Zelda: Breath of the Wild Shrine locations, Shrine maps for all regions, and how to trade Shrine Orbs for Heart Containers

Where to find and solve Breath of the Wild's many puzzle rooms, and how to turn their rewards into increased health and stamina.

Guide by Matthew Reynolds Former Guides Editor

Updated on May 17, 2021

Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Shrines are small puzzle rooms that are scattered throughout the game's world.

Introduced at the start of the game as a means to unlock Runes - special abilities Link can use to manipulate objects to solve puzzles - they later reward Link with Spirit Orbs, which can be traded in for permanent Stamina and Heart Container upgrades.

While considered optional, visiting them will make your quest go much smoother, and are home to some of the best challenges in the game - so be sure to take the time to visit as many as you can.

If you're after help for the main game itself, then consult our Zelda: Breath of the Wild walkthrough and guide.

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Shrine location maps for Zelda: Breath of the Wild

There are many Shrines throughout the game (120, to be exact) with every region containing a handful each. You can spot them from a distance by their characteristic red glow; not unlike the Towers that sprout up throughout the land, but closer to the ground.

Of course, some are harder to find than others, often appearing out of view or out of reach, and so accessing them can prove to be a puzzle within itself.

Once you have entered and completed its Trial, you will reward a Spirit Orb by their conclusion - used to trade for permanent Heart Containers and Stamina upgrades, which you can read about later in this article - as well as bonus Treasure, some of which is exclusive to that Shrine.

Below are maps for every region and their Shrine locations, as well as guides to Shrines we've found so far. Expect on-going updates to this as we continue to explore Hyrule's massive world.

Great Plateau region (4 Shrines)

Dueling Peaks region (9 Shrines)

Hateno region (7 Shrines)

Lanayru region (9 Shrines)

Faron region (8 Shrines)

Eldin and Death Mountain region (9 Shrines)

Woodland region (8 Shrines)

Ridgeland region (7 Shrines)

Tabantha region (6 Shrines)

Wasteland region (12 Shrines)

Lake region (6 Shrines)

Central region (8 Shrines)

Hebra region (13 Shrines)

Gerudo Highlands region (6 Shrines)

Akkala region (8 Shrines)

How to trade Spirit Orbs for Heart Containers

Although you can cook new recipes to give you temporary Heart Containers and Stamina boosts, only collecting Spirit Orbs can you permanently increase their gauges.

As you'll see when you complete The Isolated Plateau quest when visiting the Temple of Time, you can trade in Spirit Orbs for Heart Containers at statues throughout the world.

Some villages will have a statue you can pray at, such as Kakariko Village, so warp to your favourite and visit and you'll be given the option to upgrade either health or stamina.

Thankfully, the choice isn't permanent. There is a special statue at Hateno Village that can allow you to transfer your Hearts to Stamina, and vise versa, at a 20 Rupee cost.

This is particularly useful when it comes to collecting the Master Sword, which requires a certain number of Hearts, and so transferring your spare Stamina - even temporarily - over to your Heart gauge can come in useful.

To find this statue, head to Hateno Village's Firly Pond to the south west.

You can also get a full Heart Container from completing each of the four Divine Beasts, so playing just the main quest will give you upgrades. But if you want to max out everything, then you need to dig into Shrines.

Thanks to a new update, it's now possible to play Zelda Breath of the Wild in VR. Want help with the main game? Our Zelda: Breath of the Wild walkthrough can help complete Divine Beasts Vah Ruta, Vah Rudiana, Vah Medoh and Vah Naboris and more. There's also how to get the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and all Zelda Captured Memories and Great Fairy Fountain locations, while our Shrines locations and Shrine maps hub explains where to find and solve every puzzle room, including dragon locations and Labyrinth solutions. We also have a DLC 1 guide and DLC 2 guide, including all Tingle, Majora's Mask, Phantom, Midna outfit locations.

Other things to know about Shrines in Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Shrines have three colour schemes. Pure orange means it's unvisited and unsolved; half blue and half red means it's visited and an active fast travel point, but unsolved, and pure blue is visited and completed. The latter two are also shown on the map so you can track down which visited Shrines you've yet to complete.
Beyond giving you a Spirit Orb, the best reason to visit a Shrine is to add it as a fast travel location on your map. Even if you don't finish the Shrine - maybe you don't fancy doing it there and then, or can't work out its solution - activating it will add it to your map regardless, so always pay a visit whenever you see one.
No single Shrine is gated, and all can be completed as soon as you visit. Playing other Shrines may teach you ways of looking things in a certain way to solve puzzles - such as using fire in special ways - so if you are completely stuck, come back later after solving others.

Shrines often make use of runes or other abilities in Link's arsenal.

There is a reoccurring kind of Shrine named the Test of Strength, which sees you go one-on-one against a Guardian Scout in a variety of difficulties. It's wise to only fight III and IV difficulty Scouts later when you have better weapons and armour, but again, there's nothing to stop you beating them at any point in the game.
As well as a Spirit Orb or Rune to collect, there is usually an optional and hidden treasure chest to find along the way. These tend to be just off the beaten path, so keep an eye out for distant platforms and other routes to take as you are exploring.
Some Shrines have Shrine Quests attached. While you don't need to start these to access the Shrine, they will provide useful clues to their location.

Additional reporting by Chris Tapsell.