Tears of the Kingdom Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower Guide

The entrance to Tears of the Kingdom's Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower is blocked by snow. Here's how to get inside and activate the terminal.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's brilliance lies in its beautifully crafted open world, which raises the bar for games in the genre. Hyrule is not only hugely rewarding to explore, with puzzles, treasures, side stories, and enemies to find around every corner, but it also acts as a playground for players to make the most of its fun gameplay mechanics in creative and experimental ways.

As with many open-world games, though, Hyrule's map is not immediately visible. To unlock the map for each region, Link must activate the corresponding Skyview Tower. Doing so is often not a straightforward affair, instead requiring players to think outside the box in true Zelda style and make use of Link's full skillset. The Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower is no exception.

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The Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower is located in the mountains along the Northern edge of the Gerudo Desert in the Southwestern corner of Hyrule. It's Northwest of the Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower and Gerudo Canyon Stable, continuing beyond the fifth Dragon Tear, A Show of Fealty. It's not right at the top of the mountains, but it will still require some climbing to reach it. The coordinates for the tower are -3961, -1311, 0422.

Payers will want to pack some stamina-replenishing meals to make those climbs a lot easier. The mountains are also very cold, meaning Link will need to equip at least two pieces of cold-resistant armor to stay warm. The Snowquill armor set is easiest to get, as all three pieces can simply be bought from the general store in Rito Village in the Hebra Region in the Northwest of Hyrule at the coordinates -3650, 1805, 0168.

Unfortunately for Link, when he arrives at the Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower, he'll notice that the bottom section, which houses the activation terminal, is blocked by snow, meaning he must find another way in. Thankfully, there's a small tent next to the tower with a notebook inside that will give him a big hint about where to go.

The notebook contains a construction report that mentions a nearby cave that's being used for storing materials away from the snowstorm. The entrance to the referenced cave, Meadela's Mantle, is hidden behind a large rock directly North of the Skyview Tower. This is the path Link needs to follow.

After following the cave's tunnel for a short while, it will soon open up to reveal a flowing river. On the river bank are leftover construction materials, including several large wooden boards. Players need to use Link's Ultrahand ability to move one of the boards onto the river to act as a raft. The bigger the board, the easier it is to stay on. Once the plank is in the river, Link can simply climb atop to float downstream.

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A short way along, the river will go down a waterfall. Above it, on the ceiling, is a bubbul frog. Players should use Link's bow to shoot it, causing it to fall and drop a valuable bubbul gem into the river below. Simply ride the board over the waterfall, collect the bubbul gem and climb back onto the board if Link falls off.

A short way after dropping down the waterfall, the river will once again open up. There's a riverbank on the right side and a square wooden structure in the middle of the river. These beams are the foundations of the Skyview Tower above. Simply ride the wooden board until Link is within this wooden structure and then use his Ascend ability to climb through the cave roof and into the Skyview Tower's activation area.

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Thankfully, if players don't get their timing right the first time around, there's a grate at the end of the cave that will stop the wooden board from continuing much further. Simply hop onto the nearby shore and use Ultrahand or Rewind to bring the board back upstream and try again. There are also more wooden boards on the riverbank nearby.

Once Link successfully ascends into the Skyview Tower above, players can use the terminal there to activate it. Then, simply walk into the center of the tower and use it to launch Link high into the sky above the Gerudo Highlands. Doing so will map the whole area, including the sky islands directly above and the depths directly below.

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Unveiling the map will make traveling around the Gerudo Highlands a lot easier. There's also plenty to do in the area, so it's certainly worth the effort. In the sky, players can easily glide North from the Gerudo Highlands Skyview Tower to the North Gerudo Sky Archipelago. This is a great place to catch fairies, which revive Link when he dies. Alternatively, traveling East from the tower to the East Gerudo Sky Archipelago will reveal another device dispenser, allowing Link to gain Beam Emitters, Sleds, MIrrors, Steering Sticks, and Stakes.

The surface of the Gerudo Highlands also has several Shrines to find, which can be more easily spotted from the sky. There are also several tough monsters roaming the lands, including a Black Hinox, a Frost Talus, and a Red Lynel off to the East.

Finally, there are also three entrances to the depths that will become visible once the area map has been revealed. The one to the North takes players into the Gerudo Summit Chasm. The smaller one to the East, next to the Rotsumamu Shrine, takes players into the Yiga Clan Hideout Chasm. The large one to the Southeast takes players into the Birida Lookout Chasm.

Bethany-May Howard is a Gaming Features Writer for CBR. She's been gaming ever since she was gifted a Game Boy Advance and Mario Kart: Super Circuit for her seventh birthday. She runs her own gaming Twitter and wrote articles for her own website before joining CBR. If it weren't for her irreplaceable love for Fallout 3, Ghost of Tsushima would be her favourite game. She's also a semi-professional football (soccer) player based in South West England.