Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Kaam Ya’tak Shrine Guide

Solve all of the puzzles in the maze-like Kaam Ya’tak shrine with our in-depth guide!

The Kaam Ya’tak shrine in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the longest and most intricate shrines you can encounter early in the game. This Kaam Ya’tak shrine guide covers all of the various puzzles inside the Kaam Ya’tak shrine and how to get through with loot from every single chest you’ll pass on your way to the monk at the end. Just sit back and let our Kaam Ya’tak shrine guide do the heavy lifting for you.

Recommended Videos

You’ll find the Kaam Ya’tak shrine in central Hyrule, almost due north from where Link wakes up at the beginning of the game. It’s very close to Central Tower, which looms in front of the castle. While you can access Kaam Ya’tak shrine fairly early in the game, it’s recommended that you have at least been to Kakariko Village because you will encounter a few smaller Guardians while inside the shrine.

Once you’re inside the Kaam Ya’tak shrine, head down to the stairs to find a large stone ball hanging from a chain in front of a large stone door. While there are a number of ways you can knock the ball through the doorway, the easiest is to simply change to the Magnesis tool and grab the smaller ball the large stone ball is hanging from. You have to target between the metal chasis it’s sitting in, but if you move around a little bit you shouldn’t have any trouble. Once you’re locked on, swing the ball to the right, then back toward the door to knock it open.

Continue through the newly opened doorway to find two sets of spiked balls rolling through the next corridor. Once again, there are a couple different ways you can handle this. The first row is just a single spiked ball, so wait for it to pass, then quickly run to the second row of spiked balls. Here there are quite a few balls rolling through, so switch to the Stasis tool and freeze any of the balls as they roll past. It doesn’t have to be the first spiked ball because they will all stop once you freeze any of them.

Quickly run past the frozen spiked ball, but watch out because there are two small Guardians waiting around the corner to the left. Take them down, then open the chest to find the Edge of Duality sword (50 attack). If you have trouble with these Guardians, just pull out a shield so you can block all of their attacks. Using a one-handed weapon makes this much easier to do.

Light a torch on the lamp in the opposite corner, then ignite the leaves on the ground and wall to free the stone ball above. Be careful not to remain in the center of the path as the stone ball comes flying toward you. Alternatively, you can use a bomb or any other flammable object to either ignite the leaves or blow up the wooden platform the stone ball is resting on.

The stone ball rolls through the door allowing you to go through. In the next hallway there’s another chest in the far left corner. Open it to find a Knight’s Broadsword (attack 26), then head up the stairs and continue down the next hallway and around the corner. Two more small Guardians await here. Clear them out then keep moving down the hallway.

While you pass by a closed door, you can’t do anything to open it just yet. Head down the stairs and to the right to find a stone slab on the ground. If you step on this Link will fall into the abyss below. Instead, freeze it with the Stasis tool so you can pass by the stone slab without issue.

In the next area is a large hammer, a metal ball and a railing that leads to another large stone ball. While you can use Magnesis to grab the metal ball, you won’t be able to hit the stone ball with enough force to move it to the far side. Instead, head up the stairs to the right and access the Sheikah terminal. You need to use motion controls to control the hammer and swing it into the metal ball. This in turn will knock the metal ball into the stone ball and send it rolling down to the doors below.

All you need to do is get enough force into the swing by pulling the hammer back to the left as far as possible, then swinging it quickly to the right. It may take a few hits because the stone ball has to clear a few objects before it will move far enough to reach the door.

Before you head through the door, run past it to find a chest in the corner. Open it to obtain an Ancient Core crafting item, then continue through the opened doors and down the next hallway. Continue around the corner and eventually up the stairs to find the next puzzle.

There’s an abyss covered in part by a stone slab, with leaves to the left leading up to another wooden platform where a stone ball sits. Across the abyss is a switch on the ground, and to the far right is another stone door that needs to be opened.

First things first, this stone slab covering the abyss will hold Link’s weight, so don’t worry about stepping on it, you’ll be fine. Stand where Link is shown in the screen below and switch to the circular Remote Bomb. The idea is to throw the bomb over to the far side so that it’s resting on the darker gray area on the ground. Alternatively you can shoot a fire arrow into the leaves if you have trouble getting the bomb to cooperate.

Once the bomb is in position do not detonate it just yet. If you detonate it now it will only clear away some of the leaves and the stone ball won’t move. Instead, run to the switch on the far side and stand on it. This raises the gray segment of the ground where the bomb is hopefully resting. Once that section of the floor lifts, the bomb rolls back toward the stone ball and you can detonate it to clear the wooden platform and free the ball.

With the ball continuously rolling into the abyss you need to switch to the Stasis tool and wait with the tool locked on to the stone slab covering the abyss. As soon as you see the stone ball drop below the slab, freeze the slab in place and get ready to step on the switch again. You need to time the switch so it’s pressed just as the ball hits the gray portion that will be raised into the air by the switch. Essentially you’re creating a ramp and pushing the ball into the air at the same time. If you hit the switch late the ball won’t get enough air. If you hit it too early the ball will fall short of the stone slab. Timing is key here.

Continue through the newly opened door, and hit the switch on the floor in the middle of the next room. This is the area you passed before when you couldn’t open the doors. Hitting the switch in the floor lowers the bars in front of the battering ram. However, before you do anything with the ram, look in the corner to see a breakable wall. Switch to the Remote Bomb and clear away the wall to find a chest that holds a Silver Rupee (100 rupees).

Now switch back to the Stasis tool and head back over to the battering ram. Pull out a weapon that you don’t care about (because you’re about to lower its durability considerably), and freeze the ram. While it’s frozen, stand on the switch and attack it as much as you can. The switch doesn’t do anything here, you just want to attack it from that side so it moves correctly when the freeze expires.

The ram will roll down the rails and plow through the doorway on the far side. Continue through the newly opened doors and up the stairs ahead. There’s a chest just above you, but before you can get to it, stand on the square shape on the floor in front of the orange crystal and hit the crystal once to see Link catapulted into the air. This is how you reach the monk at the end, but don’t do that yet.

While you’re in the air use your glider, but fall below the monk’s platform and circle around behind the chest. The back side of the chest is not walled in so you can easily access the chest from behind. Open it to earn a Diamond gemstone, then head back to the orange crystal (which is now blue) and attack it again to lower the catapult. Stand on top of the catapult once more and hit the crystal, then use the glider to reach the monk above and complete the shrine.

For more shrine guides and other strategy articles head over to our Zelda: Breath of the Wild game hub!


Prima Games is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Uber Lilith Will Finally Have Worthy Rewards in Diablo 4
Lilith Diablo 4
Read Article HotA Barbarian Gets Hammered Down Before Diablo 4 Season 4
Barbarian Season 4
Read Article Epic Games Just Removed the Best Way to Earn Fortnite XP
Related Content
Read Article Uber Lilith Will Finally Have Worthy Rewards in Diablo 4
Lilith Diablo 4
Read Article HotA Barbarian Gets Hammered Down Before Diablo 4 Season 4
Barbarian Season 4
Read Article Epic Games Just Removed the Best Way to Earn Fortnite XP
Author
Bryan Dawson
Bryan Dawson has an extensive background in the gaming industry, having worked as a journalist for various publications for nearly 20 years and participating in a multitude of competitive fighting game events. He has authored over a dozen strategy guides for Prima Games, worked as a consultant on numerous gaming-related TV and web shows and was the Operations Manager for the fighting game division of the IGN Pro League.