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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has an expansive world for players to explore and learn about all on their own. While exploring the map, you will often see rocky areas high in the sky. These areas are called the Sky Islands, which are an expansion of the map situated in the air. The Sky Islands may provide you with the opportunity to find more shrines and Zonai gadgets, as well as powerful weaponry.
During the game's tutorial, players will explore the Great Sky Island, the largest cluster of Sky Islands in the game. After players have completed the tutorial, they are sent to Hyrule to begin their journey. There are a few different ways that you may make your way back to the Sky Islands, though none of them are immediately apparent.
Updated by Erin Rice on June 19, 2023: The longer Tears of the Kingdom is out, the more we learn about ways to complete certain objectives and tasks. This updated includes minor changes as well as the introduction of Travel Medallions, Shrines, and Fusion Vehicles to reach the Sky Islands easily.
Use Skyview Towers
You will be able to access all 15 Skyview Towers by the time you have completed your journey in Tears of the Kingdom. Skyview Towers are used to launch Link up in the air and unlock the region map using the Purah Pad. Luckily, you can also use these towers to reach the Great Sky Islands.
The Skyview Towers are easy to see from afar because of their towering height and brightly lit exterior. Nevertheless, you will not be able to reach the Sky Islands directly using these towers. Instead, all that will happen is that you will be propelled into the air, at which time you will have to use your glider to navigate to the closest Sky Islands to you.
Make sure to visit Lookout Landing south of Hyrule Castle to unlock your first Skyview Tower and activate the rest!
Use Recall
Using Link's Recall ability is the easiest way to reach the Sky Islands. This ability helps you rewind time for objects and items. Often during exploring around Hyrule, you will see rocks falling from the sky. These rocks will have a green halo encircling them, making them easier to notice.
Once you notice any fallen rock, hop on and use the Recall ability. Activating this skill will cause the rock to climb back up into the air. However, this will not directly take you to the Sky Islands. Once the rock reaches the apex, look around; if there's a Sky Island within gliding distance, leap off and try to reach it before your stamina runs out!
Build A Hot Air Balloon Or Rocket
Link's ability to easily construct a wide variety of items has been further enhanced with the introduction of the Fuse and Ultrahand abilities. To craft a hot air balloon, you must attach a balloon with a platform made with planks. However, you must use a propeller and burn some wood under the balloon to keep it flying in the air. Make sure you keep a close eye on your Zonai Power Cell since its charge will diminish rapidly while the balloon is in the air, rendering it inoperable after some time.
Rockets can also help you launch yourself upwards and reach the Sky Islands. Rockets are Zonai devices that may be found in a number of different spots across the map; however, finding them can be a little bit more difficult. You can also find Rockets sometimes from the Zonai Device Dispensers, which you will find while exploring the map. In order to launch Rockets into the air, you will first need to fuse your shield with the Rocket. After the fusion is complete, press the ZL button, and it will launch you high into the air.
Use Travel Medallions
Another way that you can reach the Sky Islands easily is via the Travel Medallion. The Travel Medallion is an addition to your Purah Pad that's unlocked once you help Robbie reach the Hateno Village Research Lab. That will happen as soon as you unlock the Autobuild Ability. You can obtain up to three Travel Medallions just by visiting all the Skyview Towers in the game. Once completed, you can place a Travel Medallion anywhere on the Sky Islands and fast-travel to it later.
Travel To Shrines
There are 32 Shrines found in the Sky Islands. Anytime you come across a Shrine, you can travel to it later. Similarly to the Travel Medallion, you can unlock the Shrine Sensor for your Purah Pad which will allow you to sense Shrines nearby. You can then find the nearby Shrine to teleport to later. These Shrines are scattered all around the Sky Islands and can be one of the easiest ways to reach this part of the map later on.
Fusion Vehicles
One of the best ways to reach the Sky Islands is to use fusion vehicles like the Hoverbike. The is created by fusing 2 Zonai Fans and a Zonai Steering Stick together. Once you create one of these, you can just begin to steer the vehicle toward the closest Sky Island to you. Not only will these vehicles help you reach the Sky Islands, but they will also help you move around the Sky Islands once you're there.