White Orchard is the first major area of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that players get to explore. It's so much more than just the village the main quest takes you to, it encompasses a surprisingly huge part of the map.

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With so much to see and do in White Orchard, it can be overwhelming, especially so early in the game, so it's helpful to keep the most important locations in mind while exploring the area. Let's take a look at them.

Updated on April 12, 2021 by Staci Miller: If you're still playing The Witcher 3, there might have been quite a few things you've missed in some of the more populated areas—even if you're well into post-game! Try revisiting White Orchard, for example, which likely has some side quests and merchants you haven't come across before.

Or, if you're finally picking up the game for the first time, make sure you get everything here the first time around and take note of the locations you can revisit in the future, such as the blacksmith.

12 White Orchard Inn

White Orchard Inn is the most prominent location in White Orchard and it's hard to miss. The inn is home to a whole host of characters that Geralt should interact with at various points through the game, including Elsa, Gaunter O'Dimm, and Aldert Geert.

Sometimes it'll be the main quest that takes you to this inn, and others, it'll be optional side quests you can pick up or some simple exploration. For maximum game potential, do everything you can inside it.

11 Crossroads

geralt at a crossroads in the white orchard

The Crossroads is the very first signpost players will come across in Witcher 3. This is the location players start the game in when Geralt and Vesemir ride to White Orchard Village.

At first glance there may not seem to be any reason to keep this location, but there's an interesting item here than many people miss. Near where the two witchers made camp, you can loot the crystal skull, a crystallized skull of a raven that Yennefer dropped in the opening cinematic, which you can later return to her.

10 Abandoned Site

You'll know you've found the Abandoned Site when you've reached an altar following the road east from the Abandoned Village. There's a ghoul's nest nearby you'll have to clear first, but it's definitely worth a visit.

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With the ghouls gone, people will appear at the altar, including an herbalist that you can buy some helpful recipes and ingredients from. There's also a place of power nearby but it's guarded by a bear so watch out.

9 Abandoned Village

You're likely to come across the Abandoned Village before coming across the Abandoned Site. The Abandoned Village is located directly south of White Orchard Village, and it's an important place to keep in mind if only for the quest associated with this location.

The Abandoned Village is where the Devil by the Well contract quest takes you to fight a noonwraith. You can also do some detective work before fighting the noonwraith if it's not there when you first arrive.

8 Tomira's Hut

It's always important to keep the location of the nearest Herbalist's Hut in mind at all times. Visiting Herbalist's Huts is the main way you get recipes for potions and in a pinch, you can get some handy alchemical ingredients.

In White Orchard, Tomira's Hut is an important location to keep in mind because she keeps a great stock of alchemical ingredients that are helpful during your travels. Located just east of Sawmill, you'll visit her during the main quest but you can visit her earlier.

7 Mill

Not to be confused with Sawmill, the Mill is a location that you'll end up visiting during the main quest to hunt the royal griffin, and it's also a reasonably important location that you should keep in mind.

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There's not much to see in Mill, but it's about equal distance from White Orchard Village and the Nilfgaardian Garrison, and it's near the White Orchard Cemetery, so it's a landmark you should keep in mind. You can also revisit Mill later in the game to complete some quests.

6 Ransacked Village

It seems that just about every village in White Orchard is either abandoned or destroyed, like the Ransacked Village. Despite that, it's a good place to keep in mind when exploring, for a number of reasons.

Located south of Crossroads, you can visit the village to start a side quest, as well as taking down the bandit camp to get some goodies. But the most important reason to visit is to get the schematics for the steel sword of the Viper School Gear in the nearby ruins.

5 Sawmill

Sawmill, located west of the village and south of the Nilfgaardian Garrison, is an abandoned site where you'll have to clear a ghoul's nest before people show up. But once  they do, you'll have access to a merchant where you can buy some useful supplies from.

By heading north from Sawmill, you can also find a place of power, a bandit camp, and some guarded treasure, so it's certainly a location you'll want to keep in mind.

4 Nilfgaardian Garrison

The Nilfgaardian Garrison is the northern most location in the White Orchard region. Even though Nilfgaard is one of the many enemies in Witcher 3, Geralt visits the garrison during the main quest to help them with a griffin problem.

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Main quest aside, the garrison is an enormously helpful location you should keep in mind. In the garrison, you can find the quartermaster, where you can buy some weapon diagrams and some useful crafting equipment. There's also a table here that allows you to temporarily upgrade your armor.

3 White Orchard Village

White Orchard in The Witcher 3

The White Orchard Village is the first major location you'll visit in Witcher 3, and serves as a sort of hub area during your time in the region. There are a lot of useful things to do in the village, so it's definitely worth taking the time to explore every nook and cranny.

Blacksmith

If you want to keep your weapons sharp and healthy, you'll have to visit blacksmiths in the game. Swords will break after a while and start to do less damage and, by visiting a blacksmith, you can have them fixed up. This is often easier than constantly replacing swords.

Fortunately, there's a handy blacksmith located in White Orchard. It's one of the earliest you can come across in the game, so make note of him.

Merchants

There are a couple of merchants that can be found around these parts. Make sure to visit them to see what they have on offer, as various merchants will sell different things—for example, some of them specialize in alchemy.

Side Quests

Much like most populated locations in The Witcher, talking around with people will get you started on some side quests. Side quests are great for leveling up and various rewards, whether they're Witcher contracts or just random missions you get sent on by allies. If you're a completionist, make sure to get all of these side quests by exploring thoroughly.

2 Amavet Fortress Ruins

Amavet Fortress Ruins Witcher 3

The ruins aren't something that you necessarily need to find, but they'll help you level up since they've become home to bandits as of late.

To access the ruins, you'll have to climb cliffs and buildings, but if you're a completionist that wants to see every aspect of the game, you should definitely check these out. Taking bandits is also a pretty painless way to level Geralt up, and certainly often less troublesome than the monsters that can appear throughout the game.

1 White Orchard Cemetery

Located north of the Mill signpost, the White Orchard Cemetery is one of the most important locations to keep in mind while in White Orchard. You can find some strong enemy wraiths here so go prepared, but there are other reasons to visit.

There's a place of power right in the center of the grounds you can use for a temporary stat boost, and inside the crypt you can find the diagram for the Viper School's silver sword that's guarded by a wraith.

Next: The Witcher 3 Complete Guide And Walkthrough