In my playthroughs of Breath of the Wild there are specific Shrines that I use as my key fast travels points. While there are technically closer warp points to where I’m heading, I don’t have the greatest sense of direction. So I like to start from a familiar point and head out from there.
One of my most visited warp points is the Dah Hesho Shrine. If you’ve not memorized the many Shrine names (some have!), then that’s the Shrine overlooking Lake Akkala, North-East from Zora’s Domain.
If you look at it on the map, there are a handful of other places I could warp to, but honestly, I really like this one. There are a number of landmarks that I can use to orient myself, there’s a road nearby that I can follow if I wish, and the landscape is beautiful and exciting to explore.
At the Dah Hesho Shrine itself is the quintessential Korok puzzle, where you give a tithe to the little statuettes. Behind the statues is the hulking mass of Death Mountain, its lava flows glowing orange day and night. To the East is a Fairy Fountain, nestled in a small wood. Elsewhere you can see sheer cliff faces towering above you, and atop some of those sits the peak of the Akkala Tower. If you’ve found this already, then you know it’s perched in the ruins of the old Akkala Citadel.
Stand here long enough and you can watch the sunrise over the sea. The haar rolls in at times throughout the day, obscuring what you can see of the Rist Peninsula.
This location is just the perfect example of a Zelda setting. So many of the key components are visible, or at least accessible, from here. The permanent autumnal state of Akkala’s trees lends even more nostalgia to the area. It is a place of both permanence and flux.
Nowhere is that more visible than the small island joined by a land bridge in the middle of Lake Akkala. When I first saw it, I knew that there was a quest attached to it. Somewhere, I would find it. It was too deliberate, the setting was too pretty, to just have it sit then unused.
The Tarrey Town quest is one of the most satisfying in the game, and I love the quaint houses. I visit there frequently, for supplies and to just wander around. I like to imagine what it’s like to live there.
And every time I visit, I stop to enjoy the view from out the front of the Dah Hesho Shrine.
