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How to get to Hinterland in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree

Here's how to reach the Hinterland region in the top-right of the map

An establishing shot of the Hinterland region in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree: a landscape of cliffs, trees, and brightly coloured flowers. Superimposed over the image is the word "Hinterland".
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Want to know how to reach the Hinterland region in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? FromSoftware have a history of gating entire regions behind incredibly obscure and easy to miss puzzles, the most obvious example being the Consecrated Snowfield in Elden Ring. Well, the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC very much keeps this tradition alive with the Hinterland - a gorgeous secret area in the top-right of the map which can only be reached in one very specific way.

In this guide, we'll walk you through exactly how to get to the Hinterland region in Shadow Of The Erdtree, including how to get your hands on the important O Mother Gesture, which you'll need to access the Hinterland.

Where is the Hinterland in Shadow Of The Erdtree?

The Hinterland is the northeast corner of the Land Of Shadow map. It's a curving peninsula that lies above the eastern side of the Scadu Altus, above where the Cathedral Of Manus Metyr lies.

The northern half of the Shadow Of The Erdtree map in Elden Ring, with the location of the Hinterland region and its entrance marked in yellow.
If you're looking to reach this section of the map, it's called the Hinterland, and you can follow this guide to get there. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

The Hinterland is not a required area for the main story of Shadow Of The Erdtree, but it is required to complete Count Ymir's questline, and it contains some very interesting items and discoveries which greatly impact Elden Ring lore. So if you want to fully explore everything Shadow Of The Erdtree has to offer, you should definitely pay the Hinterland a visit.


How to get to Hinterland

The player in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree performs the O Mother gesture in front of a statue of Marika.
To enter the Hinterland, you must perform the "O Mother" Gesture in front of this statue of Marika. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

The entrance to the Hinterland is located in the Shadow Keep, next to the "Shadow Keep, Back Gate" Site of Grace. To get into the Hinterland, you must perform the "O Mother" Gesture in front of the statue of Marika by this Site Of Grace. The statue will then move aside, allowing you to follow the path up into the Hinterland.

How to get to the Marika Statue

The Marika Statue is located next to the "Shadow Keep, Back Gate" Grace, just before the optional Erdtree boss fight with Commander Gaius. To reach this area, you must progress through the Specimen Storehouse to the Loft area. From the ledge on the northwest side, take the next two elevators down and you'll reach the Site Of Grace. The room with the Marika statue is on the right-hand side of the Grace.


How to get the O Mother Gesture

Part of the map of Shadow Of The Erdtree in Elden Ring, with the path from the Highroad Cross to the O Mother Gesture location marked in yellow.
You can find the O Mother Gesture on a statue north of Bonny Village. Follow this path to get there from the Highroad Cross in Scadu Altus. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

The O Mother Gesture can be looted from a small statue to the north of Bonny Village in Scadu Altus. To reach Bonny Village, head to Moorth Ruins east of the Highroad Cross, and drop to the bottom of the large hole in the ground on the south side of the ruins. Follow the path out into Bonny Village.

From the Bonny Village Site Of Grace, head north hugging the cliff wall, and use Torrent to jump over the ravine. From there, continue to head north and you'll see a headless statue in the grass performing the O Mother Gesture. Loot the statue to receive the Gesture. After that, you can return to the statue of Marika in the Shadow Keep and perform the Gesture in front of it to unlock the way to the Hinterland.

That's all you need to know in order to access the Hinterland region in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. If you don't feel quite ready for the Shadow Keep or Hinterland yet, check out our guide on all the Scadutree Fragment locations so you can level up your character as much as possible. You can also check out our guides on the best weapons, best armor sets, best builds, and best spells in Elden Ring.

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