How to activate the Gerudo Canyon Tower in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower oversees the entrance to the Gerudo Desert. Solving its puzzle involves the use of Ultrahand, as well as a bit of trial-and-error to help an NPC in distress.

Figuring out all of the Skyview Tower locations is merely the first step to unlocking Hyrule’s map in its entirety. Below you’ll find a walkthrough to solve the Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

How to activate the Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower

The Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower can be found northeast of the Gerudo Desert at the coordinates (-2432, -2178, 0307), northwest of the Faron Grasslands, and toward the southern end of the Hyrule map.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

If you’re approaching the area on foot, you’ll find a rather rudimentary elevator. Hop on the platform on the right — it’s on ground level and has two metal crates on top — then use Ultrahand to lift either of the crates. On my end, this was enough for the contraption to take me to the higher end.

Doing so will get rid of the counterweight and take you above. It’s also a useful demonstration, as you’ll have to build your own to complete this tower.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Don’t worry, it’s fairly easy to pull off. A character named Sawson tells you they are on their way to repair the tower, but the counterweight for the lift available is missing. There’s only the ceiling support, which you’ll use to build upon.

To get to where the tower is, go around the surface of the cliff, and be careful with the three elemental Lizalfos here — the specific types might vary on your end, but remember to counter their resistances. (If they’re red, you can hit them a White Chuchu jelly from an Ice Chuchu. If they’re blue, throwing a fire fruit instead can do the trick.) You can also just fight them normally or avoid them altogether by sneaking around the left side of the cliff. They carry some neat materials and weapons, though!

Once you’re at the top, get close to the lift. You’ll see building materials on the opposite end.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Here, you’ll need to use one of the pillars (the long pieces of wood) to attach to the ceiling support. Then, use one of the plain boards to create the floor. For the last steps, grab the metal crates next to the construction post, and start piling them on top of each other to add weight to your makeshift lift. This will slowly but surely bring Sawson to where you are.

Alternatively, you can make a longer and wider lift by using additional pillars, then grabbing one of the large metal crates behind the construction post. Those are quite heavy, though, and if Sawson is at risk of being hit, they’ll tell you that it’s dangerous and stop the action on the spot for you to retry.

After you’ve successfully lifted Sawson, talk to them. After a brief cutscene, you’ll have your well-earned access to the device. That’s all for the Gerudo Canyon Skyview Tower!