How to Find and Use an End Gateway in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: End gateways appear floating around the End's central island each time you kill the ender dragon - up to 20 per world. Throw an ender pearl into the bedrock-framed portal (or fly through with elytra) to teleport to the outer islands.

What you need

A defeated ender dragon
Ender pearls (or elytra)
Blocks for bridging to the gateway

Step by step

Defeat the ender dragon. A new End gateway spawns floating at the island's edge, 96 blocks from the center at Y=75, framed in bedrock with a swirling portal block inside.
Up to 20 gateways spawn this way - one per dragon kill - so respawn and re-kill the dragon to unlock more.
Use one by throwing an ender pearl into the portal, or by flying straight through it with elytra. You cannot walk in: the gap is too small.
You land on the outer End islands in the direction that gateway faces. Each central gateway has a matching return gateway that sends you back to the central island.
The outer islands also have their own randomly generated gateways, which always teleport you back to the obsidian platform - a handy exit when you are deep in the End.

Java vs Bedrock

Gateways work the same in Java and Bedrock. On legacy console editions only 4 gateways generate, at fixed positions around the island.

Versions: End gateways were added in the Combat Update (1.9, 2016) as the intended route to the outer End islands, end cities and elytra. The 20-gateway cap has been in place since launch.

Frequently asked questions

How many End gateways are there?

Up to 20 around the central island - one new gateway per ender dragon kill - plus extra randomly generated ones scattered across the outer islands that lead back to the obsidian platform.

Can I break the bedrock around a gateway?

No, the bedrock frame is unbreakable in Survival. That is by design: the pearl-through-the-portal mechanic is the intended way in.

Do I need a gateway to reach the outer islands?

Technically no - the outer islands start about 1000 blocks from the center, so you could bridge or fly with elytra and firework rockets. Gateways are simply instant and free.