BotW Great Plateau Walkthrough: Four Shrines to the Paraglider

The Great Plateau is the tutorial area of Breath of the Wild, and the only way down from it is the paraglider. This page walks you from waking up to gliding off, with the chests and gear worth taking on the way. The four shrine puzzles each have their own page; this one only says how to reach them.

What do you do after waking up?

You wake in the Shrine of Resurrection. Take the Sheikah Slate from the pedestal and use it on the next one to open the door. Before you climb out, open the two chests in the room: they hold the Old Shirt and the Well-Worn Trousers, your first clothes.

Outside, an Old Man sits by a campfire on the slope below. Talking to him is optional, but he has a lot to say about the plateau.

How do you activate the Great Plateau Tower?

Follow the marker on the Sheikah Slate to a pedestal among some rocks and slot the slate in. The Great Plateau Tower rises out of the ground with you on it, and your map of the plateau appears. This finishes the main quest Follow the Sheikah Slate.

On the way, look into the square ruins northeast of the Temple of Time entrance: a chest there holds the Hylian Trousers, 3 defense against the Well-Worn Trousers’ 1.

Climb down and the Old Man is waiting. He explains that the plateau is surrounded by cliffs and that you will need a paraglider to leave. He offers his own in exchange for the treasure in a nearby shrine. This starts The Isolated Plateau.

Where are the four Great Plateau shrines?

Once you clear the first one, the Old Man tells you there are three more and that he will only hand over the paraglider for all four. Each shrine gives you one of the Sheikah Slate’s tools before its puzzle starts; the Sheikah Slate runes guide covers what each does.

A few things to know on the way:

• Ja Baij: the Eastern Abbey is full of Decayed Guardians. They cannot move, but their lasers hurt; keep walls between you and them and run for the shrine.
• Owa Daim: the shrine sits on a ledge, so you either climb up from below or come down from the slopes above.
• Keh Namut: the snow takes hearts away. Wear the Warm Doublet, or cook Spicy Peppers into a dish and eat it before you head up.

Every shrine you activate is also a travel point, so you can warp across the plateau from then on.

Which chests are worth opening on the plateau?

Each new tool opens up a chest near its shrine, so the plateau is a good place to practice them:

• Magnesis: two metal chests sit in the water outside Oman Au Shrine. Pull them out for an Opal and an Amber.
• Stasis: near Owa Daim Shrine, a boulder rests on top of a chest. Freeze it with Stasis, hit it until it flies off, and take the Traveler’s Bow.
• Cryonis: a chest is in the freezing pond beside Keh Namut Shrine. Build ice pillars to reach it without touching the water; it holds an Opal.
• Temple of Time roof: a chest next to where you meet the Old Man holds a Soldier’s Bow.

How do you get the Warm Doublet?

The Warm Doublet gives one level of cold resistance and is free here. There are three ways to get it:

1. Cook for the Old Man. His cabin is south of the Temple of Time (show on map). Read the Old Man’s Diary inside; it describes his lost recipe, a Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. Cook one Spicy Pepper, one Raw Meat and one Hyrule Bass in the pot by the cabin and bring him the dish.
2. Reach the summit of Mount Hylia. If you climb the mountain before you finish the plateau, he is waiting at the top and gives you the doublet.
3. Do nothing. If you get the paraglider without either, a chest with the Warm Doublet appears in his cabin.

It cannot be upgraded, and it is also sold later in Hateno Village. How it stacks with food and other armor is on the cold resistance guide.

How do you get the paraglider?

When the fourth shrine is done, the Old Man tells you to meet him at the spot between the four shrines and vanishes. That spot is the Temple of Time.

1. Pray at the Goddess Statue inside the temple. Four Spirit Orbs buy one Heart Container or one Stamina Vessel. Which to take is on hearts or stamina first.
2. Climb to the roof. The Old Man calls out from above. Go back outside and climb the temple to reach him.
3. Hear him out. He reveals who he really is and what happened to Hyrule, then gives you the paraglider.

Where should you go after the Great Plateau?

The next main quest, Seek Out Impa, points east to Kakariko Village. The beginner tips lay out the first stops on that road: a horse, Hestu, armor and the camera. You can come back to the plateau any time by warping to one of its shrines or the tower. The rest of the story is laid out in main quest order.