How to get out of the Depths in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The map in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK) is divided into three levels: the Sky, the Surface, and the Depths. The main level is the Surface, the Sky is made up of islands floating high above the surface, and the Depths is a huge network of underground caves. The Depths is actually nearly as big as the Surface, but after you’ve been exploring it for a while, you’ll want to get out.

You’ll most likely visit the Depths for the first time during the Camera Work in the Depths main quest, in which you have to drop into a chasm and find Robbie. After Robbie has unlocked the Camera and Hyrule Compendium on your Purah Pad, you’ll take a picture of a statue. Robbie will then say he’ll meet you back at Lookout Landing on the surface.

You might also have found yourself in the Depths simply by exploring. There are chasms dotted around the Surface map, and you can dive and glide into any of them to reach the Depths. Regardless of how and why you got into the Depths though, it’s important to know how to get out.

Related: How to get The Depths armor set in Tears of the Kingdom

How to leave the Depths in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

There’s only really one sensible way to get out of the Depths, and that’s by using the Fast Travel function. To do this, press – to open your map, then press up on the D-pad to change the map to the Surface view. Now select any fast travel point. They’re always marked with blue icons, and most of them are either Shrines or Skyview Towers. Press A to travel, then again to confirm, and you’ll magically dissolve before reappearing at your chosen destination. There are fast travel points in the Depths too, so once you’ve unlocked some of them, you can also fast travel around and into the Depths.

Some players have reported that you can also get out of the Depths by using the Ascend ability, just like you can if you’re stuck in a well. But I haven’t seen any evidence of this, and I certainly couldn’t find anywhere where it was possible. The best I managed was to Ascend to the top of a Lightroot, but from there, the ceiling above was impenetrable.

If you visit the Depths during the Camera Work in the Depths quest, you might notice a balloon directly beneath the chasm you came down through. This balloon disappears after you find Robbie, but it gave me an idea. I built a vehicle by combining a Zonai Wing, a Zonai Balloon, and a Zonai Flame Emitter. It did actually work, but it was ascending very slowly, and using a lot of energy. I’m pretty sure it’s possible to get out of the Depths using a vehicle like this, but it would require dozens, maybe even hundreds, of Zonai Charges. So, I don’t think it’s really worth it.