Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Kyokugon Shrine solution

How to find and solve the Alignment of the Circles Shrine.

Getting to the Kyokugon Shrine in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is arguably a lot harder than figuring out the puzzle in the Shrine itself, but don't worry, we're going to take you through finding it too.

As with other Shrines in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Kyokugon Shrine will test your patience with one very large puzzle and one smaller, but important, puzzle in order to claim the Shrine chest and to get to the Light of Blessing at the very end.

Without further ado, we're going to show you how to complete the Kyokugon Shrine in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

On this page:

10 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting The Legend of Zelda Tears of the KingdomWatch on YouTube

If you'd like to learn more about Link's adventure, visit our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough.

Kyokugon Shrine location in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

The Kyokugon Shrine in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is hidden inside the Great Plateau Foothill Cave. The coordinates for the Kyokugon Shrine are (-0709, -1551, 0006) but you need to find the entrance to the cave in order to get to the Shrine.

The entrance to the Great Plateau Foothill Cave is northeast of the Forest of Spirits and south of Hyrule Field. The Great Plateau Foothill Cave entrance coordinates are (-0836, -1478, 0024) and we've marked its location on the map below.

zelda totk great plateau foothill cave map location

When you get to the entrance of the cave, you'll notice that it's blocked with rocks. There are several layers to the rocks blocking the entrance to the cave, therefore we recommend going to the Fire Temple to complete the main quest there before attempting to get in here.

Alternatively, you can attach a rock to one of your melee weapons and create a hammer to smash your way through the rocks. There are weapons scattered throughout the cave itself and plenty of rocks to fuse to them if your weapon is destroyed.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine blocked cave entrance

Once you get into the first part of the cave, there will be two Horriblins waiting for you. Deal with them and then follow the path forward until you see a cluster of rocks on your right. Smash through these and you'll find a Bubbulfrog (if you want one).

After you've done that, go back to the main path of the cave and down to the rear of the cave that is blocked by yet more rocks. Destroy them to reveal the Kyokugon Shrine.

zelda totk kyukogon shrine blocked wall rear of cave

Kyokugon Shrine puzzle solution in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

To solve the Kyokugon Shrine puzzle in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom you need to look up. No, seriously, you really do need to look up.

When you first enter the Shrine, head forwards and up the large set of steps into the main area of the Shrine. This is pretty much the only room in this Shrine bar the Light of Blessing section behind the wall at the far side.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine main area

When you get into this room, you'll notice a bunch of orb lock mechanisms across a few levels but only four orbs to put in them. Remember what we said a moment ago, that you need to look up to solve the puzzle? Do exactly that and you should see several green circles on the ceiling of the Shrine.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine main puzzle ceiling markings

The circles on the ceiling are telling you exactly where to put the orbs as the green markings are directly above an orb lock. All you need to do is place an orb into each of the locks indicated by the ceiling patterns and the gate that leads to the Light of Blessing will open.

If you're struggling, here's an image of where all of the orbs need to go for the Kyokugon Shrine:

zelda totk kyokugon shrine puzzle solution

When the gate is open, head through it but do not get your Light of Blessing yet!

Face the Light of Blessing and then look to your right, you should see a chest that is stuck behind a locked gate. You'll also see an orb here, but there's no visible orb lock in this area.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine, link is looking at a gated wall blocking the shrine chest.

Turn around on yourself so that the Light of Blessing is on your right, and look up at the ceiling. There will be another green marking here.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine chest lock ceiling marker

Walk below the marking and then look down at the floor. Activate Ultrahand and one of the tiles on the floor should be highlighted. Grab this slab and lift it out, then push it to the side and drop it. An orb lock will now be accessible where the tile was.

zelda totk kyokugon shrine chest lock tile being removed

Grab the orb by the gate that's stopping you getting to the chest, drop it into the newly revealed orb lock to open the gate and you can then open the chest. This chest contains a Hearty Elixir.

Now that you've gotten the chest, you can claim your Light of Blessing.

Congratulations on completing the Kyokugon Shrine! If you need more help in your adventure across Hyrule, check out our Shrine locations guide or our Skyview Tower locations guide to find your way around. You can also find out how to get the Giant White Stallion if you want a new horse.