Wind Temple Complete Walkthrough — TotK
Wind Temple Complete Walkthrough
The Wind Temple is the first regional dungeon most players tackle in Tears of the Kingdom, and for good reason — it is approachable, well-paced, and introduces Tulin of the Rito as one of the most useful sages in the game. The temple sits on a massive ancient ship-like sky structure floating above the Hebra snowfields, permanently locked in a supernatural blizzard sent by the Phantom Ganon possessing the region. Defeating Colgera, the armored ice centipede boss, lifts the blizzard and restores Rito Village to sunlight.
- Sage: Tulin (Rito Village)
- Sage Ability: Tulin's Gust — forward wind burst
- Boss: Colgera (airborne ice worm)
- Region: Hebra / Rito Village
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Recommended Hearts: 6+
- Key Mechanic: Wind turbines, updraft riding, aerial diving
Before You Enter
Getting to the Wind Temple unprepared will get you killed on the approach. Check this list before you head up.
Mandatory:
- Cold resistance — minimum Level 1 (1 piece of Snowquill Armor, or cold-resist food active at all times). The blizzard around the temple exterior deals constant cold damage without it.
- Paraglider — you cannot traverse the sky island chain without it.
Recommended:
- Snowquill Armor (full set, preferably Level 2 upgraded) — found in Rito Village from Brazen Beak shop. Costs Rupees + Warm Safflina, Sunshroom, and Bokoblin materials.
- 6+ hearts minimum. Colgera's ice spikes deal 2+ hearts per hit and you will take at least one if you are learning the fight.
- 10+ fire fruit fused arrows — used to melt frozen propellers and deal with icy enemies.
- 5+ bomb arrows — great for Colgera if your dive timing is off.
- 3-5 attack-boosting elixirs for the boss fight.
- Stamina food or Endura Carrots — the paraglider segments are long.
Recommended Sage Ability Level:
- None required pre-temple. You receive Tulin's Gust during the approach quest itself.
Shrine to Activate:
- Jiukoum Shrine (In-isa Shrine chain) if you want a fast-travel point near Rito Village.
- Activate the Rospro Pass Skyview Tower for regional map data before starting.
Getting to the Wind Temple
The temple approach is itself a multi-stage challenge. Follow these steps in order.
Step 1 — Reach Rito Village
Rito Village is northwest of Hyrule Castle, in the Hebra region. From Lookout Landing, head northwest along the road. You can also fast-travel to Tama Pond Skyview Tower and glide northwest.
Rito Village is built into a tall rocky spire over Lake Totori. Talk to Teba at the base of the village to trigger the regional questline if you haven't already.
Step 2 — Complete the Rito Village Quest Chain
Speak to the elder Harth, then climb the village to find young Tulin. Follow the quest markers — you will investigate the blizzard, climb toward the snowfields, and eventually meet Tulin partway up the mountain. He has a proto-version of his Gust ability and will join you for the sky island ascent.
Step 3 — Ascend the Sky Island Chain
Above Rospro Pass, a chain of sky islands leads toward the Wind Temple ship. The path:
- From the peak of Rospro Pass, look for the first sky island directly above. There is a natural wind updraft column here — open your paraglider to ride it.
- Land on the first island platform. Look for the next updraft column or wind vent and use Tulin's Gust to launch yourself higher if the updraft alone is insufficient.
- Chain across three or four island platforms this way. Each one has at least one gust vent or standing updraft.
- The final approach to the temple ship requires a long paraglider glide from the last island — aim directly at the prow of the ship structure.
The entire ascent takes 5-10 minutes. Do not fight enemies on the sky islands — skip them to conserve resources.
Step 4 — Board the Wind Temple Ship
The Wind Temple is a massive ancient Zonai vessel locked in place by ice and the blizzard. Land on the deck at the prow. Tulin will comment on the structure. The entrance is through large double doors at the center of the deck.
Critical note: Equip Snowquill Armor or activate cold food BEFORE boarding. The blizzard applies constant cold damage on the exterior deck.
Temple Overview
The Wind Temple is a multi-level structure with an open central atrium and branching wings. It is organized around five locks that must all be opened to unseal the path to Colgera's chamber at the top.
- Number of locks: 5
- Core mechanic: Every lock involves Tulin's Gust and wind turbines/propellers
- Layout: Ground floor has Locks 1 and 2; mid-level has Locks 3 and 4; top floor has Lock 5 and the boss chamber
- Enemy types: Ice Keese, Frost Gleeok (exterior only — skip it), Zonai construct variants inside
- Chest count: 7 total (5 standard, 2 hidden)
- Time to complete (first run): 45-90 minutes
The map is not complicated, but the wind mechanics require you to understand directionality. When in doubt: if you see a propeller or turbine, call Tulin.
