World of Warcraft Guides, Lore, Addons & News – Noob to Boss From Azeroth's Newbie to Champion – World of Warcraft Guides
Pandaria is the mystical lost continent introduced in the Mists of Pandaria expansion — a land of ancient temples, dense jungles, and the mysterious Pandaren people. Whether you’re playing WoW Retail or MoP Classic, getting there the first time requires a short intro questline. After that, portals make every return trip a few seconds away. This guide covers every route: from Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Valdrakken, Dornogal, Zandalar, Dalaran, and even the Wandering Isle starting zone.
Quick Overview: How to Unlock Pandaria
Before any portal becomes available, you need to complete the Mists of Pandaria intro questline at least once on any character. This unlocks permanent portals for all your alts. The unlock path is slightly different between Retail and Classic.
| Version | Requirement | Starting Point |
|---|---|---|
| WoW Retail | Complete the Mists of Pandaria intro questline (available at any level via Chromie Time or the Hero’s Call Board). | Stormwind / Orgrimmar |
| MoP Classic | Reach Level 85, then begin the Mists of Pandaria intro questline. | Stormwind / Orgrimmar |
How to Get to Pandaria for the First Time
Alliance — Starting in Stormwind
If you’ve never been to Pandaria, you have three ways to trigger the intro quest in Stormwind:
- 🎯 Hero’s Call Board — Find the board in the center of Stormwind’s Trade District. Select “The Jade Forest” to receive Hero’s Call: Jade Forest! This leads you to Grand Admiral Jes-Tereth in Stormwind Keep.
- 🎯 Chromie Time (Retail, under level 60) — Find Chromie near the Stormwind Embassy. Select “Wilds of Pandaria” to begin.
- 🎯 MoP Classic — Upon entering Stormwind at level 85, you’ll automatically receive The King’s Command. Accept and head to Stormwind Keep to speak with Grand Admiral Jes-Tereth.
Complete the short questline that follows. You’ll board The Skyfire and land in The Jade Forest. Completing The Right Tool For The Job unlocks the permanent portal to Pandaria for all Alliance characters.
Horde — Starting in Orgrimmar
- 🎯 Warchief’s Command Board — Find it next to Grommash Hold in the Valley of Strength. Select “The Jade Forest” to receive Warchief’s Command: Jade Forest! This sends you to General Nazgrim inside Grommash Hold.
- 🎯 Chromie Time (Retail, under level 60) — Find Chromie near the Orgrimmar Embassy. Select “Wilds of Pandaria.”
- 🎯 MoP Classic — At level 85, you’ll automatically get The Art of War upon entering Orgrimmar. Speak with General Nazgrim in Grommash Hold.
The Horde boards Hellscream’s Fist — a gunship flying over Bladefist Bay northeast of Durotar. Completing The Final Blow! unlocks the permanent Horde portal to Pandaria.
⚡ Tip: Completing the intro on one character unlocks portals for all your alts. No need to repeat it.
How to Get to Pandaria from Stormwind (After Unlock)
Once the portal is unlocked, Alliance players can return to Pandaria at any time without repeating any quests.
- Go to the Stormwind Portal Room — located in the Wizard’s Sanctum (the big tower in the Mage District).
- Look for the portal labeled “Portal to Jade Forest.”
- This drops you at Paw’don Village in The Jade Forest.
🔁 Return portal from Pandaria to Stormwind: Find it at Paw’don Village in the Jade Forest (46.2, 85.0) or at Shrine of Seven Stars in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
How to Get to Pandaria from Orgrimmar (After Unlock)
- Head to the Orgrimmar Portal Room — located at the Pathfinder’s Den (Gates of Orgrimmar, Valley of Honor).
- Look for the portal labeled “Portal to Jade Forest.”
- This lands you at Honeydew Village in The Jade Forest.
🔁 Return portal from Pandaria to Orgrimmar: Found at Honeydew Village (28.6, 13.8) in the Jade Forest, next to Kofa the Swift, or at Shrine of Two Moons in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
⚡ MoP Classic Note: In MoP Classic, the portals in Stormwind and Orgrimmar take you to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms faction hubs (Shrine of Seven Stars / Shrine of Two Moons), not Jade Forest. This is different from Retail.
