Key takeaways
- The normal Lost Woods entrance is blocked at first Do not waste time trying to walk, glide or skydive through the Gloom-filled forest from the surface.
- Enter through the Depths Use Minshi Woods Chasm, travel through Minshi Grove and Korok Grove, then Ascend beneath the forest near Rikonasum Lightroot.
- Restore the forest by defeating Gloom Spawn and Phantom Ganon in the Deku Tree Chasm.
- Musanokir Shrine is the forest’s main fast-travel point and is available as soon as you reach the settlement.
- The Great Deku Tree’s post-restoration conversation leads into the Master Sword storyline. The forest does not contain the sword itself in the same way as Breath of the Wild, but it provides the crucial information needed to locate it.
- Korok Forest, Lost Woods and Korok Grove are distinct locations Korok Grove is the Depths counterpart below the forest, while Lost Woods is the surrounding surface woodland.
About this guide
Scope: This guide covers Korok Forest proper in the base game, including the Great Deku Tree’s Navel and the Deku Tree Chasm. It also explains the connected but separate Lost Woods and Korok Grove where they are necessary for access, quests or progression. Other parts of the Great Hyrule Forest, such as Thyphlo Ruins, the surrounding woods and distant forest locations, are not treated as part of Korok Forest itself.
Overview
Korok Forest is the home of the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree, and one of the most important story locations in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It is also one of the game’s most deliberately altered locations. In Breath of the Wild, the Lost Woods provide a mysterious surface route into the forest. In Tears of the Kingdom, Gloom has spread through the Lost Woods, blocking the conventional entrance and leaving the Koroks and Great Deku Tree frozen and unresponsive.
The intended solution is not to force a route through the mist. Link must approach from below, travelling through the Depths and ascending into the forest from Korok Grove. Once inside, the central problem is discovered to be the Deku Tree Chasm, where Gloom Spawn and Phantom Ganon are hiding. Defeating them restores Korok Forest, reopens its services and unlocks an important route to the Master Sword.
Korok Forest is therefore both a settlement and a progression hub. It contains a shrine, shops, an inn, Hestu, several Korok-related activities and the Great Deku Tree’s connection to the Master Sword. Its surrounding areas also contain shrine quests that begin in or near the forest.
Korok Forest proper
Korok Forest is the settlement surrounding the Great Deku Tree. Its principal landmark is the enormous tree itself, with the Koroks living around and inside its roots. The settlement includes the forest floor, the shrine near the tree, the Great Deku Tree’s Navel and the interior route leading to the Deku Tree Chasm.
The forest is listed as part of the Great Hyrule Forest in Central Hyrule. Its named inhabitants include the Great Deku Tree, Hestu and a number of Koroks, including Chio, Daz, Kula, Maca, Natie, Oaki, Peeks, Pepp, Tasho, Walton and Zooki.
Lost Woods
The Lost Woods are the surrounding surface woodland and the traditional route towards Korok Forest. They are not identical to the settlement. In Tears of the Kingdom, the woods are initially enveloped in Gloom. Attempts to enter from the surface result in Link being turned back, making the standard route unusable until the forest is restored.
After the Deku Tree is cured, the Lost Woods return to a usable state. They contain their own named places and shrine quests, including the routes associated with Ninjis Shrine and Pupunke Shrine.
Korok Grove
Korok Grove is the Depths area directly beneath Korok Forest. It is not part of the surface settlement, but it is essential to reaching it before the forest is restored. The grove surrounds Rikonasum Lightroot and contains the Ascend point that brings Link up into Korok Forest.
Korok Grove has its own environment, enemies and materials. It contains Evermeans, Gloom Spawn, Stal enemies, Lizalfos and other Depths threats, as well as Bomb Flowers, Muddle Buds, Puffshrooms and Deep Fireflies.
Great Hyrule Forest
Great Hyrule Forest is the broader regional area containing Korok Forest, Lost Woods and other forests and landmarks. It should not be treated as a synonym for Korok Forest. The regional area also includes places such as Thyphlo Ruins and several smaller woods that have their own encounters and collectibles.
---
Korok Forest is built around the roots and hollow interior of the Great Deku Tree. The settlement is less like a conventional town and more like a collection of Korok gathering places arranged around a monumental living landmark.
The Great Deku Tree’s roots form the main vertical and visual structure of the area. The shrine is located near the roots, while the Korok facilities are deeper inside the tree. The Deku Tree Chasm is found at the rear of the tree’s interior and drops into the Depths. It is described as being within the Deku Tree itself, and the hostile presence there is linked directly to the tree’s sickness.
Named places within the forest
Connected but separate named places
The Great Deku Tree’s Navel is the principal interior space. It contains the shops and inn, although these services are unavailable while the forest is still paralysed by Gloom. The Deku Tree Chasm is reached from the back of this interior area.
