BOTW Memory Locations: All 18 Recovered Memories and Where to Find Them (2026)

There are 18 Recovered Memories in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Twelve are hidden at places shown in photographs on Link’s Sheikah Slate, a thirteenth is revealed by Impa once those twelve are found, four are earned by freeing the Divine Beasts, and the last comes from the Master Sword in Korok Forest. Complete the Captured Memories quest — the 12 photographed spots plus the final memory — before defeating Calamity Ganon to unlock the true ending, an extra scene after the credits. This guide lists every BOTW memory location, with plain directions, as of October 2026.

At a Glance: BOTW Memory Locations

• Total memories: 18 in the base game — 13 from Captured Memories, 4 from the Divine Beasts, 1 from the Master Sword. With The Champions’ Ballad DLC, 23 in total.
• Quest: Captured Memories, given by Impa in Kakariko Village.
• What you need first: the Sheikah Slate camera, restored by Purah in Hateno Village.
• Reward: the Champion’s Tunic after the first memory, and the true ending if you complete Captured Memories before the final battle.
• Order: no fixed order for the 12 photographed locations — only the 13th memory is revealed last.
• Help in-game: Pikango, the travelling painter at stables around Hyrule, identifies the location in any photo.
• The game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, released by Nintendo on 3 March 2017 for Switch and Wii U.

How Do BOTW Memory Locations Work?

A century before the game begins, Link was Princess Zelda’s appointed knight, travelling Hyrule with the four Champions — Mipha, Daruk, Revali and Urbosa — preparing for Calamity Ganon. When he wakes in the Shrine of Resurrection, he remembers none of it. Each memory is a short cutscene from the months before the Calamity, filling in how Zelda, Link and the Champions failed, and why Zelda has held Ganon inside the castle for 100 years.

Each memory is tied to a place. Stand in the exact spot and a glowing yellow marker appears; walk into it and press A to play the cutscene. The spots are small — a patch of grass, a cliff edge, a fountain — so the game gives you two tools: the photographs, which show the landscape around each spot, and Pikango, who will look at any photo and tell you roughly where it was taken. There is no map marker until you are close.

How Do You Start the Captured Memories Quest?

Leave the Great Plateau and follow Seek Out Impa to Kakariko Village. Impa first sends you to Purah in Hateno Village to restore the Sheikah Slate camera (the Locked Mementos quest). Once it works, return to Impa: she hands you a photo album that once belonged to Princess Zelda, with 12 photographs, and asks you to find the places in them. That is the Captured Memories quest, open in your Adventure Log for the rest of the game, in any order.

Where Are the 12 Photo Memory Locations?

These are the 12 places in Zelda’s photographs — each entry gives the memory’s name, where it is, and the simplest way to get there.

1. Subdued Ceremony — Sacred Ground Ruins

The ceremonial ground directly south of Hyrule Castle in Central Hyrule. Fast-travel to the Katah Chuki Shrine and head south. The area is patrolled by mobile Guardian Stalkers, so come ready to parry with a shield, sneak around them from the south, or paraglide in from Hyrule Field Tower.

2. Resolve and Grief — Lake Kolomo

Just north of the Great Plateau. Paraglide north from the Great Plateau Tower to Lake Kolomo, the first lake you reach. The spot is on the western bank, behind a mound of earth — one of the easiest memories to reach.

3. Zelda’s Resentment — Ancient Columns

In the southern Tabantha Frontier, glide south from Tabantha Tower past Piper Ridge to the Ancient Columns, a ring of broken pillars on a cliff. The memory is right in front of the Tena Ko’sah Shrine.

4. Blades of the Yiga — Kara Kara Bazaar

In the Kara Kara Bazaar in the Gerudo Desert, on the road to Gerudo Town. From Gerudo Canyon Stable, follow the road west, or paraglide west from the Wasteland Tower. The memory is among the stalls, and the Daqo Chisay Shrine is right there too.

5. A Premonition — Eldin Canyon

One of the harder spots, on a cliff in south-west Eldin, east of Woodland Tower and west of Eldin Tower. Bring Flamebreaker armour from Goron City or Fireproof Elixirs first — the area burns Link without protection. From Eldin Tower, paraglide west over the shrine your sensor picks up to the cliff edge above Woodland Tower; the memory is right on top.

6. Silent Princess — Irch Plain

North-west of Hyrule Castle, in Hyrule Ridge, between two small ponds and next to a large tree. Paraglide north-east from Ridgeland Tower to the only two ponds in the region; the memory is on a ridge above the larger pond, on the side closer to the castle.

7. Shelter from the Storm — West Necluda

East and slightly south of the Great Plateau Tower. Paraglide east to the Bosh Kala Shrine, then head south and slightly east across the river; the memory is just east of Scout’s Hill, beside a large tree with Proxim Bridge in view.

8. Father and Daughter — Hyrule Castle

Just outside Princess Zelda’s study inside Hyrule Castle. The easiest route is from the north-east side: with the Zora armour, swim up the waterfalls at the back of the castle, slip past the Guardian on the wall, then climb the cliff face to the Sanctum using the rocky outcrops as rests. Circle the main keep to a lone turret, paraglide onto the walkway, and the memory is right there.

9. Slumbering Power — Spring of Power

In the far north-east, in Akkala: the Spring of Power lies west of the East Akkala Stable, in North Akkala Valley. Head west from the stable to the only body of water in the area; the memory is in front of the large goddess statue in the spring, with the Tutsuwa Nima Shrine nearby.

