Game of Thrones Map
The Complete Guide to Westeros, Essos & the Full Known World
The Game of Thrones map depicts two primary continents β Westeros and Essos β separated by the Narrow Sea, within the fictional world of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Westeros spans roughly 3,000 miles from the Wall in the North to Dorne in the South, and contains the Seven Kingdoms fought over throughout the HBO series.
You’re here because the world of Game of Thrones is too vast to absorb in a single watch. Every valley has a name. Every castle has a history. And every distance matters when armies are marching and ravens can only fly so fast.
This guide covers every major location on the Game of Thrones world map β from the frozen frontier of the Wall to the smoldering ruins of Old Valyria β with character ties, key events, and real geographic distances to give the world genuine scale.
β Key Takeaways β TL;DR
What you’ll learn from this guide:
- The Game of Thrones world contains two continents: Westeros and Essos, separated by the Narrow Sea
- Westeros spans ~3,000 miles from The Wall to Dorne β roughly the size of South America
- The Seven Kingdoms occupy the southern ~2,400 miles of Westeros; The North is above that
- King’s Landing sits on the eastern coast, roughly central to the continent
- Essos is significantly larger than Westeros, extending thousands of miles eastward
- The Wall stands 700 feet tall and stretches 300 miles across the northern border
- Valyria, once the world’s greatest empire, was destroyed in a single cataclysmic event called the Doom
The Known World: Westeros & Essos
Two continents. One Narrow Sea. Countless wars over what lies between them.
Westeros
A long, narrow continent stretching from the frigid Lands of Always Winter in the far North to the sun-scorched deserts of Dorne in the South. Westeros is home to the Seven Kingdoms β a political union created by Aegon I Targaryen through conquest roughly 300 years before the events of the series.
The continent is dominated by powerful noble houses β Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell, Martell, Arryn, Greyjoy β each controlling a distinct region with its own culture, economy, and military power. The seat of unified rule is King’s Landing, home of the Iron Throne.
Essos
The eastern continent is vast, diverse, and far less politically unified than Westeros. Essos stretches from the Free Cities on its western coast β mercantile republics like Braavos, Pentos, and Myr β to the Shadow Lands of Asshai at the extreme eastern edge of the known world.
Central Essos is dominated by the Dothraki Sea, a rolling grassland ruled by nomadic horse-lords. Further east lie Slaver’s Bay, the ruins of Old Valyria, Qarth, and the Yi Ti kingdoms. The continent’s sheer scale dwarfs Westeros and remains largely unmapped in the show.
β The Wall & Castle Black β Edge of the Known World
The Wall is a colossal fortification of ice and ancient magic stretching across the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. Constructed roughly 8,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones by Bran the Builder β founder of House Stark β it was raised to protect humanity from the White Walkers and the creatures beyond.
Castle Black is the primary garrison of the Night’s Watch, the ancient order sworn to defend the Wall. It sits at the only major passage through: the Shadow Tower to the west and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on the eastern shore complete the line of fortifications.
Key figures stationed here include Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly, Jeor Mormont, and later Tormund Giantsbane. The Battle of Castle Black in Season 4 remains one of the most tactically detailed battles in the series.
The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros
Each kingdom carries its own culture, geography, and house β here’s every one mapped and explained.
House Stark
Winterfell & The North
The largest region in Westeros by landmass, the North is a vast, cold, and sparsely populated territory ruled from Winterfell β one of the oldest castles in the realm. The North’s culture is defined by hard winters, fierce independence, and a deep distrust of the southern lords who sit on the Iron Throne. The phrase “The North Remembers” is not merely a motto β it’s a warning.
