You’re standing on top of a Sheikah Tower, looking out over a horizon that feels endless, and honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming. You see that orange glow in the distance. Is it a shrine? Or just a campfire? In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, finding all 120 base-game shrine locations is less about following a map and more about understanding how Nintendo hides things in plain sight. It’s a massive undertaking. 120 of them. That doesn't even count the DLC.
Most people start out just stumbling into them. That works for the first forty. But then you hit a wall. You’re missing three in the Hebra Mountains and you have no idea why your sensor is going nuts while you're standing on a flat field of snow.
Why Shrine Locations Zelda BotW Are Harder Than They Look
It’s the verticality. That’s what gets you. A lot of the shrine locations Zelda BotW provides aren't just sitting on a hill; they’re tucked into sea caves that you can only see if you paraglide off a very specific cliff at Eventide or hidden behind "destructible" walls that look exactly like the rest of the mountain.
Take the Twin Peaks region. You’d think they’d be easy to spot. But then you realize there are shrines literally stacked on top of each other in the topography. Or look at the Dueling Peaks themselves—Ree Dahee is easy, but if you aren't paying attention to the heights, you'll miss the sibling shrines at the top.
Then there are the "Quest Shrines." These are the ones that don't even exist until you do something weird. You have to shoot an arrow at the sun through a hole in a rock, or you have to stand naked on a pedestal during a blood moon. Looking for a physical building won't help you there. You have to look for the story cues.
The Hebra and Gerudo Problem
Hebra is a nightmare. It's just white. White snow, white wind, white maps. To find the shrines there, you basically have to become a geologist. Look for the rock formations that don't look natural. There’s a specific shrine, Goma Asaagh, hidden behind a heavy set of ice blocks. If you don't have fire arrows or a flameblade, you’re just walking past one of the most important fast-travel points in the late game.
Gerudo is different. It’s not about visibility; it’s about endurance. The Sand Seal racing shrine (Raqa Zunzo) requires you to actually engage with the world’s sub-culture. You can't just "find" it. You have to win it.
The Stealthiest Shrines on the Map
If you're stuck at 118 or 119 shrines, I can almost guarantee where the last ones are.
The Forgotten Temple: Located at the end of the Tanagar Canyon. It’s a long flight down. It looks like a death trap because of all the Guardians, but the Rona Kachta shrine is sitting right at the back. Most people are too scared of the lasers to finish the trek.
Maag No'rah: This one is a jerk. It’s near Monya Toma shrine, but it’s hidden in a cave on the side of a cliff that you can only see if you’re looking back toward the Great Hyrule Forest while climbing.
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Sho Lod: Found in the Gerudo Highlands. You have to melt a huge block of ice. If you aren't carrying wood and flint, or a fire weapon, you’ll walk right over it.
The Seven Heroines: This is a classic puzzle shrine (Korsh O'hu). You have to find the metal spheres and match them to the statues. It's located in the East Gerudo Ruins. It’s tedious, but the reward is a "Blessing" shrine, meaning no internal puzzle.
The game uses these "Blessing" shrines as a reward for the struggle of just getting there. If the trek was hard, the shrine is easy. If the shrine was sitting in the middle of a field, the puzzle inside will probably involve some physics-based nonsense with Magnesis that makes you want to throw your controller.
Hidden Mechanics of the Sheikah Sensor
Your sensor is a tool, but it's a blunt one. It tells you there is a shrine "below" you, but in a game with three-dimensional maps, "below" could mean a cavern three hundred feet down that has an entrance half a mile away.
Expert tip: If the sensor is beeping but you see nothing, look for water. Many shrine locations are hidden behind waterfalls. It’s a classic Zelda trope, but BotW leans into it hard. Specifically in the Lanayru region, if there’s a waterfall, there is a 50% chance a shrine or a chest is behind it.
Also, watch the birds. Seriously. Nintendo programmed bird AI to sometimes circle over points of interest. If you see a flock of birds circling a random spot in the woods, go there. They are literally pointing at the shrine for you.
