Returning to the Great Plateau in Tears of the Kingdom feels like a fever dream. If you spent hundreds of hours in Breath of the Wild, your muscle memory is basically screaming at you that something is wrong. The shrines aren’t where they used to be. The Old Man isn't there to give you a paraglider. Instead, the whole place feels haunted, overgrown, and a little bit suspicious.
Honestly, the Great Plateau shrines in Totk are a bit of a troll move by Nintendo. You expect the Oman Au Shrine or the Ja Baij ruins to house familiar trials. Nope. They’re gone. In their place? A mix of surface-level puzzles and a massive, sprawling underground quest that most people stumble into by accident while trying to find a chest.
If you’re looking for those classic blue-glowing pedestals, you’ve gotta shift your perspective. There are four main shrines on the Plateau now. They aren't just there for the Light of Blessing, either; they serve as your navigation anchors for one of the coolest (and creepiest) side adventures in the game: "A Call from the Depths."
Where the Great Plateau Shrines Actually Are
Let's get the locations out of the way first. You aren't crazy. The map has changed.
The first one most players hit is the Kyokugon Shrine. It's tucked away inside the Great Plateau Foothill Cave. You’ll find the entrance at the north base of the plateau, near the Forest of Spirits. It’s a "hidden in plain sight" situation. You have to smash through a ton of rock walls. If you aren't bringing a Yunobo or a dozen hammers, you’re going to have a bad time. The puzzle inside involves looking at the ceiling to find the pattern for the floor. Simple, but satisfying.
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Then there’s the Tadarok Shrine. This one is a nightmare if you hate ice and fire puzzles. It’s located behind a waterfall at the River of the Dead. You remember that freezing cold water from the first game? Yeah, it’s still there. You have to navigate a cave system to reach it. The shrine itself, titled "Fire and Water," forces you to use those giant ice blocks to shield yourself from flames while trying not to let them melt into puddles.
The Higher Altitudes
Up near the snowy peaks, you'll find the Mayamats Shrine. This is basically where the old cryonis shrine used to be, more or less. It sits on the western edge of Mount Hylia. The puzzle here, "A Bigger Device," is all about momentum and using giant spheres. It’s one of those shrines where you can totally cheese it if you’re creative with Ultrahand, but doing it the "right" way is actually pretty clever.
Finally, we have the Riogok Shrine. This is situated on the western side of the plateau, near the Hopper Pond area. It’s a "Force Transfer" puzzle. You’re basically using sticks and gears to move platforms. It feels very mechanical, very "Zonai engineering 101."
The Great Plateau Shrines Totk Meta-Quest
The shrines are just the tip of the iceberg. You can’t talk about the Great Plateau without talking about the Bargainer Statue stuck in the water.
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Seriously.
If you go to the Great Plateau North Gate, you’ll see it’s blocked by water. You have to break the rocks at the base of the wall from the outside (on the Hyrule Field side) to drain it. Once the water clears, you’ll find a trapped stone head. This kicks off the "A Call from the Depths" quest.
This quest is essentially the real reason to visit the Plateau. It tasks you with finding four eyes—conveniently located right next to the spots where the original four BotW shrines used to be—and dropping them into the Depths. You then have to transport these eyes across the dark, monster-infested underground to the Great Abandoned Central Mine.
It’s a massive logistical challenge. You’ll be building planes, carts, and probably some weird vibrating monstrosities to get those eyes where they need to go.
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Why Nintendo Moved Everything
It’s a brilliant bit of world-building. By moving the Great Plateau shrines in Totk, the developers are telling you that time has passed. The world has shifted. The Sheikah tech is gone, replaced by the Zonai influence.
There's a specific kind of nostalgia-baiting happening here. When you walk up to the Temple of Time and see it in ruins (again), but find the Yiga Clan has moved in, it subverts your expectations. The shrines act as the only "normal" landmarks in a zone that has become significantly more dangerous than it was when you first woke up in the Shrine of Resurrection.
Tips for Surviving the Plateau
- Pack Warm Clothes: Even though you're a high-level hero now, the cold on Mount Hylia still eats hearts. Don't be the guy who dies because he forgot his Archaic Warm Greaves or a spicy pepper stir-fry.
- The Depths Connection: Every shrine on the surface has a corresponding Lightroot in the Depths. If you find a shrine on the Plateau, pin that exact spot on your map, then switch to the Depths layer. There is a Lightroot exactly underneath it. This makes navigating the pitch-black basement of the Plateau way easier.
- The Wings are Key: For the "Call from the Depths" quest, there are usually Zonai wing devices nearby the eyes. Use them. Trying to carry the eyes by hand is a fool's errand.
- The Yiga Presence: Be careful. The Yiga love the Plateau. You’ll find them disguised as trees, researchers, and pretty much anything else. They’re much tougher than they were in the previous game, often using Zonai vehicles to try and run you over.
The Great Plateau is no longer a tutorial. It’s a mid-to-late game playground. You’ll find some of the best gear in the game hidden in the ruins here, including pieces of the nostalgic "Of the Wild" set.
Most players make the mistake of rushing the shrines and leaving. Don't do that. Take the time to explore the caves underneath the plateau. The Kyokugon Shrine cave, for instance, has a Bubbulfrog that’s easy to miss if you’re just sprinting toward the orange glow of the shrine.
Actionable Next Steps for Completionists
If you want to fully clear the Great Plateau, stop treating it like a quick pit stop. Start by draining the North Gate to trigger the Bargainer Statue's plea. This provides the narrative framework for your exploration.
- Step 1: Clear the four shrines (Kyokugon, Tadarok, Mayamats, and Riogok) to establish fast-travel points.
- Step 2: Locate the four pits (chasms) where the eyes are located. These are the Great Plateau North, South, East, and West Chasms.
- Step 3: Use the nearby Zonai parts to transport each eye to the Great Abandoned Central Mine in the Depths.
- Step 4: Claim your reward from the massive Bargainer Statue under the Temple of Time. You get a choice of a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, which is a huge deal because it effectively gives you an "extra" upgrade beyond the normal shrine limit.
This area is a masterclass in environmental storytelling. Every ruin and relocated shrine tells a story of a world that moved on while Link was busy elsewhere. Go get those blessings.