'Zelda: Breath of the Wild' Spring of Wisdom Location: How to access the mountain spring

I've spent close to 100 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and I haven't seen the word "Triforce" once. Explicit mentions of the golden triangular artifact that's ubiquitous across the Zelda series are shockingly absent here. However, there is a reference to the Triforce's three segments: Courage, Wisdom and Power.

There are three springs hidden throughout the world, each one corresponding to a different piece of the Triforce. Each spring hides a shrine that can only be opened if you offer a specific dragon scale. The Spring of Wisdom at the peak of Mount Lanayru has by far the most involved quest of the three springs. It's possibly my favorite moment in the entire game.

I think the best way to experience it is to go into it knowing as little as possible. Stop reading this and just climb to the top of Mount Lanayru if you don't want to be spoiled. Everyone else, bring some cold weather clothing and plenty of arrows.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Spring of Wisdom location, guide and how to unlock it

The Spring of Wisdom is pretty easy to spot on the map. Look at Mount Lanayru on the eastern side of Hyrule and you'll see a small body of water on its peak. What's that doing there? Hiding the coolest part of the game, that's what.

Again, if you don't have some way to resist cold weather, this is going to be a pain. If you see a bunch of black ooze and giant orange eyeballs at the peak of the mountain, you're going the right way. Make your way up to all that funky stuff and you'll get a cut scene introducing you to the dilemma at hand: The blue dragon that guards the shrine has been corrupted by Ganon's malice and it's up to you to fix it. 

Shoot the giant malice eyeball on the dragon's head to free it. The dragon will start flying around, which creates updrafts that you can use with your paraglider to fly with it. You'll need to shoot the rest of the smaller malice eyeballs off mid-air, which is easy thanks to the slow motion bow aiming that occurs while you're airborne.

The dragon will occasionally fly to a different area, but you can follow it easily. This might be slightly time consuming, but it's not necessarily difficult if your aim is true. It's a beautiful, spellbinding sequence that represents the best of Breath of the Wild. Instead of the game pointing you in that direction, it's something you'll likely have to find on your own. Once you get there, you'll experience one of the best gaming moments of 2017 so far. 

Clear up the corruption and shoot the now-docile dragon with one more arrow to get its scale. Offer the scale as tribute to the spring to open up the shrine and collect your treasure.

More Zelda: Breath of the Wild tips, tricks and guides

Find out all there is to know about Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including what to expect from the Wii U version, how to preserve your items, how to beat bosses like the Stone Talus, Lynel, the Guardians and the Hinox, the best recipes for Link, how to take on the game's shrines and our coverage of the game's outfits, like the Climbing Set, the two sets of heat resistance armor you can find and how to dress Link in the classic green tunic. You'll also want to find out where all the great fairies in the game are, all available stables, how to use amiibo with your version of Zelda and how to increase your health, stamina and weapon slots.