Gloomreach is a cave in the mountains near the Karth River, and the moment you step inside it is clear this is no ordinary hole in the ground. Eerie blue-green light fills the place, glowing tendrils hang from the walls and ceiling, and the roof shimmers with a luminous coating. The less pleasant news: a band of Falmer and their pet chaurus call it home.
What you’ll find
- Gloomreach Cavern: the upper section, apparently an abandoned corundum mine. Mining gear, a smelter and corundum ore veins are still here, and there is a pickaxe nearby if you forgot yours.
- Gloomreach Hive: through the tunnel beyond the cavern lies a larger chamber. A ramp leads down to a freshwater pool with a skeleton and some salmon, and more Falmer and chaurus waiting for you.
- A chest of leveled ingots lying at the bottom of that pool, plus a couple of other chests in the hive.
- With Dawnguard installed, tougher foes join in, such as chaurus hunters and Falmer warmongers (Dawnguard).
Notable items
- Restoration skill book Withershins, on a barrel where you meet the first Falmer.
- Corundum ore veins and a smelter to process them on the spot.
- An alchemist’s shopping list: Bleeding Crown, Blisterwort, Fly Amanita and Glowing Mushroom in good numbers, plus Imp Stool, Namira’s Rot and Juniper Berries.
- From the residents themselves: Chaurus Eggs, Chaurus Chitin and Falmer Ears.
Tips
Falmer are blind but have sharp ears, so a sneaky approach pays off here – and the green-blue glow gives you enough light to work without a torch. Bring something to cure poison for the chaurus.
Don’t forget to take a dip in the hive’s pool: the ingot chest at the bottom is easy to miss. If you are in a hurry, players report you can skip the Cavern and reach the Hive directly by jumping up the rocks at the passage leading out of it. And if a follower gets stuck on a high ledge at the bottom of the main chamber, bumping into them or giving them a shout of Unrelenting Force usually gets them moving again.
Good to know
Bring a bag. Between corundum, ingots, mushrooms and Falmer leftovers, Gloomreach is one of those dungeons where your carry weight runs out before the loot does.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Cradle Stone Tower, Bard’s Leap Summit, Lost Valley Redoubt, Valthume, Serpent’s Bluff Redoubt.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
