How to Find a Village in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Villages generate in plains, meadow, desert, savanna, taiga and snowy plains biomes. Walk or ride in one direction scanning the horizon, buy an explorer map from a cartographer, or use /locate if cheats are on.

What you need

A horse or boat (recommended)
Emeralds for the cartographer map (optional)

Step by step

Know where they generate: villages generate in plains, meadow, desert, savanna, taiga and snowy plains biomes. Bedrock Edition adds snowy taiga and sunflower plains. They do not generate in forests, jungles or oceans.
Spawn check: villages are fairly common near spawn. There is about a 1 in 2 chance of at least one within 500 blocks of the world spawn point in Java and about 2 in 3 in Bedrock. If you start in a forest, walk out of it and scan the flat biomes first.
Travel smart: pick one direction and keep going. A boat along a coast, a horse across plains, or an elytra later on all beat wandering in circles.
Climb and scan: at dawn or dusk, get on the highest hill around and look for the regular grid of houses, lit windows and paths - villages are easy to spot from height.
Use a cartographer: any cartographer villager sells explorer maps that lead to a village of a specific type (plains, desert, savanna, taiga or snowy), depending on where he spawned.
Use commands if cheats are on: in Java, /locate structure #village prints the nearest village of any type. In Bedrock, use /locate structure village.
Found one? Secure it: wall or light the village, ring the bell to gather villagers, and consider building your trading hall and iron farm there.
Bonus: 2% of villages generate as abandoned villages. Their villagers are zombie villagers, which you can cure into normal villagers.

Java vs Bedrock

Bedrock Edition also generates villages in snowy taiga and sunflower plains. The /locate command differs: Java uses /locate structure #village, Bedrock uses /locate structure village. Villages are slightly more common in Bedrock.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note above for differences.

Frequently asked questions

Which biomes have villages in Minecraft?

Plains, meadow, desert, savanna, taiga and snowy plains - plus snowy taiga and sunflower plains in Bedrock Edition. Each biome has its own village architecture.

What is the fastest way to find a village?

With cheats, /locate structure #village in Java or /locate structure village in Bedrock. Without cheats, buy an explorer map from a cartographer villager. Otherwise, travel in a straight line through flat biomes and scan from high ground.

Can a village spawn without villagers?

Yes - about 2% of villages generate as abandoned villages, where every generated villager is a zombie villager and doors and torches are missing. You can cure the zombie villagers.

Do villages spawn near spawn?

Often. There is about a 1 in 2 chance of at least one village within 500 blocks of the world spawn point in Java Edition and about 2 in 3 in Bedrock Edition. There is no guarantee.