---
Connected but separate named places
Recommended route
Minshi Woods Chasm is near the road between Woodland Stable and the Great Hyrule Forest. Guides commonly place it around coordinates 1059, 1651, 0165, although map coordinates can vary slightly depending on the map reference used. The important navigation clue is the large chasm beside the approach road, not the exact number.
Inside the Depths, Koroks can be found trying to return home. Their presence provides a practical visual guide towards Korok Grove. The route passes through large tree-like structures and eventually reaches the stone pillar associated with Rikonasum Lightroot. Ascending there brings Link up near the Great Deku Tree.
The reliable pre-restoration route is
- 01Travel to Minshi Woods Chasm, located southeast of Korok Forest.
- 02Jump into the chasm and land in Minshi Grove in the Depths.
- 03Travel north-west through the Depths, following the trail of light and Koroks.
- 04Reach Korok Grove and activate Rikonasum Lightroot.
- 05Stand beneath the large stone column near the Lightroot.
- 06Use Ascend to rise into Korok Forest.
- 07Activate Musanokir Shrine as soon as possible.
Why other approaches fail
The route through the Depths is therefore not merely a convenient shortcut. It is the intended progression path for the damaged forest state.
Practical preparation
The forest itself is not a conventional dungeon, but the Deku Tree Chasm encounter can be significantly more dangerous than the settlement’s peaceful appearance suggests.
---
When Link first reaches Korok Forest, the Great Deku Tree and the Koroks are motionless. The settlement appears to be occupied, but its inhabitants do not function as ordinary NPCs. Shops are closed and the forest’s story activities cannot be completed normally.
The Gloom Spawn encounter is the first stage of the fight. Phantom Ganon follows as the major boss encounter, and the Deku Tree version is treated as a particularly substantial battle compared with ordinary overworld Phantom Ganon encounters.
To restore the area
- 01Enter the Great Deku Tree’s Navel.
- 02Walk towards the rear of the interior.
- 03Enter the Deku Tree Chasm.
- 04Descend into the contaminated area.
- 05Defeat the Gloom Spawn.
- 06Fight the Phantom Ganon that appears afterwards.
- 07Return to the Great Deku Tree.
Combat advice
The fight is easiest if the arena is treated as a positioning problem rather than a straightforward exchange of blows.
The exact tactics depend on the player’s equipment and whether the encounter is attempted early, but the important point is that this is a two-stage sequence. Entering with only a few weak weapons or no recovery food can make the encounter much harder.
The result
The restoration is a permanent progression change for that save file. It is not a temporary state or a timed event.
---
Musanokir Shrine
Musanokir Shrine is located beside the Great Deku Tree and functions as the main fast-travel point for Korok Forest. It is the most important checkpoint in the settlement and should be activated immediately after arriving. Its shrine challenge is Swing to Hit, and the shrine reward is a Large Zonai Charge according to shrine directories.
The shrine is accessible before the forest is fully restored, making it useful even if the player postpones the Deku Tree Chasm fight.
General Shoppe
The General Shoppe is the ordinary item shop in Korok Forest. It becomes functional after the forest is restored. Its listed wares include:
The shop is run by Daz. The shop directory confirms these wares, but players should not assume that every Korok-related building offers services merely because it has a named storefront.
Spore Store
The Spore Store is one of the named businesses inside the Great Deku Tree’s Navel. It is associated with the forest’s mushroom theme. Its inclusion as a named shop is confirmed by location directories, although the available stock can vary by game state and should be checked in-game rather than inferred from the name alone.
Great Deku Tree’s Navel Inn
The Great Deku Tree’s Navel Inn provides the settlement’s accommodation service after the forest is restored. It is located in the interior of the Great Deku Tree alongside the other forest businesses.
Hestu
Hestu is the large Korok who exchanges Korok Seeds for inventory expansions. In Tears of the Kingdom, he can eventually be found in Korok Forest after the forest is restored. His service covers weapon, bow and shield inventory expansion, with the required number of seeds increasing as upgrades are purchased.
Hestu’s exact early-game travel behaviour is separate from Korok Forest’s permanent post-restoration placement. If the player has not yet reached the forest, Hestu may first appear elsewhere. Once the forest is restored, Korok Forest becomes his established location.
---
The following named characters are associated with Korok Forest proper in Tears of the Kingdom:
The Great Deku Tree is the forest’s guardian and the central story figure. Hestu is the inventory-upgrade provider. The remaining named Koroks have individual conversations, errands or activity connections, particularly after the forest has been restored. The presence of a named Korok does not necessarily mean that the character offers a permanent shop or repeatable service.
Hestu
Great Deku Tree
The Great Deku Tree is both the guardian of the Koroks and the forest’s most important narrative landmark. In the damaged state, he is sick with Gloom and unable to act normally. After Phantom Ganon is defeated, he provides information connected with the Master Sword.