- Ruler House Stark β Eddard, Robb, Sansa, Bran
- Key Events Battle of the Bastards, Battle of Winterfell, Red Wedding fallout
- Distance ~500 miles north of King’s Landing; ~100 miles south of the Wall
- Geography Forests, moors, wolfswood, the Last River
House Arryn
The Vale of Arryn
Nestled behind the treacherous Mountains of the Moon, the Vale is one of the most naturally defensible regions in Westeros. Its capital, The Eyrie, perches at nearly 20,000 feet above sea level β accessible only by foot in summer. The mountain clans blocking the passes have deterred every invasion in history. The Moon Door, used for executions, drops prisoners thousands of feet to the rocks below.
- Ruler House Arryn β Lysa, Robin, later with Littlefinger
- Key Events Tyrion’s trial by combat; Lysa’s death; Knights of the Vale at Battle of the Bastards
- Distance ~300 miles east of Winterfell
- Geography High mountain passes, sweeping valleys, the Bite coastline
House Tully
The Riverlands
The Riverlands sit at the geographic heart of Westeros and have, consequently, borne the brunt of almost every major war in Westerosi history. Ruled from the river-surrounded fortress of Riverrun by House Tully, the region’s flat terrain and river network make it easy to invade and nearly impossible to hold. During the War of Five Kings, the Riverlands became a wasteland of burned villages and corpses.
- Ruler House Tully β Hoster, Edmure, Catelyn (by marriage)
- Key Events The Red Wedding at the Twins; Siege of Riverrun
- Distance Midway between Winterfell and King’s Landing
- Geography Rivers Trident and Red Fork; fertile plains; the Twins crossroads
House Greyjoy
The Iron Islands
A cluster of rocky, barren islands off Westeros’s western coast, the Iron Islands are home to the Ironborn β a fierce seafaring people who live by the motto “We Do Not Sow.” Their culture values raiding, reaving, and taking what they want from the sea and the shore. Their seat of power, Pyke, is built across sea stacks connected by rope bridges, its towers perched over crashing waves.
- Ruler House Greyjoy β Balon, Yara, Theon, Euron
- Key Events Theon’s invasion of Winterfell; Euron’s kingship; Yara’s alliance with Daenerys
- Distance ~200 miles offshore from the western mainland coast
- Geography Rocky archipelago; harsh seas; Pyke, Great Wyk, Old Wyk, Harlaw
House Lannister
The Westerlands
The richest lands in Westeros β and the source of the Lannister family’s legendary wealth. The Westerlands sit atop the most productive gold and silver mines on the continent, concentrated beneath Casterly Rock, an ancient fortress carved into a massive sea cliff. A Lannister always pays their debts because they can afford to β Casterly Rock’s gold mines finance the Iron Throne itself.
- Ruler House Lannister β Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Tyrion
- Key Events Tywin’s campaigns; Unsullied capture of Casterly Rock; Jaime’s fall from grace
- Distance ~400 miles west of King’s Landing
- Geography Rolling highlands, gold mines, Lion’s Mouth sea passage
House Tyrell
The Reach
The most fertile and populous region in Westeros, the Reach is Westeros’s breadbasket β producing more food than any other kingdom. Highgarden, seat of House Tyrell, is famous for its beauty, its roses, and its politics. The Tyrells parlayed agricultural wealth into political marriages and court influence. When Cersei Lannister destroyed them, she destroyed the realm’s food security along with them.
- Ruler House Tyrell β Mace, Margaery, Olenna, Loras
- Key Events Margaery’s rise as queen; Cersei’s wildfire destruction; Lannister conquest
- Distance ~300 miles southwest of King’s Landing
- Geography Rolling fields, Mander River, Shield Islands; Oldtown in the southwest
House Martell
Dorne
The southernmost kingdom, separated from the rest of Westeros by the Red Mountains. Dorne was the only kingdom that resisted Aegon the Conqueror’s dragons β and only joined the realm through marriage two centuries later. Its culture is more egalitarian than the rest of Westeros, with women holding equal inheritance rights. The seat of power, Sunspear, sits on the shores of the Summer Sea.