Complete Walkthrough
Lock 1 — Frozen Propeller Room
Location: East wing, ground floor. From the entrance, turn right immediately.
The Puzzle:
Enter the east wing corridor. You will see a large circular propeller mechanism on the wall ahead, completely encased in ice. The ice is thick — a single fire arrow will not be sufficient to melt all of it.
- Look to the left wall of the room. There is a fire-generating Zonai device (a flame emitter) mounted on a rail. Use Ultrahand to pull it off its mount and position it directly in front of the iced propeller.
- Activate the flame emitter. It will melt the ice casing over several seconds. Stay back — the flame spreads slightly and can damage Link.
- Once the propeller is free of ice, stand in front of it and call Tulin (sage ability button). Aim Tulin's Gust directly at the propeller blades.
- The propeller will spin, activating the lock mechanism on the wall above. The first lock seal releases.
Chest in this room: After the lock opens, check the northeast corner. There is a small chest on a raised platform — contains a Soldier Construct Horn (used for Zonai device crafting).
Enemies: 2 Ice Keese patrol this room. Kill them before puzzling to avoid interruptions.
Lock 2 — Falling Ice Platform Sequence
Location: North wing, requires ascending to the upper level via the central atrium.
Getting There:
From Lock 1, return to the central atrium. Look up — there are platforms at mid-height. Use Tulin's Gust to boost your paraglider jump upward and land on the first elevated platform. From there, the north wing door is directly ahead.
The Puzzle:
The north wing room is tall, with a large switch at the very top of the room. A series of wide ice platforms descend from the ceiling in sequence — they spawn at the top and fall slowly to the floor, then dissolve.
- Watch the platform cycle for a full rotation (about 20 seconds). The platforms appear every 5 seconds from the top.
- When a platform is near the ceiling, use Recall on it. The platform will reverse its fall direction and float back up.
- Jump onto the Recall-affected platform while it rises. Ride it toward the ceiling switch.
- The switch is just out of reach at the peak of the Recall arc. At the apex, use Tulin's Gust to boost yourself the final distance and grab the switch ledge.
- Activate the switch. Lock 2 releases.
Pro tip: You can also use Ascend through the ceiling here if you are standing directly under the locked-off upper chamber (the geometry allows it in a specific spot near the north wall). This skips the platform riding entirely but requires finding the exact position.
Chest in this room: On the eastern ledge mid-room, reachable after Lock 2 opens. Contains an Opal gemstone.
Lock 3 — Wind Tunnel Maze
Location: West wing, mid-level. Accessible from the central atrium second floor.
Getting There:
Return to the central atrium and climb to the second level. The west wing door is marked by two wind vent columns flanking it. Inside, you will hear the roar of strong continuous wind.
The Puzzle:
The west wing is a tunnel system with multiple chambers connected by narrow passages. Each passage has a powerful headwind blowing toward Link, making forward movement impossible without counteracting it.
- Passage 1: Activate Tulin's Gust. The forward wind burst negates the headwind for 1-2 seconds — enough to push through the narrow section. Sprint through immediately after the Gust fires.
- Chamber 1: A rotating wind vane blocks the path forward. Wait for the vane to rotate to a gap position, then dash through. Do not use Gust here — it accelerates the vane's rotation.
- Passage 2: Another headwind section, stronger than Passage 1. Use Gust, then immediately paraglide — the glide angle keeps you moving forward even as the wind tries to push you back.
- Chamber 2: The switch is here. It requires sustained wind pressure to hold down. Call Tulin and aim his Gust at the pressure plate. While Tulin's gust is active, the plate depresses. Sprint to the exit door before Tulin's ability cools down — the door opens only while the plate is held.
- Lock 3 releases as you pass through.
Enemy in this area: A Blue Bokoblin Construct is stationed at Chamber 1. It throws ice clubs. Kill it before attempting the wind vane timing puzzle.
Lock 4 — Turbine Tower
Location: Center structure exterior. You need to exit the central atrium via a door on the south side of the second floor, which puts you on the outer deck of the temple ship.
Getting There:
This is the trickiest navigation in the temple. Exit to the outer deck and look at the central tower structure. It has three turbines affixed to its exterior at different heights — low, mid, and high. All three must spin simultaneously (or in rapid sequence) to trigger Lock 4.
The Puzzle:
- Low turbine: At deck level. Stand 3-4 meters in front of it and call Tulin. His Gust range reaches it easily. The turbine spins.
- Mid turbine: Roughly halfway up the tower. You need elevation. Use Tulin's Gust to boost a paraglider launch from the deck edge and glide to a small platform jutting from the tower's side at mid-height. From this platform, call Tulin toward the mid turbine. It spins.
