flint and steel to light any of the inner blocks on the bottom of the frame. Never build a Nether portal within 20 blocks of your base in survival mode because ghasts can spawn near the portal on the overworld side if you don’t light the surrounding area properly. You only need to light one inner block to activate the portal – don’t waste flint and steel durability trying to light the whole frame.
How to Build an End Portal for Endgame Access
End portals work a little differently than Nether portals, because you can’t craft the frame blocks in standard survival mode. You have to find a stronghold first using eyes of ender, which you craft by combining blaze powder and ender pearls. Throw the eye of ender into the air, and it will float in the direction of the nearest stronghold. Follow it until it starts floating downward, then dig straight down to find the stronghold structure.
Once you locate the portal room in the stronghold, you’ll see 12 end portal frame blocks arranged in a 3x3 ring, empty side facing the center. To activate the portal, you need to place an eye of ender on each frame block. Make sure all eyes of ender are facing the center of the portal ring – if even one is facing the wrong way, the portal won’t activate. Only 10 to 12 of the frame blocks will have eyes pre-placed when you find the stronghold so you’ll need to carry at least 2 extra eyes of ender with you when you go hunting. Once all eyes are placed, the center of the ring will fill with a black, starry portal that you can jump through to reach the End.
Common Portal Building Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced players mess up portal builds from time to time, but most mistakes are easy to avoid if you know what to watch for. First, don’t build a Nether portal below y=60 in the overworld unless you’re intentionally trying to link to a deep underground area in the Nether. Portals built low in the overworld almost always spawn inside caves or lava lakes on the Nether side, which can leave you trapped or under attack the second you step through.
Another common mistake is forgetting to write down your portal coordinates before you step through. Nether portals in the overworld and Nether use a 1:8 coordinate ratio, so every 1 block you travel in the Nether equals 8 blocks in the overworld. If you build a second portal in the Nether without calculating the correct coordinates, you could spawn thousands of blocks away from your base when you return. I once forgot to mark my portal coordinates and spawned 12,000 blocks away from my base when I returned from the Nether, so trust me when I say write those numbers down somewhere.
If you’re playing on a multiplayer server, don’t build a portal in a public area without claiming it first. Other players can use your portal to access your base, or destroy the frame to trap you in the Nether. Add a lockable chest next to your portal with extra flint and steel, obsidian, and food so you have supplies if something goes wrong when you return from another dimension.
Creative Mode Portal Customization Ideas
Once you master the basic portal builds, you can get creative with custom designs that fit your base’s aesthetic, especially in creative mode where you have unlimited access to all blocks. For Nether portals, try framing the basic obsidian frame with nether brick fences, soul lanterns, and blackstone to give it a dark, spooky vibe that matches the Nether theme. You can also build the portal into a castle gate or hidden bookshelf entrance so it doubles as a secret door to your dimension travel room.
For End portals, build a floating island around the portal frame with end stone, purpur blocks, and end rods to match the End’s aesthetic. Add shulker box storage next to the portal so you can stock up on weapons, armor, and food before you go fight the Ender Dragon or explore end cities. You can even link multiple portals around your creative world to different areas of the Nether and End, so you don’t have to fly for hours to reach your favorite build sites or resource farms.
If you’re playing with mods, you can also add custom portals for other dimensions, but the basic build logic stays the same: you need a frame made of a specific block, and an activation item to turn it on. Test out different frame sizes and decorations to find a design that fits your playstyle, whether you’re building a functional survival base or a elaborate creative build.
At the end of the day, learning how do you make the portal in Minecraft is one of the most foundational skills you can pick up, whether you’re playing casual creative or trying to beat the game on hardcore mode. You don’t need fancy materials or years of experience to get it right, just a little patience and attention to the small details that make all the difference. Next time you load up your world, try testing out the resource-saving frame trick for your Nether portal, or add a custom design to your End portal room to make it feel more personal. You’ll be accessing new dimensions and rare resources before you know it.