- Ruler House Martell β Doran, Oberyn, the Sand Snakes
- Key Events Oberyn’s duel with the Mountain; Sand Snakes’ vengeance; Ellaria’s coup
- Distance ~600 miles south of King’s Landing
- Geography Desert, Red Mountains, Greenblood river, the Water Gardens
The Crown
King’s Landing β The Capital
Founded by Aegon I Targaryen at the mouth of the Blackwater Bay, King’s Landing grew from a military camp into the largest city in Westeros, with a population of roughly half a million. It houses the Red Keep, the royal residence built atop Aegon’s High Hill, and the Great Sept of Baelor β until Cersei Lannister used wildfire to reduce it to rubble. The city is beautiful from a distance and brutal up close.
- Rulers Baratheons β Lannisters β Daenerys Targaryen β Bran Stark
- Key Events Ned’s execution; Wildfire explosion at Blackwater; Daenerys’s burning of the city
- Distance Central east coast; crossroads between North and South
- Geography Blackwater Bay, three hills (Aegon’s, Visenya’s, Rhaenys’s), city walls
When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.Cersei Lannister Β· Game of Thrones, Season 1
The Eastern Continent: Essos Explored
Larger, older, and stranger than Westeros β Essos is where dragons were born and civilizations fell.
Essos stretches from the familiar Free Cities on its western coast β merchant republics culturally descended from old Valyria β to the mysterious Shadow Lands near Asshai in the far east. Characters like Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Arya Stark, and Tyrion Lannister each trace paths through these lands that are as formative as anything that happens in Westeros.
Braavos β City of the Free Folk
Hidden in the fog of the northwestern Narrow Sea, Braavos was founded by escaped Valyrian slaves who swore never to be enslaved again. Its lagoon location kept it secret for centuries. The city is powered by trade, banking through the Iron Bank of Braavos, and the silent faith of the Many-Faced God, administered by the Faceless Men. Arya Stark trained here for two seasons, learning to become No One.
Notable features: The Titan of Braavos (a colossal statue-fortress), the House of Black and White, the Iron Bank’s marble halls.
Free CitiesThe Dothraki Sea β Endless Grasslands
A vast ocean of grass stretching across central Essos, the Dothraki Sea is home to the Dothraki β nomadic horse-lords who believe that real men don’t build walls or sleep in stone houses. They measure wealth in horses and slaves, and leadership by combat. Khal Drogo commanded the largest Khalasar in the world. Daenerys first earned the respect of the Dothraki through fire, and later united rival Khalasars by surviving it.
Location: East of the Free Cities, west of Qarth and Slaver’s Bay.
Central EssosValyria β The Fallen Empire
Once the most powerful civilization in the known world, the Valyrian Freehold was a republic of dragonlords who tamed dragons, built a road network across half of Essos, and developed a steel-forging technique still unmatched four centuries later. Then came the Doom β a series of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and magical cataclysms that destroyed the entire Valyrian peninsula in a single day, roughly 400 years before the show’s events.
Legacy: House Targaryen (who fled to Dragonstone before the Doom), Valyrian steel weapons, and the Free Cities are its surviving heirs.
Southeast EssosKey Distances on the Game of Thrones Map
Understanding scale reveals why travel, war, and communication feel so consequential in the story.
| Route | From | To | Approx. Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Long Road | King’s Landing | Winterfell | ~1,000 miles |
| Northern Frontier | Winterfell | Castle Black (The Wall) | ~600 miles |
| Southern March | King’s Landing | Sunspear (Dorne) | ~600 miles |
| Western Reach | King’s Landing | Casterly Rock | ~400 miles |
| Garden Road | King’s Landing | Highgarden (The Reach) | ~300 miles |
| The Narrow Sea | King’s Landing | Pentos (Essos) | ~300 miles (by sea) |
| Mountain Road | Winterfell | The Eyrie (Vale) | ~300 miles |
| The Wall’s Width | Shadow Tower | Eastwatch-by-the-Sea | ~300 miles |
Game of Thrones Map β FAQ
The most commonly asked questions about the Game of Thrones world map, answered directly.