Stormwind is the human capital city and the main hub of the Alliance. Located in Elwynn Forest on the continent of Eastern Kingdoms, it will be the jumping off point for most of your adventures if you’re playing an Alliance character. In a sense, all roads lead to Stormwind: there are dozens of ways to get to and from the city, making travel between zones, continents, and even worlds a lot easier once you know where to go.
For this guide, we will focus on the four main transit centers in Stormwind. We’ll cover where to find them and where they go. These areas are:
The Stormwind Portal Room
The docks in the Stormwind Harbor
The Deeprun Tram
The Cataclysm portals
Locations of the Stormwind portals, boats, and tramWhere each portal, boat, and tram leads
The Stormwind Portal Room
The Stormwind Portal Room is also called the Wizard’s Sanctum. It is the tallest tower in the southern corner of The Mage Quarter.
To ascend the tower without flying, you will have to climb the winding stone path around the building. When you reach the top, go through the large portal gate to enter the Wizard’s Sanctum.
The Mage QuarterTower EntrancePortal Room EntranceThe Wizard’s Sanctum
If none of the portals are active, you may need to complete the Battle for Azeroth introductory quests. Check out our BFA Intro Guide for a detailed walkthrough.
Some portals will not be available until you complete certain quests.
This portal leads to Paw’don Village in the Jade Forest zone of Pandaria.
This portal leads to Boralus in the Tiragarde Sound zone of Kul Tiras.
After you go through this portal, you will be right next to portals to Ironforge, The Exodar, and Silithus, as well as a portal to Nazjatar if you have unlocked it.
The Honor Hold Mage is in the entrance to the Wizard’s Sanctum
Cataclysm Portals in Stormwind
The Cataclysm portals are located in the Eastern Earthshrine, which is in the center of the lake between the Stormwind Embassy and Stormwind Keep. All of these portals require level 30 to use, as that is the minimum level for the zones they connect to.
The Cataclysm portals are in the Eastern Earthshrine
This portal leads to Nordrassil in the Mount Hyjal zone of Kalimdor.
This portal leads to Ramkahen in the Uldum zone of Kalimdor.
When you arrive, you will be in the Uldum of the current timeline. To travel to the zone at the time of Cataclysm, you can talk to Zidormi, who is nearby and marked on the map.
Note that there is no return portal from this location.
The portal to UldumSpeak to Zidormi to change your timeline in Uldum
This portal leads to Baradin Base Camp in the Tol Barad Peninsula zone of Eastern Kingdoms.
This portal is different from the others in the Eastern Earthshrine and looks more like a typical mage portal.
The portal to Tol Barad
The Deeprun Tram
The Deeprun Tram is a train station located in the Dwarven District. Inside are two platforms where trains stop to carry you to Ironforge.
Riding the trains will take you through a long tunnel that goes underwater, giving you a view of the seafloor.
The entrance to the Deeprun Tram is in the Dwarven District
The trains run to Tinker Town in the dwarf capital city of Ironforge, in the Dun Morogh zone of Eastern Kingdoms.
There are two alternating trains that each take about five minutes to travel back and forth.
The train to Ironforge
The Stormwind Boats
A few different boats dock in Stormwind Harbor on a regular schedule. You may also board some of the stationary boats for one-time quest transportation.
The regular boats dock at the southern and northern platforms.
The boats are located in Stormwind Harbor
On the southernmost dock, you’ll find a lone portal to Darnassus. Where this portal actually leads depends upon your current timeline. By default your timeline is based on your level.
Cataclsym Timeline (Below Level 50)
This portal leads to Rutheran Village at the base of the Teldrassil zone in Kalimdor.
Walking up the hill you will see a small structure with a pink glow inside. Stepping through will take you to the city of Darnassus high above.
There is a return portal nearby, but it is not the one that you spawn beside – that one leads to The Exodar. The portal back to Stormwind is at the end of the southern dock of the village.
The portal to Darnassus is on the southern dock
Current Timeline (Above Level 50)
This portal will put you on the beach of the Darkshore zone, close to the town of Lor’danel, which is a Horde area in the current timeline.
When you arrive, you will be in the Darkshore of the current timeline. To travel to the zone before it was altered in the Shadowlands expansion, you can talk to Zidormi, who is nearby and marked on the map. This will transform Lor’danel into a friendly town from which you can take a flight path to the city of Darnassus in the Teldrassil zone.
Note that there is no return portal from this location.
Speak to Zidormi to change your timeline in Darkshore
A boat named The Kraken docks at the northernmost dock. This boat leads to Valiance Keep in the Borean Tundra zone of Northrend.
A boat named The Relentless docks at the southernmost dock. This boat leads to Boralus Harbor in the Tiragarde Sound zone of Kul Tiras.
The boat docks about every five minutes. It docks in the same place as the boat to the Dragon Isles. The Boralus boat is crewed entirely by kul tiran humans, whereas the Dragon Isles boat has dracthyr on board.
There is also a portal to Boralus in the Stormwind portal room.
A boat named The Rugged Dragonscale docks at the southernmost dock. This boat leads to Wingrest Embassy in the Waking Shores zone of Dragon Isles. Speak to Chrovo at the end of the dock to find out how long the wait will be.
The boat docks about every five minutes. It docks in the same place as the boat to Boralus. The Dragon Isles boat has dracthyr on board, whereas the Boralus boat is crewed entirely by kul tiran humans.
There is also a portal to Valdrakken in the Stormwind portal room.
The Rugged Dragonscale will take you to The Waking Shores
About the Author
Luxrah
I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, usually as a healer or caster and often as a guild leader. I play both retail and classic. I also love RPGs and indie games.