Great Sky Island Complete Guide — Tutorial Area Mastery

The Great Sky Island is TotK's opening area — a sky island high above Hyrule where Link awakens after the opening sequence. It serves as a comprehensive tutorial but also contains chests, Sundelions, and secrets that make a thorough first pass worthwhile. This guide covers everything: shrines, abilities, secrets, and the optimal order to complete it before descending.

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Overview

Purpose: Teach all four core abilities and provide the Purah Pad Location: Directly above Hyrule Field / Hyrule Castle area Time to complete: 45–90 minutes (first playthrough) Mandatory: Yes — you cannot leave until you complete all 4 shrines

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The Four Tutorial Shrines

Each shrine teaches one core ability. Complete them in any order — but this is the recommended sequence:

1. Shrine of Ukouh — Ultrahand

Location: Northern section of the Great Sky Island, near the starting platform

Ability taught: Ultrahand — pick up, move, rotate, and attach objects

Puzzle solution:

1. Use Ultrahand to grab the flat hook board and attach it to the rail above the gap
2. Ride the board across
3. In the deeper puzzle room, attach logs together to make a bridge
4. Final: extend the logs across the big gap to reach the altar

Key Ultrahand mechanic learned: Attaching two objects together permanently (Zonai fusion)

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2. Shrine of In-Isa — Fuse

Location: Southwestern plateau area

Ability taught: Fuse — attach materials to weapons and shields

Puzzle solution:

1. Find the sword and boulder nearby
2. Fuse the boulder to the sword → creates a heavy rock sword that breaks walls
3. Use the fused weapon to smash the cracked stone wall
4. Inside, fuse flint to a weapon → strike metal to create sparks → light the fire

Key Fuse mechanic learned: Materials change weapon properties (boulder = wall-breaker, fire = fire damage)

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3. Shrine of Gutanbac — Ascend

Location: Snowy mountain peak in the eastern section (requires cold resistance)

Cold resistance for this shrine: Cook 2–3 Spicy Peppers found near the base of the mountain (red peppers on ledges) into a Spicy Sauté → eat before climbing

Ability taught: Ascend — travel up through solid ceilings/overhangs

Puzzle solution:

1. Ascend through the first stone platform ceiling
2. In the middle section, Ascend through the angled ceiling into the room above
3. Final: Ascend through the large stone column to reach the altar

Key Ascend mechanic learned: You can go through any solid surface that has space above it — even diagonal surfaces

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4. Shrine of Nachoyah — Recall

Location: Island with the ruined boats and waterfall area

Ability taught: Recall — reverse an object's recent movement in time

Puzzle solution:

1. Stand on the spinning gear platform — use Recall on it to reverse its spin direction
2. At the waterfall: boulders fall down the water. Use Recall on a boulder → it travels back UP the waterfall → stand on it to ride upward
3. Final: Use Recall on a spinning platform to clear the final gap

Key Recall mechanic learned: Objects reverse their exact path — useful for undoing mistakes and for complex puzzles throughout the game

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Temple of Time

After completing all 4 shrines, you have 4 Lights of Blessing.

Exchange at the Goddess Statue: Inside the Temple of Time ruins, exchange 4 Lights of Blessing for either +1 Heart or +1/5 Stamina. Recommendation: Take the Heart Container — you start with only 3 hearts and the opening fight against Gloom damage benefits from more health.

Receive the Purah Pad: After the statue exchange, the story continues — Link finds the Purah Pad in the chamber below the temple.

The King's Vision: After receiving the Purah Pad, a cutscene plays with King Rauru explaining the Sages and the threat below. This advances the story.

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All Chests on Great Sky Island

Chest 1 — Near Ukouh Shrine

• Location: On the rail platform near the Ukouh Shrine entrance
• Contains: A weapon (varies — often a Traveler's Sword or similar)

Chest 2 — Gutanbac Mountain Peak

• Location: Near the top of the snowy mountain, slight detour left of the shrine path
• Contains: A small shield or useful material

Chest 3 — Temple of Time Grounds

• Location: On the grounds outside the Temple of Time entrance
• Contains: 5x Arrows (useful early)

Chest 4 — Waterfall Area (Nachoyah)

• Location: Hidden on a ledge behind the large waterfall near the Nachoyah Shrine
• Contains: Opal or useful material
• Access: Use Ascend through the waterfall cliff edge or swim behind the water flow

Chest 5 — Island Edge Overlook

• Location: Far eastern edge of the main island, on a cliff face
• Contains: Royal Bow or shield (varies)
• Access: Paraglide off the main plateau edge and angle toward the cliff

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Resource Collection Before Leaving

Before descending to Hyrule, collect everything you can on the Great Sky Island. These resources are more accessible here than many surface locations:

Sundelions (8–12 available):

• White flower patches on grassy plateau areas
• Critical for Gloom recovery later — stock every one you see

Brightbloom Seeds (10–15):

• Small glowing seeds on the island surfaces
• Essential for Depths exploration — collect all of them

Spicy Peppers (8–12):

• Red peppers near the snowy mountain base and warmer plateau edges
• Cook into cold resist food for the Gutanbac shrine and later Hebra

Materials from early enemies:

• Bokoblin Horns and Fangs from the tutorial enemies
• Don't waste these — save for elixir crafting later

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How to Descend to Hyrule

After the Temple of Time sequence, the game shows you the path down. Options:

1. Paraglide off the edge — aim for Hyrule Field far below. You have enough altitude to glide far.
2. The descend shaft — a specific point on the island shows a swirling air current downward. Use this for the guided descent.

Where to aim: The story directs you to Lookout Landing (directly below the island, northeast of Hyrule Castle ruins). Land near the marker.

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Can You Return to Great Sky Island?

Yes — after descending, you can return anytime:

1. Use any Skyview Tower to reach maximum altitude
2. Paraglide north/center toward the Great Sky Island's position above Hyrule
3. It's visible from tower altitude

Why return: Sundelions respawn here on Blood Moon. Regular revisits give 8–12 Sundelions per trip — one of the best sky-level Sundelion farms.

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Related Guides

• Getting Started Guide
• Best Early Game Guide
• Ultrahand Guide
• Fuse Guide
• Ascend Guide
• Sundelion Guide