- High turbine: Near the top of the tower. From the mid platform, paraglide upward using Tulin's Gust boost. There is a ring-shaped ledge near the top — land on it. Call Tulin at the high turbine.
The trick: the turbines reset after about 15 seconds if not all three are spinning. You need to spin all three within that window.
Optimal approach: Spin the low turbine last, not first. Start with high, then mid (dropping down), then hop off the deck and spin low. This takes advantage of the fact that spinning high and mid while descending is faster than ascending.
Alternatively: use Recall on the turbines after spinning them to extend their spinning window if you are running out of time.
- Once all three turbines are spinning, Lock 4 triggers.
Chest on the tower: On the high ledge where you spin the high turbine, there is a chest tucked behind the turbine housing. Contains a Zonaite Shield (decent durability, worth grabbing).
Lock 5 — Ice Ceiling Room
Location: Top floor, inner sanctum. The staircase in the central atrium leads here after Locks 1-4 are open.
Getting There:
With four locks cleared, the inner sanctum door unseals. Climb the central atrium staircase. The top floor has a wide circular room with a domed ceiling — the entire ceiling is a thick sheet of ice.
The Puzzle:
Beneath the ice ceiling is a large Zonai turbine mechanism — the master mechanism that opens the final seal. But ice blocks it entirely.
- Look up at the ceiling. You will see four dark patches in the ice — these are thinner spots where the ice can be melted.
- Fire four fire fruit fused arrows (one per thin patch) at each dark spot. The ice shatters and falls in chunks. Avoid the falling ice — it deals 1 heart each if hit.
- With the ice cleared, the turbine is exposed. Call Tulin and aim his Gust upward at the turbine blades. They begin spinning.
- The turbine activates a ceiling mechanism that raises the floor platform to the boss chamber above. Step onto the platform as it rises.
Note: If you are low on fire arrows, there is a fire fruit plant cluster just outside the inner sanctum door (on the top floor landing). Pick them and fuse on the spot.
Lock 5 releases as the platform ascends. The path to Colgera is open.
Boss: Colgera
Colgera is a massive centipede-dragon creature composed of linked ice ring segments, each several meters in diameter. It is an entirely airborne fight — the arena is an open-sky platform with no walls. Colgera swoops in long arcing patterns through the air around you.
Weakness: The three glowing yellow weak points visible through the bottom of its ice rings. These can only be hit by diving through the rings from above while in freefall.
Recommended loadout: Bow with high draw speed, bomb arrows as backup, attack-up food active.
Phase 1
Colgera enters from the sky and begins its first swoop pattern. It will fly directly over the platform repeatedly.
The core loop:
- When Colgera begins a swoop toward your position, run toward it (not away). You want to be directly in its path.
- Jump from the platform edge and open your paraglider briefly to gain altitude.
- As Colgera's body passes overhead, enter a dive (press the jump button again to close the paraglider and freefall).
- Aim your freefall directly at one of the three glowing weak point rings. You are looking for the amber/yellow glow through the underside of each ring segment.
- As you fall through the ring, the weak point takes massive damage. Link will briefly auto-correct into the ring center — let it happen.
- Pull the paraglider again immediately after passing through to recover altitude.
- Repeat for the remaining two weak point rings on the same swoop.
How Tulin helps: Call Tulin when you need to reposition quickly between rings during a swoop. His Gust can push you horizontally in the air to align with a ring you are about to miss.
Damage benchmark: Each successful ring dive deals roughly 3-4 hearts of damage to Colgera. Three dives (one per ring) per swoop cycle. Colgera has approximately 2000 HP — expect 4-6 full swoop cycles to end Phase 1.
If you miss: Bomb arrows are your fallback. Shoot at Colgera's glowing segments from the ground or air — they deal reduced damage compared to dives but still contribute. Do not waste time on non-glowing segments.
Phase 2
At approximately 50% health, Colgera shifts behavior. It rises higher into the sky and begins generating ice spike tornadoes that drop onto the arena platform.
New mechanics:
- 4-6 ice tornado columns spawn in sequence across the platform. They linger for several seconds before dissipating.
- Colgera's swoops become faster — the window to dive into rings is shorter.
- Additional ice debris rains from Colgera's body.
Strategy adjustments:
- Watch the tornado spawn pattern — they appear in a predictable left-to-right or right-to-left sweep. Move against the sweep direction to stay ahead of them.
- Keep one eye on Colgera at all times. The tornadoes are a distraction, not the primary threat.
- The dive mechanic does not change — you still need to fall through the glowing rings. The timing window is tighter; aim your jump earlier in the swoop arc than you did in Phase 1.