The Deku Tree’s role also ties Tears of the Kingdom to earlier Zelda games. He is not simply a large tree landmark but a recurring figure associated with the protection of sacred forests, Koroks and the Master Sword. His role in this game continues the relationship established in Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild, while the exact continuity details remain those of the series’ broader timeline rather than a direct recreation of older forest layouts.
Ordinary Koroks
Most residents are Koroks rather than human travellers. They occupy the paths, roots, platforms and interior spaces around the Great Deku Tree. Before restoration, they are effectively frozen in place. Afterwards, they resume conversations and activities.
The forest’s Koroks should be distinguished from Koroks found as collectible encounters across the wider Great Hyrule Forest. A Korok Seed puzzle outside the settlement is not automatically part of Korok Forest simply because it occurs in woodland.
---
Trail of the Master Sword
Trail of the Master Sword is a main quest associated with the Great Hyrule Forest storyline. The forest restoration is the key prerequisite for the Great Deku Tree to provide meaningful guidance about the Master Sword.
Recovering the Hero’s Sword
Recovering the Hero’s Sword is the later Master Sword-related main quest. It follows the forest’s restoration and links the Great Deku Tree’s information with the sword’s true location. The forest is therefore one of the most useful places to visit if the player is following the game’s intended clues rather than using an external map.
Walton’s Treasure Hunt
Walton’s Treasure Hunt is a Korok Forest side activity associated with Walton. It involves identifying a series of objects and rewards the player for completing the hunt. It becomes available as part of the restored forest’s activities.
The Secret Room
The Secret Room is another Korok Forest side activity listed among the area’s quests. Its access and reward are tied to exploring the Great Deku Tree’s interior rather than to the surface approach.
Whirly Swirly Things
Whirly Swirly Things is a Korok Forest side quest associated with the forest’s residents. It is one of the post-restoration activities that gives the settlement more to do beyond the main story and shops.
Nearby shrine quests
Several shrine quests begin in or around the broader Lost Woods and Korok Forest area. Their locations should be treated as connected surroundings rather than all being inside the settlement.
These quests use different access patterns. Some require following forest clues, some involve delivering items and one is connected to a location that is easier to approach from above or from a route revealed after the forest’s restoration.
Shrine directory for the connected forest area
The named shrines most often associated with Korok Forest and its immediate Lost Woods surroundings are:
Only Musanokir Shrine is in Korok Forest proper. The other three should not be folded into the settlement’s boundary merely because their quests involve Koroks or the forest.
---
Enemies in Korok Forest proper
The surface settlement is primarily a safe social area. Its principal hostile encounter is not a wandering enemy but the story battle inside the Deku Tree Chasm:
The approach through the Depths is more dangerous. Korok Grove contains enemies including:
These entries belong to Korok Grove, not the surface forest, but they matter because Korok Grove is the route used to reach Korok Forest before restoration.
Enemies in Korok Forest proper
Gloom state
The forest’s initial Gloom state has several practical consequences:
This is a progression state, not a permanent description of Korok Forest. Once Phantom Ganon is defeated, the area changes substantially.
---
Important fixed rewards
The most significant rewards and benefits connected to Korok Forest are:
The Master Sword itself should not be described as a normal Korok Forest pickup in Tears of the Kingdom. The Great Deku Tree’s role is to provide information and progression, while the sword’s actual acquisition sequence leads elsewhere.
Materials in Korok Grove
The Depths below the forest contain several valuable materials:
These are associated with Korok Grove and should not be confused with the surface settlement’s shop stock.
Korok Seeds
Korok Forest is the natural headquarters for Hestu, but it is not a special replacement for the wider Korok Seed system. Seeds found in the surrounding Great Hyrule Forest, Lost Woods and distant regions all feed into the same inventory-upgrade service.
A complete seed directory requires a separate map-based survey of every puzzle in the wider Great Hyrule Forest. The sources consulted here verify the settlement’s location and major activities, but they do not provide a sufficiently reliable, consolidated list of every Korok Seed within a rigorously defined Korok Forest boundary. This guide therefore does not claim a complete seed count.
---
For a first visit, the following order is efficient:
This route prioritises permanent progression, fast travel and access to services. Players who are under-equipped can activate Musanokir Shrine, leave, improve their equipment and return later.
---
Korok Seeds: steps
- 01Approach Minshi Woods Chasm from the road near Woodland Stable.
- 02Enter the Depths and activate any convenient nearby Lightroot.
- 03Follow the Korok trail through Minshi Grove.
- 04Reach Rikonasum Lightroot in Korok Grove.
- 05Ascend into Korok Forest.
- 06Activate Musanokir Shrine.
- 07Explore the surface briefly to identify the settlement layout.
