Desert Temple

Desert pyramids hide four loot chests above a deadly TNT trap. This Minecraft desert temple finder shows where they generate from your seed. Enter a seed, pick the nearest pyramid and copy the /tp command. You land on the sand right beside it. Then head to the hidden chamber, but mind the pressure plate.

What a Desert Pyramid Holds

A desert pyramid, also called a desert temple, is a sandstone building with two towers and a central hall. Under the hall's colored floor lies a hidden chamber with four chests.

These chests can hold diamonds, emeralds, gold, iron, enchanted books, enchanted golden apples and horse armor. They also have a chance to contain the dune armor trim.

The chamber has a trap, though. A stone pressure plate in the middle triggers nine TNT blocks below it. Break the plate first, and the loot is safe.

How Desert Pyramids Generate

Desert pyramids only spawn in the desert biome. In Java Edition, they use regions 32 chunks wide, with at least 8 chunks between attempts.

If the chosen spot is not desert, the attempt fails. So large deserts tend to have several pyramids, while small patches of desert may have none.

Since 1.20, pyramids also hold suspicious sand. Brush it to find pottery sherds and other archaeology items.

Finding a Desert Temple in Game

Pyramids stand out against flat desert, so walking or riding a camel is a decent way to scout. Look for orange and blue terracotta on the towers.

However, sand dunes and villages can hide them, and deserts can be huge. A seed map shows the closest one, with no wandering in the heat.

A tall pillar of sand gives you a better view. Build up ten or twenty blocks and scan the horizon in each direction. Pyramids are wide and tall, so they show up as a square shape with two towers. If you see nothing, move on a few hundred blocks and repeat. A map simply saves you all of that work.

Using the Desert Temple Finder Map

Choose your edition and version, then enter your seed. The map marks the nearest desert pyramids and sorts them by distance from spawn.

Click any result to copy coordinates or a /tp command. You arrive on the ground beside the pyramid. Walk in through the front, find the blue terracotta in the floor and dig down along the side. Avoid jumping into the center hole, which lands you on the pressure plate.

The 3D view shows the pyramid and the dunes around it, so you can see which way the entrance faces.

Desert Pyramid Version History

Desert pyramids were added in Java Edition 1.3.1, together with jungle temples. Java 1.20, Trails & Tales, added suspicious sand and archaeology loot inside them. The same update added the dune armor trim to their chests.

Archaeology and Desert Survival

Since 1.20, desert pyramids are also a place for archaeology. To dig, you first need a brush. Craft it from a feather, a copper ingot and a stick.

Find the suspicious sand inside the pyramid. It looks slightly different from normal sand. Use the brush on it slowly, and an item appears. You can get pottery sherds, emeralds, gunpowder, TNT and diamonds. Mining suspicious sand with a tool destroys the loot, so always brush it.

Deserts are harsh in other ways too. Keep these tips in mind:

• Husks spawn instead of zombies and cause Hunger when they hit you.
• Food is scarce, so bring some or hunt rabbits.
• Cactus hurts on contact. Watch your step near it.
• Water is rare. Bring a bucket for emergencies and for climbing back out of the chamber.

Finally, look around once you are done. Desert villages and desert wells often sit nearby. Wells also contain suspicious sand.

Desert Temple FAQ