- If you are hit by a tornado, you are launched upward. Use this to your advantage — you are already in the air, so immediately redirect into a dive if Colgera is swooping.
Boss Tips:
- Keep at least 8 hearts at all times. A tornado hit + ice debris simultaneously can kill a low-health Link.
- Do not shoot arrows at the ring segments during dives — your momentum carries you through faster if you are not in slow-motion aim mode.
- The arena edge has no railing. One bad paraglider arc and you fall. Stay central when not actively diving.
- Tulin's Gust during Phase 2 is best used to escape tornado groupings — blast yourself sideways to clear a cluster.
- Healing mid-fight: the platform has solid footing. Duck behind the center platform structure (a low wall) to gulp a meal safely during a lull.
Hidden Chests
| # | Contents | Location | |---|----------|----------| | 1 | Soldier Construct Horn | Northeast corner of Lock 1 room, elevated platform | | 2 | Opal | Eastern ledge in Lock 2 north wing room | | 3 | Zonaite Shield | Behind high turbine housing, Turbine Tower exterior | | 4 | Ruby | Central atrium, second floor — behind a breakable ice wall (fire arrow it) | | 5 | Strong Zonai Charge | Top floor landing outside inner sanctum door | | 6 | Snowquill Trousers | Hidden in the cargo hold — drop through a hole in the east wing floor after Lock 1 | | 7 | Great Eagle Bow (replica) | Boss chamber post-fight, small chest at north wall |
Note on Chest 6: The cargo hold requires Ultrahand to move a large wooden crate that covers the floor hatch. It is easy to miss because the crate looks like normal background geometry.
Note on Chest 7: This is a decorative chest that contains a basic arrow bundle (x10), not an actual Great Eagle Bow. The real Great Eagle Bow is purchased from Harth in Rito Village post-completion.
Rewards
- Heart Container — offered by Goddess Statue after completing the temple. Choose Heart Container or Stamina Vessel based on your current build.
- Tulin's Vow — Tulin joins as a permanent sage companion. His Gust ability is available anywhere in the overworld at all times.
- Tulin's Gust (full unlock) — The overworld version of the ability covers a longer range and can be used to extend paraglider flight. Essential for traversing all sky islands.
- Great Eagle Bow — Harth in Rito Village sells this iconic Rito bow after the blizzard clears. It fires three arrows simultaneously with low durability cost. Purchase it immediately.
- Blizzard Cleared — Rito Village sunlight returns. Vendors reopen. The Rito stable outside the village unlocks.
- Vah Medoh reference — Completing the Wind Temple resolves Tulin's personal arc and pays tribute to Revali/Vah Medoh from Breath of the Wild.
Post-Temple: What Changes
Clearing the Wind Temple has region-wide effects that make Hebra significantly more enjoyable to explore.
Blizzard lifts: The entire Hebra sky above Rito Village clears. The permanent storm that made high-altitude exploration miserable is gone. Sky island chains that were obscured become visible and navigable.
Rito Village reopens: The village NPCs return to their normal routines. The Brazen Beak armor shop restocks. The elder Harth's shop opens. The cooking pot at the village base becomes active.
Tulin's sky traversal: With Tulin as a permanent sage, crossing the enormous Hebra sky island network becomes trivial. His Gust extends every paraglider session significantly. The western sky islands — some of which hide Zonai Devices and Stealth Armor upgrade materials — are now easily reachable.
Stable access: The Snowfield Stable south of the temple approach becomes fully accessible without blizzard interference. Renting a horse and registering it here is recommended for Hebra ground traversal.
Hebra Depths access: The blizzard clearing also makes the Hebra Depths chasm entries safer to reach. Several Lightroots in the Depths correspond to Hebra surface locations — activate them for Depths navigation.
Subsequent Divine Beast side quests: Tulin's vow unlocks optional dialogue chains with other Rito NPCs about the history of the wind guardians. These are lore-only but worth reading if you care about the post-BotW world state.
Wind Temple at a Glance
| Category | Detail | |----------|--------| | Region | Hebra / Rito Village | | Entry Quest | Tulin of Rito Village | | Sage | Tulin | | Boss | Colgera | | Locks | 5 | | Core mechanic | Wind turbines + Tulin's Gust | | Mandatory gear | Cold resistance (Snowquill or food) | | Recommended arrows | Fire fruit fused (10+), bomb arrows (5+) | | Chests | 7 | | Completion reward | Tulin's Vow, Great Eagle Bow access, blizzard cleared |
Related guides:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Nintendo Switch — pick up your copy on Amazon
Affiliate disclosure: Hyrule Archive may earn a commission from purchases made through Amazon links on this site at no extra cost to you.
