The Great Lava Cavern is the southern route to Maplehill Town, and the Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea lava cavern route behaves differently from the Great Sand Sea route in one important way: the lava fields are always hot. The air temperature never cools down at night.

Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea lava cavern and the two routes north

There are two routes north to Maplehill and they are alternatives, not a sequence.

Through the Sand Sea: north from the Tidewind Pier Plaza through the Tidewind Corridor to Starfall Beach and the Tidewind Campground, west across the shallow Meridian of the Great Sea toward Castaway Coast, then through the Sand Trap Area northwest of the Desert Campground oasis, avoiding the quicksand pits and the Jaguars.

Through the Lava Cavern: north out of Quarrytop across the Snowy Gate to the Fire Iron Great Bridge, then through the lava fields and the west exit, across Ash Rake Bridge and along Molten Iron Road West.

The desert trick of travelling by day and resting at night does not work in the lava region, so the route has to be planned as one long push.

The southern route, step by step:

  1. Leave Quarrytop through the northern exit and cross the Snowy Gate.
  2. Head west until the snow has melted, then cross the Fire Iron Great Bridge.
  3. Cross the red-brick bridge into the dark underground and come out at the east exit.
  4. Either repair the Furnace Heart Bridge for the Stranded Merchant or skip it via the southern route and the Jump-Off Points.
  5. Leave by the west exit, cross Ash Rake Bridge, and follow Molten Iron Road West to Maplehill Town.

Step 1: enter through the Fire Iron Great Bridge

Leave Quarrytop through the northern exit and travel north across the Snowy Gate, then head west until the snow has melted away. The Fire Iron Great Bridge takes you into the Great Lava Caverns — cross the red-brick bridge to enter the dark underground.

Three dungeon entrances live in this region: 196 m east of Lava Cavern East, 114 m west of Lava Cavern East and 104 m southeast of Lava Cavern West. The Furnace Hot Springs sit 130 m south of Lava Cavern East, and four tapped pine trees for Pine Sap are in the Ice Block Territory area.

Step 2: the materials you need

Getting the materials is the actual work. Hard Material is made by processing the black rocks found in the outdoor lava field or inside the lava cave, and those rocks need the Expert Pickaxe to smash. Sturdy Square Lumber comes from chopping the pine trees around Quarrytop with an Expert Axe or better and processing the timber at a crafter shop. Titanium Ore comes from dungeons such as Crystal Cave in the Glacial Grand Canyon area or the Great Cavern at the Foot of Mount Quarrytop — the latter needs the ladder next to Whitetop Bridge and a mount with the jump ability to cross the waterfall ledge — and you need 10 Titanium Ore to craft the 5 Titanium the bridge wants.

The pickaxe itself is Glenn's recipe in Quarrytop: 1 Old Pickaxe + 3 Bronze + 4 Square Lumber + 2,000 G. The stone and lumber sources are on the ore and gems page.

Step 3: the Stranded Merchant's repair (or skip it)

You come out at the east exit, where a Stranded Merchant wants the Furnace Heart Bridge repaired. He asks for 20 Hard Material, 10 Sturdy Square Lumber and 5 Titanium, but you do not have to repair the bridge to reach Maplehill Town.

The bridge is optional. Take the southern route past the lava lake to the Jump-Off Point at the end of the road; from the next room you can use the eastern Jump-Off Point to reach the chamber the repaired bridge would have led to. Alternatively climb down the ladder to the icy road below and slide south to the southern ladder.

If you have a reindeer you can travel north along the icy path to the island in the middle of the lava lake, which holds a Ruby Gemstone ore node. The reindeer and the other mounts are on the mounts page, and the ore nodes themselves are on the ore and gems page.

Step 4: leave by the west exit

Leaving the cavern: from the west exit, cross Ash Rake Bridge, head north, turn south onto Molten Iron Road West and follow it west until you reach Maplehill Town.

Maplehill is one of the 33 warp statue destinations, so once you have been there once you can warp back without walking the lava region again — all 33 stops are on the warp statue page.