How To Get To the Higher Islands in Tears of the Kingdom

Learn how to get to the Higher Islands in Tears of the Kingdom!

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has an even bigger map than ever! Not only can Link explore the vast surface of Hyrule. Link can now traverse Hyrule’s vertical space: the skies and the depths. Link can explore the skies of Hyrule through the Sky Islands.

The tutorial area at the beginning of the game is set in the Great Sky Island. Link can quickly head to the Great Sky Island. To do that, Link can fast-travel to the Room of Awakening or any of the four Shrines there. How about the other Sky Islands? This guide will go through all the methods to get to the higher islands in Tears of the Kingdom!

Sky Islands

Sky Islands are floating islands and platforms found in the skies of Hyrule. These islands are very different from the lands of Hyrule below. The Sky Islands have Zonai architecture. Examples are stone dragon heads, stone bridges, inverted stone pillars, and Lotus Flower symbols observed in green glowing lamps on more ordinary stone pillars.

Link can also find Constructs in the Sky Islands. The vegetation on the Sky Islands looks yellow, as if it were fall, compared to the vegetation elsewhere in Hyrule.  In these islands, Link will tackle and find different challenges and items.

Additionally, it is important to note that some of the Sky Islands have reduced gravity. This means that Link can jump higher while on these islands.

How to Get to the Higher Islands in Tears of the Kingdom

There are lots of different ways to reach the Sky Islands:

Method 1: Skyview Towers

Unlike in Breath of the Wild, Link must find, open, and activate Skyview Towers to unlock parts of Link’s map. The Skyview Towers will launch Link high up to the sky when activating them. This will allow Link to scan and unlock the area in the map in Link’s Purah Pad. After that, Link will fall back down to the ground.

With all that in mind, Link can head to any of the Skyview Towers, even the ones Link has already activated. Then, activate them to launch Link to a very high altitude. During this, the player can press the X button to pull out the paraglider and glide to any of the nearby Sky Islands!

Method 2: The Recall Ability

While roaming around the vast land of Hyrule, the player sometimes finds large stones or platforms falling from the sky. Link can use those fallen stones or platforms to reach a very high altitude. Link can do that with the help of the Recall ability.

The Recall ability enables Link to rewind the movement of an object. When Link uses the Recall ability, time stops, allowing the player to choose the thing on which to use the ability mindfully. During this, the player can hover over an object to highlight it. Then, the expected trajectory of the object will appear as a yellow line. This ability has a much larger range than Link’s other abilities.

Once Link finds a fallen stone or platform, Link must do these to get to the higher islands in Tears of the Kingdom:

1. Approach the fallen stone or platform.
   
2. Next, hold the L button and use the right stick to select the Recall ability. Aim on the fallen stone or platform and press the A button to activate its Recall ability.
   
3. Then, quickly head up to the top or at least cling by climbing on the fallen stone or platform to ride it.
   
4. After that, the movement of the fallen stone or platform will reverse and bring Link high up in the clouds. 
   
5. There are two possible situations at the peak of its path or the end of the ability’s time limit. The first possibility is that the fallen stone or platform will end next to a couple of Sky Islands. Link can simply disembark from the stone or platform and explore Sky Island if that happens.
   
6. The other possibility is the opposite: the stone or platform ends randomly in the sky without Sky Island. If that happens, Link can simply jump from the stone or platform and press the X button to pull out the paraglider. Then, Link can glide to any of the closest Sky Islands in the distance.

It is important to note that it is possible that Link cannot reach a Sky Island with this method. If that happens, Link may have to do it all over again. Also, Link can increase his stamina to glide to farther distances. Link must complete Shrines and collect four Lights of Blessing to do that. Then, pray to a Goddess Statue and exchange the Lights of Blessing for a Stamina Vessel.

Method 3: Build a Contraption

One of the new main mechanics in Tears of the Kingdom is to build any kind of machine or contraption using the Ultrahand ability. The player can build any kind of machine with the available materials in the game.

With that in mind, Link can also build contraptions that can bring him up to the Sky Islands. However, there are so many possible contraptions that Link can make to do that. The hot air balloon is one of the easiest contraptions to build that can bring Link up to a very high altitude.

Hot Air Balloon: Requirements

Like every contraption in the game, there are many ways to build a hot air balloon. However, here are the basic materials needed to build one:

1. Balloon

The most important part of the hot air balloon is, obviously, the balloon itself. Out of all the materials needed for this build, the balloon is the only one that doesn’t have an alternative. For this material, Link must use a Zonai Balloon.

Link can find some Zonai Balloons in the overworld of Hyrule. Alternatively, Link can exchange a few Zonai Charges in Zonai Device Dispensers to obtain some capsules of Zonai Balloons. Link can find the following Zonai Device Dispensers to get Zonai Balloon capsules: 

2. Base

The next required material is the base part of the hot air balloon where Link will stand. Link can use a lot of different materials for this. He can use wooden platforms, concrete slabs, or even Zonai Carts. Link can use it as a base if Link can stand on it, and the Zonai Balloon can be attached to it.

