Soul Cairn map: how to get in and where everything is
The Soul Cairn is the plane of Oblivion you visit in Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion, a grey realm of dead souls ruled by the Ideal Masters. You reach the Skyrim Soul Cairn through a portal in Castle Volkihar during Chasing Echoes, and it is where Serana's mother Valerica has been hiding with an Elder Scroll.
Because it is a separate world, the Soul Cairn is not on our main Skyrim map and the game gives you no local map either. This page is a written Skyrim Soul Cairn map instead: how to get there on both the Vampire and Dawnguard paths, the layout, and where to find the Boneyard, the three Keepers, the Reaper's Lair, Arvak's Skull and all ten pages of Jiub's Opus.
Key areas in the Soul Cairn and where to find them
| Area or item | Where it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance stairs | Southwest corner, at the bottom of the curved stairway from Valerica's portal | Your way back out. The realm reads as a rough figure eight from here, split by a huge wall with a central opening |
| Soul Essence Gem | Chest at the top of the Black Minster, the tall structure near the entrance | On the Dawnguard path this restores the 45 points of health, magicka and stamina the soul trap took |
| Arvak's owner | Between the entrance and the dividing wall, calling out for his horse | Starts the horse quest and teaches Summon Arvak when you bring the skull back |
| Arvak's Skull | East side of the realm: from the Boneyard entrance go straight east to an open-sided tower on a shrine base, ringed by four kneeling ghosts, northeast of Jiub's camp | Grab it from the top of the tower to earn the Summon Arvak spell |
| Morven Stroud's cart | Beyond the dividing wall, a spectral merchant standing by a wagon | Sells random gear and spell tomes for 25 soul husks each. Page 10 of Jiub's Opus is on a barrel next to him |
| Jiub | Southeast, pacing around an extinguished campfire north of a well | Gives Impatience of a Saint: find his ten lost pages |
| The three Keepers | Three separate tall, ornate towers spread across the realm, far from the Boneyard and from each other; quest markers point to each | Killing all three drops the barrier around the Boneyard |
| Valerica | Just inside the Boneyard entrance, northeast of the entrance stairs, behind a barrier | Serana's mother. Explains the Keepers and holds the Elder Scroll (Blood) |
| The Boneyard | Northeast, behind Valerica's barrier | Durnehviir attacks here. The Elder Scroll (Blood) sits in an alcove in the southeast corner |
| Reaper's Lair | A lone building with a door along the southeastern edge, past the dividing wall | Place three Reaper Gem Fragments on the pedestal to summon the Reaper |
| Reaper Gem Fragments | Each in a chest directly below one of the Ideal Masters, the giant floating gems that drain your health | Three needed for the Reaper's Lair |
| Spell tome shrines | Conjure Boneman in the northwest, Conjure Mistman in a northeast tower, Conjure Wrathman near the first Keeper | Free Conjuration spells |
How to get to the Soul Cairn
The Soul Cairn opens during Chasing Echoes, after Dexion reads the first Elder Scroll. Serana leads you to the back of Castle Volkihar, through the undercroft into the ruined courtyard, where you fix the moon dial with three crest pieces to reveal stairs to the old tower and Valerica's study. Put finely ground bone meal, soul gem shards and purified void salts in the bowls; Serana adds her blood and the portal opens.
Then comes the choice that splits the two paths:
- Vampire path: if you are already a Vampire Lord, or accept Serana's bite here, you walk straight in. Accepting the bite starts the quest Rising at Dawn.
- Dawnguard path: a living soul cannot enter, so Serana partially soul traps you. Your health, magicka and stamina are each cut by 45 points and regenerate slower for as long as you are inside. Find the Soul Essence Gem in the chest at the top of the Black Minster near the entrance to get the points back; you can do this before you even meet Valerica.
Walk down the curved stairs and Beyond Death begins.
The Keepers, Valerica and the Boneyard
Valerica waits behind a barrier at the Boneyard gate. She explains that three Keepers hold the barrier up, each standing at the top of a tall tower at a different corner of the realm. They do not respawn once killed. One carries a dragonbone mace, one a dragonbone battleaxe, and one a dragonbone bow; you can knock the archer off his tower with Unrelenting Force. Each drops a filled black soul gem, and from level 45 their dragonbone weapons drop too.
With all three dead, Valerica walks you into the Boneyard. The dragon Durnehviir lands and bonemen keep rising until he falls. The Elder Scroll (Blood) is in the southeast alcove. When you leave through the southwest gate, Durnehviir returns in peace and teaches you the Summon Durnehviir shout. Call him three times back in Tamriel and he teaches the three words of Soul Tear one at a time.
Arvak's Skull, the Reaper's Lair and Jiub's Opus
Arvak
Between the entrance and the big wall a soul shouts for his horse. Head east from the Boneyard entrance to the open tower with four kneeling ghosts and pick up Arvak's Skull on top. Return it and you learn Summon Arvak, an Apprentice Conjuration spell that calls a ghost horse for 60 seconds, or indefinitely as long as you stay in the saddle. It works in Tamriel too, which makes it the most useful thing in the realm.
Reaper's Lair
Look for the chests under the Ideal Masters, the huge floating crystals that drain your health when you get close. Each holds a Reaper Gem Fragment. Bring all three to the pedestal in the lone building on the southeastern edge and the Reaper appears with three bonemen. He drops three black soul gems, a Daedra heart and an iron battleaxe.
Impatience of a Saint
Jiub, the Dunmer saint from Morrowind, paces by a dead campfire in the southeast. He lost the ten pages of his second Opus. They are spread across the whole realm: page one up the southeast stairs at the wall's central opening, page two by a chest at the Boneyard entrance, page nine on the roof of the large maze building via its teleporter, and page ten on the barrel beside Morven Stroud. Bring all ten back for Saint Jiub's Opus and the Locket of Saint Jiub.
Enemies and things worth taking
Bonemen are the common enemy: skeletal warriors with ancient Nord weapons. Wrathmen are heavier, draugr-like fighters with two-handed weapons, and mistmen are casters. Keepers are the only real threat.
Bring empty soul gems. Soul fissures fill the biggest one you carry, and lightning attractors convert a grand or greater gem into an empty black soul gem at the cost of a fight. Soul husks, the pale plants growing all over the realm, are the only currency Morven Stroud accepts. The three Conjuration tomes (Boneman, Mistman, Wrathman) are free.
Soul Cairn map: how to get in and where everything is: FAQ
How do you get to the Soul Cairn in Skyrim?
Do the Dawnguard quest Chasing Echoes. In Valerica's study at Castle Volkihar, fill the three bowls, let Serana add her blood, then either be a vampire or let her partially soul trap you, and walk down through the portal.
Can you enter the Soul Cairn as a Dawnguard member?
Yes. Serana partially soul traps you instead of turning you. You lose 45 health, magicka and stamina until you pick up the Soul Essence Gem from the Black Minster chest near the entrance.
Where is Arvak's Skull in the Soul Cairn?
On top of an open-sided tower on the east side of the realm, straight east of the Boneyard entrance and northeast of Jiub's campfire, surrounded by four kneeling ghosts.
Where are the three Keepers?
Each stands on top of a tall ornate tower in a different corner of the Soul Cairn, away from the Boneyard. Quest markers appear for all three once Valerica explains the barrier.
Is there a Soul Cairn map in the game?
No. The Soul Cairn in Skyrim has no local map, which is why it is not on our Skyrim map either. Use the entrance stairs in the southwest and the big dividing wall as landmarks; the Boneyard is northeast.
Can you go back to the Soul Cairn?
Yes. The portal in Valerica's study stays open after Beyond Death, and the Soul Cairn Skyrim side quests (Jiub's pages, Arvak, the Reaper) can all be finished on a later visit.
What is in the Reaper's Lair?
A pedestal for three Reaper Gem Fragments, found in chests under the Ideal Masters. Placing them summons the Reaper, who drops three black soul gems and a Daedra heart.