I'll be honest: I have spent more time inside Hyrule's caves in 2026 than inside my own apartment. With over 140 caves hidden across Tears of the Kingdom, my Link now squints at daylight like a cave-dwelling Keese. You can find these holes by offering fruit to a Satori cherry blossom tree or following Blupees, which is like chasing a caffeinated glow stick through a forest at 3 a.m. After dozens of detours, rock-fused weapons, and one too many Bubbulfrogs, here are ten caves I'd crawl into again.

10. Pagos Woods Excavation Site

If your Zonai devices drink charges like I drink Lon Lon milk, this Faron cave is a charging station. The laser puzzle is less ancient temple and more rearrange IKEA shelves to block security lasers. Use Ultrahand to drop junk in front of all three beams, and the back room spits out a Large Zonai Charge. Hit the neighboring Finra Woods Excavation Site right after—because two charge piñatas are better than one.

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9. Talonto Peak Cave

Hebra's freezer aisle. Verla wants ten Chillshrooms for the Crossing the Cool Pool quest, and this cave has them growing like frosty little umbrellas. I entered for mushrooms and left with Brightbloom seeds, Ice Fruit, gems, and the croak of a very annoyed Bubbulfrog. Crossing the frozen river is like ice-skating on a giant pane of glass placed by someone who hates ankles.

8. Calora Lakefront Cave

There's a hole in the ground, a bomb-barrel wall, and an Eldest Hinox snoozing at the bottom like a boulder with sleep apnea. I blew open the wall, found a Bubbulfrog and mining nodes, then turned the Hinox's eye into an archery target. The reward: meat, Hinox parts, and Knight's weapons. Honestly, the real treasure was watching a giant monster wake up confused and angry.

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7. East Biron Snowshelf Cave

Two entrances, one Bubbulfrog, and a side quest that made me feel like a certified Hyrule rescue ranger. After clearing the Wind Temple, you can find Selmie in the middle of the cave as part of The Duchess Who Disappeared. Speak to her, meet her back at Selmie's Spot, and she hands over a Strong Zonaite Shield. Getting paid in shields for a quick pep talk? That's the dream.

6. Popla Foothills Exploration Site

This is actually three caves wearing a trench coat: Popla Foothills Exploration Cave, Sahasra Slope Cave, and Meadela's Mantle Cave. The main event is freeing Elmerson from a well so the Skyview Tower works. You'll break boulders, move a chest with Ultrahand onto a switch like some kind of stone Rubik's cube, and snag a Bubbul gem from the frog on the right path. It's an escape room with worse lighting.

5. North Hyrule Plain Cave

I came for the Climbing Gear and stayed because Cece's mushroom-dress fashion tourists kept pointing me at Misko's treasure. The cave is southwest of North Hyrule Plain, just before New Serenne Stable. Inside, the Climbing Gear waits like a forgotten gym membership. To finish the set, you also need the Climbing Boots in Upland Zorana Byroad and the Climber's Bandana in Ploymus Mountain Cave. Fashionably grippy.

This Eldin cave leads to Jiotak Shrine, but it's less a gallery and more a lava-themed amusement park ride with no seatbelts. You need flameproof gear, a fan-fused minecart, and enough courage to fight Fire Keese while riding rails over liquid death. At the end, the shrine gives you a Magic Staff and a Light of Blessing. The staff is nice; the real win is not becoming charcoal.

3. Tamio River Downstream Cave

Downstream, I saw a Blupee across the water, which is basically nature's neon free armor this way sign. Two Horriblins blocked the entrance, and I learned they drown if they touch water—so arrows turned them into very brief swimmers. In the next room, the Phantom Armor chest sits on the right. Below, Gloom Hands pulse like a nightmare I didn't order. I glided to the right, grabbed the chest, and left the gloom alone.

2. Eventide Island Cave

Eventide is beautiful, but the pirate hideout quest had me sneaking around with a Bokoblin Mask like an undercover intern at a monster convention. After helping Sesami clear the pirates, you can reach Marari-in Shrine via the pirate ship. Building a bridge with Ultrahand to go deeper felt like assembling IKEA furniture over a pit of regret. The shrine's Light of Blessing was worth it.

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1. Crenel Hills Cave

This east-of-Hyrule-Castle hole is the Costco of early-game mining: you walk in for flint and luminous stones, and leave fighting a Stone Talus that erupts from the ground like an angry landlord. The chest holds the Barbarian Armor, and with the Barbarian Leg Wraps in Walnot Mountain Cave and Barbarian Helm in Robred Dropoff, you can complete a set that makes Link look like he's late for a fierce deity job interview. The Talus Heart fused to a weapon hits like a falling piano wrapped in a lawsuit.

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Final thought

If you're still above ground completing shrines or collecting Koroks, I get it. But Hyrule's caves are the game's underground mall: armor, charges, shrines, and frogs that drop currency for Koltin. Just bring a hammer, a torch, and the emotional readiness to follow another glowing rabbit into a hole.