You're standing on top of Dueling Peaks. The wind is howling, Link is shivering because you haven't bought the warm doublet yet, and you see it—a faint orange glow in the distance. Then another. And another. You realize quickly that Hyrule is absolutely massive. Finding a map of all shrines in breath of the wild isn't just a completionist's dream; it's basically a survival requirement if you don't want to get smoked by a Guardian Laser five hours into the game.
There are 120 shrines in the base game. That sounds like a lot. It is. If you have the Champions’ Ballad DLC, that number jumps up, but the core 120 are what define your journey from a weakling in rags to a Master Sword-wielding powerhouse.
Most people think they can just wing it. They can't. You’ll hit about 80 shrines naturally just by exploring, but those last 40? They’re tucked behind breakable walls, hidden under snowpiles, or locked behind "Shrine Quests" that require you to do everything from reciting ancient songs to standing naked on a pedestal during a blood moon. It gets weird.
Why the Map Layout Actually Matters
The distribution isn't random. Nintendo’s level designers used a "triangle" design philosophy. They wanted you to always see something interesting on the horizon to pull you off the main path. If you look at a full map of all shrines in breath of the wild, you’ll notice clusters.
Central Hyrule is relatively sparse because, well, Ganon lives there and it’s a war zone. But look at the edges of the map. The Hebra Mountains are a nightmare to navigate without a guide. There are shrines buried inside deep ice caves that your Sheikah Sensor won't help you with because the entrance is half a mile away from the actual shrine location.
I remember spending three hours circling a cliff in the Gerudo Highlands. My sensor was going haywire. I was literally standing on top of the shrine, but it was three hundred feet below me in a cavern accessible only by a hidden hole in the ground covered by a destructible rock. That’s why a static map only tells half the story. You need the "how" just as much as the "where."
The Regions That Break Your Spirit
Let’s talk about the Ridgeland Tower region. Or the Akkala Highlands.
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In Akkala, you have the Lomei Labyrinth Island. It’s a giant square in the ocean. You look at the map and think, "Easy, I'll just glide there." Then you realize the maze is a death trap filled with decayed guardians.
- The Great Plateau: The starting four. They’re tutorials. You can’t miss ‘em.
- The Dueling Peaks: This area has a high density. It’s the "newbie" zone, designed to get your health up to 5 or 6 hearts quickly.
- Hebra: This is the worst. Pure white snow, vertical cliffs, and shrines tucked into "Bird's Wings" or hidden behind snowball-rolling puzzles.
- The Desert: Half the shrines here don't even exist until you finish a quest. You'll be staring at a blank spot on your map wondering what you missed.
The Sheikah Sensor is your best friend, but it's also a liar. It detects the shrine's physical location, not the entrance. If a shrine is behind a waterfall or inside a mountain, the sensor just tells you that you're close while you bang your head against a stone wall.
The Shrines You’ll Probably Never Find Alone
Honestly, some of these are just mean.
Take the "Twin Memories" shrines on top of the Dueling Peaks (Shee Vaneer and Shee Venath). You have to look at the pattern of the orbs in one shrine, climb across the mountain to the other, and replicate that pattern. If you don't realize they're linked, you’ll spend an eternity trying to "solve" a puzzle that has the answer keys located on a different peak.
Then there’s the "Eventide Island" shrine. You land on the island and the game basically says, "Cool, give me all your clothes and weapons." You have to survive a mini-survival game just to get the orb into the pedestal. It’s brilliant, but it’s a massive spike in difficulty if you wander there too early.
And don't get me started on the "Under a Red Moon" quest. You have to wait for a Blood Moon—which happens randomly based on an internal timer of about 3 hours of real-world play—and stand on a specific pedestal without any armor. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to look up a map of all shrines in breath of the wild just to make sure you didn't imagine the whole thing.
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Hard Truths About Completionism
You don't need all 120.
You need 13 hearts to pull the Master Sword. That’s 40 shrines if you don't put anything into stamina. Most players stop around 80 because that’s enough to feel "god-like." But the reward for all 120 is the "Of the Wild" armor set. It’s the classic green tunic.
Is it worth it?
Technically, the Ancient Armor or the Barbarian Set are better for actual combat. But the nostalgia hit of seeing Link in the classic green duds is why people hunt down every last dot on that map. Plus, you get a special message from the monks once you finish the final one. It feels like a genuine achievement in a world this big.
How to Efficiently Clear the Map
If you’re going for 100%, stop fast traveling everywhere.
I know it sounds counterintuitive. But when you teleport, you miss the "corridors" where Nintendo hid the shrines. If you follow the roads, you’ll find stable-adjacent shrines. If you climb the highest peaks, you’ll find the "lookout" shrines.
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The best way to use a map of all shrines in breath of the wild is to break it down by Sheikah Tower region. Don't try to look at the whole world at once. It’s overwhelming. Clear the Lanayru region. Every inch of it. Then move to Faron. Faron is a jungle mess, by the way. Most of the shrines there are hidden behind "lightning puzzles" where you have to attract a bolt of electricity to break a stone structure.
Beyond the 120: The DLC Factor
If you bought the Expansion Pass, the map gets even more crowded. The Champions’ Ballad adds "Trial of the Sword" and a series of new shrines that lead to the Master Cycle Zero—yes, a literal motorcycle.
These DLC shrines are significantly harder than the base game ones. They require more creative use of Stasis and Magnesis. One involves navigating a dark room with floating platforms while being shot at by guardians. It’s intense. But these don't count toward the "120" total for the classic tunic. They’re extra credit for the folks who really can’t get enough of Hyrule.
Actionable Steps for Your Hunt
Don't just stare at a digital map and try to cross-reference your Switch screen. It’s a recipe for a headache.
- Check your quest log first. Look at the "Shrine Quests" section. If you have an uncompleted quest, that’s a shrine you haven't found yet. These are often the ones "hidden" from the Sheikah Sensor because the shrine hasn't physically risen from the ground yet.
- Use the "Hero's Path" mode. If you have the DLC, turn on the green line that shows where you’ve walked. Look for the massive "dark spots" on your map where you haven't stepped foot. There is almost certainly a shrine in those gaps.
- Talk to Kass. The accordion-playing bird is literally a walking hint machine. If you hear music, find him. He will give you a riddle that points directly to a hidden shrine.
- Climb high, look low. Every time you reach a new tower or mountain top, pull out your scope. Mark everything that glows orange. Even if it’s five miles away, pin it. Those pins stay on your map and help you triangulate the harder-to-find spots later.
- The "Meditation" trick. If your sensor is going off but you can't find the entrance, look for birds circling in the sky. Frequently, Nintendo used circling birds to mark points of interest, including hidden holes or cave entrances that lead to shrines.
The journey to find every shrine is basically the real story of Breath of the Wild. It’s not about killing Ganon; he’s actually kind of a pushover once you’re geared up. It’s about the 100+ hours spent wandering through the rain, solving physics puzzles, and wondering how on earth a monk ended up at the bottom of a forgotten temple in the middle of a canyon.
Once you have that final map of all shrines in breath of the wild fully blue and completed, Hyrule feels different. It feels like yours. You've walked every inch of it. You’ve earned the right to wear that green tunic. Now, go find that one shrine you’re missing in the Hebra Tundra—it’s probably inside a cave behind a giant snowball.