How to Get to Pandaria from Valdrakken (Dragon Isles)
There’s no direct portal from Valdrakken to Pandaria. You need one intermediate hop:
- Alliance: Take the portal to Stormwind from The Seat of the Aspects in Valdrakken → then use “Portal to Jade Forest” in the Stormwind Portal Room (Wizard’s Sanctum) → lands at Paw’don Village.
- Horde: Take the portal to Orgrimmar from Valdrakken → then use “Portal to Jade Forest” in the Orgrimmar Portal Room (Pathfinder’s Den) → lands at Honeydew Village.
🎯 Faster option: Ask a Mage for a portal directly to Vale of Eternal Blossoms — this skips Valdrakken and the capital entirely.
How to Get to Pandaria from Dornogal / Khaz Algar (TWW)
The same two-step route applies from Dornogal:
- Alliance: Use the portal to Stormwind from Foundation Hall in Dornogal → then use “Portal to Jade Forest” in the Stormwind Portal Room.
- Horde: Use the portal to Orgrimmar from Foundation Hall in Dornogal → then use “Portal to Jade Forest” in the Orgrimmar Portal Room.
⚡ Note: Khaz Algar is located off the coast of Pandaria geographically, but you cannot fly or swim between the two continents — portals are the only option.
How to Get to Pandaria from Zandalar / Kul Tiras (BfA)
From either BfA continent, the route also goes through the capital cities:
- Horde from Dazar’alor (Zandalar): Use the portal to Orgrimmar in Dazar’alor → then take “Portal to Jade Forest” in Orgrimmar’s Pathfinder’s Den.
- Alliance from Boralus (Kul Tiras): Use the portal to Stormwind in Boralus → then take “Portal to Jade Forest” in the Stormwind Portal Room.
How to Get to Pandaria from Dalaran (Legion / WotLK)
Both versions of Dalaran (Legion floating above Broken Isles and the WotLK Dalaran in Crystalsong Forest) have portal rooms connecting back to the capital cities.
- From Legion Dalaran: Use the portal to Stormwind or Orgrimmar in the Dalaran portal room → then take the Pandaria portal from your capital.
- From WotLK Dalaran: Same route — portal to capital, then portal to Pandaria.
🎯 Alternatively, any Mage can cast Portal: Vale of Eternal Blossoms to skip the capital entirely.
Wandering Isle — The Pandaren Starting Zone
The Wandering Isle is the exclusive starting zone for Pandaren characters — it’s not the same as Pandaria the continent, though they share the expansion. The Wandering Isle is the back of a giant ancient turtle named Shen-zin Su, who has wandered Azeroth’s oceans for centuries.
Pandaren players begin here as neutral characters — they haven’t chosen Alliance or Horde yet. At the end of the questline, they make a permanent one-time faction decision:
| Choice | Faction | Sent To |
|---|---|---|
| Follow Aysa Cloudsinger | Alliance | Stormwind City |
| Follow Ji Firepaw | Horde | Orgrimmar |
⚠️ This decision is permanent in-game. The only way to change it afterward is via Blizzard’s paid Faction Change service.
Once the questline is done and a faction is chosen, Pandaren are teleported to their new capital city. From there, they can access Pandaria proper via the portal rooms described above.
The Wandering Isle is only accessible by creating a new Pandaren character — it’s an instanced starting experience and cannot be revisited later.
Alternative Ways to Get to Pandaria
- 🧙 Mage Portal: Any Mage can cast Portal: Vale of Eternal Blossoms (group) or Teleport: Vale of Eternal Blossoms (self only) — the fastest possible route from anywhere.
- 🪄 Warlock Summon: A Warlock with two other players can use Ritual of Summoning to pull you directly to Pandaria, even before completing the intro quest.
- 🏠 Hearthstone: Set your Hearthstone to any inn in Pandaria (e.g., Shrine of Seven Stars / Shrine of Two Moons) for instant return. The Innkeeper’s Daughter toy also functions as a second Hearthstone.
