George RR Martin has certainly produced an interesting world. Not just the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, rather the entire planet is interesting. One of the least understood parts is North of the Wall, towards the Land of Always Winter. There isn’t much info about but there’s enough to pique your interest and make you look forward to more in the future. Here’s the top 10 Land of Always Winter Facts!

10. Exploration

In terms of exploration and what is known to Westeros, there’s almost nothing. As far as they know, the land of always winter is a vast frozen wasteland. It’s uncharted and unmapped, it’s simply too harsh to explore. Of course there are many landmarks, such as the fist of the first men, that have been discovered. But this is merely a fraction of the land, barely anything has been discovered.

9. Where does it go?

It’s quite obvious that the land of always winter goes into the north pole, as it matches Earth’s planetary layout. What isn’t known is what it looks like at the pole and where it goes to afterwards. Is it another continent? Does it continue into the other side of the globe? No one knows, some have suggested the land of always winter leads to the east of Essos. This would certainly be an interesting conclusion if true!

8. The Frost Fangs

The Frostfangs are a huge mountain range located north-west of the wall, the terrain is extremely harsh but some wildlings have managed to settle there, as humans always find a way. It’s even said that certain wildling tribes worship dark gods under the Frostfangs, which would make for an awesome Game of Thrones episode. The Frostfangs are visible from the Fist of the First Men, as seen when the Night’s Watch are north of the wall.

7. Haunted Forest

Located just north of the wall, the Haunted Forest is a huge series of woodland stretching from the wall up until some of the highest points of the Frostfangs. It has existed for thousands of years, being dubbed the haunted forest after numerous men had gone missing inside it. Due to these superstitions, Night’s Watchmen do not allow the forest to come within half a mile of the wall, choosing to cut down any trees that attempt to do so.

6. Wildling Tribes

As detailed in the First Men list, the Wildlings were the populace unfortunate enough to be too far north when the wall went up. They were left there to fend for themselves, over time the wildlings created their own tribes and societies. They know the land like the back of their hands, able to survive in numbers against such harsh and uncomfortable conditions. Some tribes go a bit too far, such as the Thenns. But overall, we don’t know exactly how many tribes exist or what they know. Mance Rayder managed to gather a large host of tribes to go south of the wall but it’s possible that he didn’t convince even half of them.

5. Frozen Shore

Just north of Bear Island is the Frozen Shore, this coastline is separate from the Haunted Forest by the Frostfangs. The snow is said to be so deep that nothing grows and inhabitants require sleds to move around. As expected, Bear Island is frequently subjected to raids from the Frozen Shore, which is where they get most of their supplies from (as well as fishing & hunting).

4. Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven

Located north of Craster’s Keep and east of the First of the First Men, the Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven is a vast network of roots and tunnels. Formerly the residence of the last known remaining Children of the Forest, it sits below a Weirwood tree which is what the Three-Eyed Raven had merged with as his throne. It was all but abandoned after Bran Stark revealed its location to the Night King, breaking the magical spells and allowing the entry of Wights and White Walkers.

3. The Past

As we see in a flashback that shows the creation of the Night King, north of the wall wasn’t always a cold wasteland. It was actually rather nice, containing fields and hills for all manner of life to prosper from. Maybe this was simply due to the season the scene was filmed in but as the north of the wall has largely been seen as a frozen waste for thousands of years, how do we know? It’s possible that the White Walkers are responsible, for the change in weather. If that theory is true then what will happen when/if the White Walkers are defeated?

2. The Future

Something amazing has happened in recent years, the wildling tribes that were once thought to be brutes by Westeros are now at a point where they may obtain the right to live south of the wall. If the wall survives the coming war, migration and trade may become a part of the wall’s duties. This will breathe new life into the Night’s Watch, bring technology to the free folk and maybe even uncover age-old landmarks or treasures. Whatever happens, the north of the wall will never be the same. Thousands of dead bodies will litter the land, it’ll be a feast for crows (and Thenns) but it may just be abandoned by the general populace. It’ll be fun to see what happens.

1. White Walkers

Some believe the White Walkers are descending from the Land of Always Winter, which is the northern most point beyond the wall. We know they were created by the Children of the Forest, theories suggest they built their strength in the Land of Always Winter before descending on Westeros, which could possible be what’s happening in the show. The huge size of the White Walker army, spanning thousands of years of Wight collecting, may be too much for Westeros to handle!

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