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Don't Forget the DLC Additions
If you have the Champions' Ballad, the map gets even more crowded. These aren't your standard 120. They are part of the "Ex" quests. The Trial of the Sword doesn't count toward your total, but the 16 additional shrines in the DLC do give you more Spirit Orbs (well, technically different emblems) to max out your stats.
The Great Plateau alone gets a massive overhaul in the DLC. You get the One-Hit Obliterator, which is fun until a bee stings you and you die instantly. But the shrines revealed here (like Rohta Chigah) are some of the most mechanically complex in the entire game. They feel like "real" Zelda dungeons condensed into five-minute chunks.
Pro-Level Navigation Strategy
Stop using the roads. The roads in BotW are designed to lead you to stables and towns. Shrines are designed to be found when you go off-road.
Try this: Pick a mountain peak. Climb it. Look down. Use your scope (the clicky-right-stick) to pin anything orange or glowing. But don't just pin the shrine. Pin the geography around it. If you see a weirdly circular group of trees, pin it. That’s probably a Korok, but sometimes it’s a shrine pedestal.
Also, talk to the NPCs at stables. They aren't just there for flavor. Kass, the accordion-playing bird man, is your best friend. Every time you hear that accordion music, drop everything. He is giving you the literal instructions for a hidden shrine location. His songs are riddles. "When the 17th minute of the day shines bright," or whatever—pay attention to the lyrics. They are the manual the game didn't give you.
Breaking Down the Regions
Hyrule is split into 15 provinces. Some are "dense" and some are "empty."
Central Hyrule is actually pretty sparse because it's mostly Guardian-infested ruins. You’ll find about 8 here.
The Akkala Highlands feel empty, but they hold the Tu Ka'loh shrine inside the Lomei Labyrinth Island. That’s a major one. If you want the Barbarian Armor, you have to do the labyrinths. There are three: one in Akkala, one in Hebra, and one in the Gerudo Desert. Each one houses a shrine. They are some of the most atmospheric shrine locations Zelda BotW players can visit.
Necluda is the starter zone, basically. It’s dense with easy-to-find shrines because the game wants you to power up before you head north. If you’re missing some, check the coastline. There are small islands like Tenoko that host shrines you’d never see from the mainland.
Common Misconceptions About Shrines
A lot of players think they need to find all 120 to beat Ganon. You don't. You can beat Ganon with three hearts if you’re a god at parrying. But the shrines are the "real" game. They are the puzzles that define the experience.
Another mistake: thinking every shrine has a puzzle inside. As I mentioned, the "Blessing" shrines are just chests. But people often overlook the "Test of Strength" shrines. There are Minor, Modest, and Major tests. If you find a Major Test of Strength early in the game, leave. Mark it on your map and come back when you have better weapons. There is no shame in running away from a Guardian Scout IV when you only have a boko-club and a pot lid.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you are sitting at 110 shrines and losing your mind, here is the protocol:
- Check the Labyrinths: There are three. North Lomei (Hebra), Lomei Island (Akkala), and South Lomei (Gerudo).
- Find Kass: Follow the music. He has 8 specific Shrine Quests. If his journal (found in his hut) isn't complete, you're missing shrines.
- The Shadow Puzzle: Go to the Gerudo Tower and look for a pedestal to the southeast. You have to shoot the sun. It's easily missed.
- The Thundra Plateau: North of Ridgeland Tower. It's always raining. You have to get four colored orbs onto a central platform. You'll need Stasis and some patience.
- Eventide Island: It’s in the bottom right of the map. It strips you of all your gear. It’s basically a mini-game that unlocks a shrine.
Once you get all 120, go to the Forgotten Temple. There’s a gift waiting for you behind the Rona Kachta shrine. It’s the "Of the Wild" set—the classic green tunic. It’s the only way to get that classic Link look in this game without using an Amiibo.
Finding every shrine location is essentially a grand tour of Nintendo’s design philosophy. They want you to look at a mountain and ask, "What’s behind that?" Usually, the answer is a glowing blue door and a monk who has been waiting 10,000 years to give you a ball of light. Good luck. You’re gonna need a lot of stamina food.