10. To Mount Lanayru — Sanidin Park Ruins

At Sanidin Park Ruins in western Central Hyrule, east of Satori Mountain and north of Manhala Bridge. Follow the road north from Outskirt Stable, cross the bridge, and take the turning on the right; the memory is in front of the large horse statue on the right, and the Mogg Latan Shrine is the nearest fast-travel point.

11. Return of Calamity Ganon — Lanayru Road, East Gate

A long walk east of Kakariko Village and west of Mount Lanayru. Head north from Hateno Tower, cross two roads and climb the cliff to Lanayru Road on its north side, then follow the road west to the memory just before the East Gate; the Shai Yota Shrine is nearby.

12. Despair — Hyrule Field

East of Hyrule Field Tower, along the Hylia River. Paraglide east, past the wolves and Bokoblins, to a small group of trees on the left bank, near the Bottomless Swamp and south-west of the Wetland Stable; the memory is in a clearing between two large trees.

Where Is the Final Memory, Zelda’s Awakening?

Once you have found all 12 photographed memories, return to Impa. She shows you a painting on her wall — the final picture, which Zelda asked her to keep back — and says you should reach the place in half a day. It is Ash Swamp, near Fort Hateno on Blatchery Plain, east of Dueling Peaks Stable. Head south from Kakariko, over the bridge towards Dueling Peaks Stable, then east through the field of ruined Guardians until you are between two small bodies of water, next to a ruined Guardian. That is where Zelda’s power finally awakened a century ago, as Link lay dying — the memory that shows how she sealed Calamity Ganon inside the castle for 100 years.

Which Memories Come From the Divine Beasts?

Four memories are not found from photographs. Each is unlocked by freeing a Divine Beast, and each shows Link with one Champion:

• Revali’s Flap — free Divine Beast Vah Medoh above Rito Village, then defeat Windblight Ganon.
• Daruk’s Mettle — free Divine Beast Vah Rudania at Death Mountain, near Goron City, then defeat Fireblight Ganon.
• Urbosa’s Hand — free Divine Beast Vah Naboris in the Gerudo Desert, then defeat Thunderblight Ganon.
• Mipha’s Touch — free Divine Beast Vah Ruta near Zora’s Domain, then defeat Waterblight Ganon.

These four play automatically once the Beast is freed, so you cannot miss them. They are numbered 2, 4, 6 and 10 in the album, which is why the album order and the photo order do not match.

How Do You Get the Master Sword Memory?

The last memory, The Master Sword, is unlocked by pulling the Master Sword from its stone in Korok Forest. Reach the forest through the Lost Woods, north-east of Hyrule Castle: activate Woodland Tower, float north-east to the forest road, and follow the torch embers — the wind always blows the way you need to go, so follow the sparks, then light the hand torch at the end of the lanterns and follow its flame until the mist clears. Activate the Keo Ruug Shrine so you can warp back, then approach the sword before the Great Deku Tree. You need at least 13 full heart containers to pull it free — temporary yellow hearts do not count — because the sword drains Link’s health as he draws it.

What Do You Get for Finding All the Memories?

Two things. First, Impa gives Link the Champion’s Tunic after his first recovered memory — the blue tunic that shows enemy health bars when worn. Second, completing the Captured Memories quest unlocks the true ending: defeat Calamity Ganon after finishing the quest and an extra cutscene plays after the credits, showing Link and Zelda setting out to rebuild Hyrule.

One point worth stating precisely, because many guides get it wrong: the true ending requires the 13 memories of the Captured Memories quest — the 12 photographs plus Zelda’s Awakening — not all 18. The Champion memories and the Master Sword memory complete the album but are not required for the extra scene, and neither are the Divine Beasts, according to Game8 and GameFAQs. Finding all 18 is still the full experience: the Champion memories are the only way to see Link’s relationships with Mipha, Daruk, Revali and Urbosa.

Do the Champion’s Ballad DLC Memories Count?

The Champions’ Ballad DLC adds five more Recovered Memories, called EX memories: Champion Revali’s Song, Champion Daruk’s Song, Champion Mipha’s Song, Champion Urbosa’s Song, and The Champions’ Ballad itself. Each is unlocked by completing the corresponding Champion’s trial in the DLC, taking the total to 23. They are not needed for the true ending, but they add scenes of the Champions the base game never shows, and they appear in the same album, after the original 18. The Switch 2 Edition (5 June 2025) adds the Zelda Notes companion features.

Tips for Finding Every Memory Faster

• Show every photo to Pikango first. The travelling painter moves between stables — Dueling Peaks, Outskirt, Gerudo Canyon and others — and each time you show him a photo he names a landmark, usually enough to narrow a search.
• Work from towers, not from the ground. Most photo spots are found faster by paragliding from the nearest Sheikah Tower: the photos are framed from above, so the landscape matches what you see gliding.
• Watch for the glow. A memory spot shows a bright yellow glow when you are close. If nothing happens where a photo was taken, move a few steps — the spot is smaller than it looks.
• Do the Divine Beasts as you go. The four Champion memories unlock themselves during the main story, so the only ones to search for are the 12 photographs, the final one from Impa, and the Master Sword.
• Save the castle for later. The two hardest spots — Sacred Ground Ruins and the Father and Daughter memory inside Hyrule Castle — are guarded by Guardians. Come back with good armour, strong weapons and the Zora armour.
• Finish the quest before the final boss. The true ending only triggers if Captured Memories is complete before you defeat Calamity Ganon. Beat him first and your save returns to just before the fight with a star, so you can still go back, finish the memories and fight him again.

Once you have seen all 18 memories, Hyrule stops feeling like an empty ruin and starts feeling like a place where people lived — the whole point of the quest. And if you want more games to explore after Hyrule, our guide to online free games is a good place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions