How to Go to The Howling Cliffs in Hollow Knight

Learn how to go to the Howling Cliffs in Hollow Knight!

Team Cherry’s Metroidvania action-adventure game, Hollow Knight, follows the journey of a nameless warrior called the Knight as he travels through Hallownest, which is now a kingdom in ruins because of a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he can unlock new abilities, spells, and charms that will help him traverse through different areas of Hallownest and defeat enemies.

In the game, there are a lot of areas with different environments, inhabitants, enemies, and items that the Knight can encounter. One of the areas in Hollow Knight that the Knight can explore is the Howling Cliffs.

Howling Cliffs, in the northwesternmost part of Hallownest, is a vast and unknown wasteland that is thinly populated. In the area, the Knight will meet Cornifer, who will give the Knight a map of the area; Mister Mushroom, whose locations must be found all over Hallownest to unlock a secret cutscene after beating the game; and Nailmaster Mato, who is one three Nailmasters in the game. 

The Knight can encounter and obtain a lot of items in the area: three Soul Totems, nine Geo Deposits, a King’s Idol, a Wanderer’s Journal, a Whispering Root with 46 Essence, a Grub, the Baldur Shell charm, the Fury of the Fallen charm the Cyclone Slash Nail Art, and the Nightmare Lantern which is used to access one of the game’s DLCs.

On the other hand, the Knight will encounter different enemies in the area, specifically Tiktiks, Vengeflies, Crawlids, Husk Bullies, Husk Hornheads, Leaping Husks, Baldur, Elder Baldur, and Gorb, which is a Warrior Dream boss in the game.

To reach the Howling Cliffs in Hollow Knight, the Knight can go through three areas: Dirtmouth, Greenpath, and the Stag Nest.

From Dirtmouth

Before the Knight can head to Howling Cliffs through the path from Dirtmouth, it is recommended that the Knight must first have the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, and the Mothwing Cloak ability, which enables the Knight to perform a horizontal dash forward, or the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a secondary jump in mid-air. The Knight must also purchase the Lumafly Lantern from Sly in Dirtmouth to light up dark rooms. With this item and these abilities, reaching the Howling Cliffs area will be no challenge.

On the way to the Howling Cliffs from Dirtmouth, the Knight will only encounter a few enemies, specifically three Crawlids.

To go to Howling Cliffs from Dirtmouth, this is what the Knight must do:

1. From the Bench in the middle of Dirtmouth, head to the left, then, upon reaching the wall, jump and climb up the wall using the Mantis Claw ability. At the top of the wall, use the Mothwing Cloak ability to dash towards the platform or the Monarch Wings ability to perform a secondary jump towards the next platform, then take the entrance on the left.
   
2. Upon entering the room, the Knight is back in the King’s Pass area, the first area in the game. Head to the left, drop down on the next gap, head to the right, drop down to the gap, continue dropping down to the platforms below the left, and head to the bottom on the right side of the spikes.
   
3. Next, continue to the right of what looks like a wall, and the Knight will be in a hidden part of the area. Continue to the right, jump over the spikes with the help of the Monarch Wing’s ability to double jump or the Mothwing Cloak’s ability to dash forwards in mid-air, and drop down on the gap where the Knight will start using the Lumafly Lantern to light up the area, and head to the left where you will find a Geo Chest which, after hitting it, will give off the Fury of the Fallen charm and not Geos.
   
4. After that, head to the left, then drop on the narrow gap, continue to the left where the Knight will encounter a Crawlid, continue to head and jump on the platform on the left where the Knight will encounter another Crawlid, jump across the gap, and head to the left until the Knight reaches a large area.
   
5. Next, continue to the left of what looks like the end of the path, and the Knight will be in a hidden part of the area with a Geo Deposit. Head up the narrow shaft using the Mantis Claw ability (watch out for the spikes!), then take the exit at the top.
   
6. Then, head to the next platform above using the Mantis Claw ability to cling to the wall on the right and jump up, then continue to the left, where you will find a wooden structure holding up a wall on the other side. Strike the wooden structure several times to destroy it and open the path.
   
7. After that, continue to the left and up the platforms, where the Knight will encounter another Crawlid, and, finally, the Knight has now arrived in Howling Cliffs!

From Greenpath

On the way to Howling Cliffs through the path in Greenpath, the Knight will encounter a few enemies, specifically a Moss Charger, Moss Knights, Vengeflies, Crawlids, and a Tiktik.

To go to Howling Cliffs from Greenpath, this is what the Knight must do:

1. Starting from the Bench in the Greenpath Stagway Station, head to the right to exit the room, head up by jumping up the small platforms, and take the exit at the top.
   
2. Next, head to the left, jump up the small platform, jump towards the next platform on the right, and continue to the right, where the Knight will encounter a Moss Charger.
   
3. Then, jump up the small platforms and head to the left, where the Knight will encounter a Moss Knight (it is worth noting that there are three Geo Deposits just ahead of the Moss Knight on the left, but another Moss Knight guards it), jump up the platforms above the Moss Knight, head to the left, and take the exit at the top left.
   
4. After that, head to the right, where the Knight will encounter three Vengflies separately, a Crawlid, another Vengefly, and a Tiktik, then take the exit on the top right.
   
5. Then, finally, upon entering the next room, the Knight has now arrived in the bottommost room of Howling Cliffs!

It is worth noting, however, that it is impossible to go to the main area of Howling Cliffs from this area without the Mantis Claw ability. The Mothwing Cloak ability or Monarch Wings ability is also recommended.

The Stag Nest

Another method of reaching the Howling Cliffs area is through the Stag Nest, the Stagway Station in the Howling Cliffs.

The Stag Nest can be unlocked after the Knight has unlocked every other available Stagway Station, which are the Dirtmouth Stagway Station, the Forgotten Crossroads Stagway Station, the Greenpath Stagway Station, the City Storerooms (in the City of Tears), the King’s Station (also in the City of Tears), the Distant Village (in Deepnest), the Queen’s Station, the Queen’s Gardens Stagway Station, the Resting Grounds Stagway Station, and the Hidden Station (in the Palace Grounds).

After unlocking every other available Stagway Station, this is what the Knight must do:

1. Head to any Stagway Station in Hallownest, jump beside the Last Stag, and press the up button to talk to him. The Last Stag will then say that he has found the Stag Nest where he was born and raised, but he has yet to go there as he is bound by his duty only to travel where he is called. So, he will say that if the Knight wanted to see it for themselves, he could take the Knight to the Stag Nest. 
   
2. After that, jump back up near the bell and press the up button on the “Travel” prompt, and you will see that the Stag Nest is now available. Select the “Stag Nest” on the prompt, and the Last Stag will then take the Knight there.
   
3. Next, from the Stag Nest Stagway Station, head to the right, where you will find a Vessel Fragment; continue to the right and up the platforms, and near the end of the path, you will find a small elevator. Ride the elevator and take the exit on the right at the top.
   
4. Finally, upon entering the next area, the Knight arrived in the Howling Cliffs!

Now that the Knight is in Howling Cliffs, the Knight can explore more of Hallownest and discover what the Howling Cliffs area has to offer in Hollow Knight!