The wooden platforms are the easiest to find out of all the possible materials Link can use. Link will be able to find wooden platforms included in the Hyrule Restoration Materials scattered all over Hyrule.

3. Fire

For the hot air balloon to work, Link must also provide the hot air. To do that, the player has two options: a Flame Emitter or a Torch.

Flame Emitter

Link can use a Flame Emitter to shoot out fire continuously. The fire released from the Flame Emitter is strong, which will result in the hot air balloon rising faster. While that sounds good, one more requirement is needed if the player wants to use a flame emitter.

It is important to note that the Flame Emitter will only release fire for as long as Link’s battery allows. This means that the longer the player wants the Flame Emitter to work, the more battery Link must have.

Link can also find Flame Emitters all over Hyrule. Link can also exchange some Zonai Charges in the following Zonai Device Dispensers to get capsules of Zonai Flame Emitters:

Torch

The alternative to the Flame Emitter is a simple Torch. However, Unlike the Flame Emitter, the torch doesn’t emit fire. This means that Link must first make fire. There are also lots of different ways to create fire.

The easiest method is by dropping a bundle of wood and a piece of Flint on the ground and striking them with a metal weapon. It is also important to mention that Link should not try to create fire on top of a wooden platform as this will also burn the wooden platform.

If Link still has a few batteries, it is possible to alternate between the Flame Emitter and the torch. Use the Flame Emitter first to let the hot air balloon rise. Then, while it is releasing fire, take out the torch and light it up using the emitted flame.

Once Link’s batteries are depleted, the torch will still let the hot air balloon ride, although quite slower than the Flame Emitter. Just do this while Link’s batteries are recharging. Once they are recharged, hit the Flame Eater to activate it and repeat the process until the player reaches the desired height.

Hot Air Balloon: How to Build

Now that Link has all the materials ready, he can build a hot air balloon! To do that, Link must do these:

1. First, if some or all of the materials are in Link’s inventory, drop them on the ground.
   
2. Next, hold the L button and use the right stick to select the Ultrahand ability. Aim on the base platform and press the A button to activate the Ultrahand ability to grab it. Move the base platform so that it is flat on the ground. Hold the R button and use the directional buttons to rotate if necessary.
   
3. Then, press the L button to ready the Ultrahand ability and aim at the balloon. Press the A button to grab it and bring it to the center of the base platform. Press the A button again to attach the balloon in the middle of the base platform.
   
4. If the player wants to use a Flame Emitter, press the L button to ready the Ultrahand ability and aim at the Flame Emitter. Press the A button to grab it and bring it to the bottom part of the Zonai Balloon.
   
5. Hold the R button and use the directional buttons to set it upright with the emitter part facing up. Press the A button to attach the Flame Emitter to the bottom of the Zonai Balloon. If the player wants to use a Torch, drop a bundle of wood and a piece of flint, then attack it using a metal weapon to create Fire. Then, Hold the left directional button and use the right stick to select a Torch.
   
6. Finally, ride the base platform and hit the Flame Emitter to activate it, or light up the torch and ride the base platform, then approach the Zonai Balloon so that the torch is under the balloon. Then, the hot air balloon will start to rise!

It is important to note that Link can add more balloons to the contraption. Doing so will help the contraption rise quickly. This will also help if Link is using a heavy base platform. Attaching more balloons, however, would need more fire. If more Flame Emitters are used, it will consume more battery, which may deplete it quickly.

Method 4: Fast Travel and the Zonai Wing

Another method for getting to other Sky Islands is by fast traveling and using the Zonai Wing. Link can fast travel to Shrines previously found up in the Sky Islands. Then, Link can use the Zonai Wing to glide to other Sky Islands.

Link can also find Zonai Wings in different parts of Hyrule’s overworld. But, just like the other Zonai Devices, capsules of it can also be acquired from Zonai Device Dispensers. Link can find Zonai Wings from the following Zonai Device Dispensers:

It is worth noting that Zonai Wings have a flying limit and will disappear after that. Attaching Zonai Fans to the Zonai Wing to boost it is also possible. Doing this, however, will consume Link’s battery. Additionally, even though Link can steer the Zonai Wing by standing on certain spots, it is also possible to attach a Zonai Steering Stick to the Zonai Wing to control it easier.

Conclusion

As shown above, many ways exist to reach the higher islands in Tears of the Kingdom. Doing that is also not exclusive only to these methods mentioned here. There are still many more methods, but the ones mentioned above are the easiest and most common. Now that you have the needed knowledge, it is time to get to the higher islands and explore the incredibly vast and diverse world of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!