- 08Enter the Great Deku Tree’s Navel.
- 09Descend through the Deku Tree Chasm.
- 10Defeat Gloom Spawn and Phantom Ganon.
- 11Return to the Great Deku Tree.
- 12Visit Hestu and the reopened shops.
- 13Begin the forest side activities.
- 14Follow the Great Deku Tree’s Master Sword guidance.
- 15Explore the Lost Woods and complete the nearby shrine quests.
After restoration
---
---
Korok Forest continues the series’ recurring idea of a protected sacred woodland watched over by an ancient tree guardian. The Great Deku Tree’s relationship with the Master Sword is especially important. In Breath of the Wild, the sword rests in Korok Forest under the Deku Tree’s protection. In Tears of the Kingdom, the forest remains central to the sword’s story, but the game changes the method by which Link receives the necessary information and pursues it.
The forest also provides a thematic contrast with the Depths. On the surface, Korok Forest is associated with life, leaves, music and childlike Korok communities. Below it, Korok Grove is dark, hostile and filled with materials associated with the Depths. The underground route is not just a practical entrance. It reflects the game’s broader pattern of placing a hidden or inverted counterpart beneath familiar Hyrule locations.
Zelda’s recollections also associate the Great Hyrule Forest with childhood fear and changing perspective. The frightening shapes of the Lost Woods are remembered as expressive faces once viewed with a different understanding. This reinforces one of the forest’s central themes: a place can appear threatening or welcoming depending on how it is approached and understood.
---
After restoration
| Place | Layer or region | Relationship to Korok Forest | Main purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korok Forest | Surface | The settlement itself | Great Deku Tree, shops, Hestu and Musanokir Shrine |
| Great Deku Tree’s Navel | Surface interior | Interior of the Great Deku Tree | Shops, inn and route to the chasm |
| Deku Tree Chasm | Surface-to-Depths connection | Inside the Great Deku Tree | Gloom Spawn and Phantom Ganon encounter |
| Lost Woods | Surface | Surrounding woodland | Traditional forest approach and shrine quests |
| Korok Grove | Depths | Underground counterpart | Pre-restoration access route and Depths exploration |
| Minshi Woods | Surface | Approach area south-east of the forest | Route to Minshi Woods Chasm |
| Minshi Grove | Depths | Underground approach from Minshi Woods | Passage towards Korok Grove |
| Great Hyrule Forest | Regional area | Larger region containing all of the above | Wider forest geography and additional locations |
Can I enter Korok Forest through the Lost Woods?
Not initially. The Gloom-filled Lost Woods reject Link and return him to a previous location. Use Minshi Woods Chasm and ascend from Korok Grove instead. After the forest is restored, the Lost Woods return to normal.
Do I need to complete a regional phenomenon first?
Korok Forest can be reached through the Depths without treating it as one of the four main regional phenomena. The essential requirements are access to the Depths and Ascend. The Deku Tree Chasm encounter itself is a major story event, but it is not one of the four regional temples.
Why are the Koroks not talking to me?
The forest has not yet been restored. Enter the Deku Tree Chasm and defeat Gloom Spawn followed by Phantom Ganon.
Where is Hestu?
Hestu can be found in Korok Forest after the forest is restored. Before that, his early-game location may be elsewhere. His service is the same core inventory-expansion system, using Korok Seeds.
Is Korok Grove part of Korok Forest?
No. Korok Grove is the Depths counterpart beneath the forest. It is included in this guide because it is the essential pre-restoration access route, but it is a separate named location with its own enemies and materials.
Is the Master Sword inside the Great Deku Tree?
The forest is central to the Master Sword storyline, but the sword is not simply obtained as a static pickup inside the tree in Tears of the Kingdom. Restore the forest and speak to the Great Deku Tree to progress the relevant questline.
Can I buy items before restoring the forest?
No. The forest’s shops are unavailable while its inhabitants remain frozen by the Gloom. Restore the Great Deku Tree first.
---
Sources
- Korok Forest Location: Shops and Points of Interest | Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK)｜Game8 — game8.co
- Korok Forest - Zelda Dungeon Wiki, a The Legend of Zelda wiki — zeldadungeon.net
- Lost Woods (Breath of the Wild) - Zelda Dungeon Wiki, a The Legend of Zelda wiki — zeldadungeon.net
- Korok Grove - Zelda Dungeon Wiki, a The Legend of Zelda wiki — zeldadungeon.net
- Deku Tree Chasm - Zelda Dungeon Wiki, a The Legend of Zelda wiki — zeldadungeon.net
- Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: How To Get To Korok Forest, Lost Woods | Nintendo Life — nintendolife.com
- Shops in Tears of the Kingdom - Zelda Wiki — zeldawiki.wiki
- Deku Tree Chasm - Zelda Wiki — zelda.fandom.com