Lost in the Sands in Genshin Impact: How to Continue Exploring the Ruins Walkthrough

Lost in the Sands in Genshin Impact is a world quest that can be completed in the Sumeru Desert. It is the first part of the Golden Dreamland questline , along with quests such as Introduction to Armchair Archaeology , The Secret of Al-Ahmar , and Dreams Beneath the Burning Sands . The traveler meets the merchant Boniface, who has arrived from Mondstatt, in Aaru. The Academy has given him a mission related to an archaeological expedition, but he has lost contact with the party members. The player must set out to find them.

In this guide, we'll take a detailed look at how to start and complete the Lost in the Sands quest in Genshin Impact. Find out how to continue exploring the ruins and what you can get for completing the quest.

How to start Lost in the Sands quest

In order to start the Lost in the Sands quest, you need to go to the village of Aaru in the Sumeru Desert. After teleporting to the Statue of the Archons, cross the bridge and go to the nearest house, where the merchant Boniface stands. After talking to him, the quest will automatically start.

How to complete Lost in the Sands in Genshin Impact

Follow the footsteps of the archeological team

To find out in which direction the members of the expedition left, you need to follow the tracks. Head to the Statue of the Archons, where you will see the first prints. Near it at the fork, go right, then further along the path to the teleport.

After that, at the second fork, go right again towards the entrance to the cave, following the instructions on the mini-map and the words of Paimon. On the way, you need to get to the Abju Road area, where a collapse will appear before the Traveler.

Go down the hole to find clues

Paimon will assume that the expedition members fell there, so you need to go down to find clues. After planning down, move straight until you see tents and yaks below - the quest marker also points there.

On the way to the marker, you can open the Red Desert Threshold dungeon , located on the bottom right under the cliff and accessible only after taking the quest Lost in the Sands.

Talk to three people

When the Traveler approaches the tents, Paimon will offer to talk to the people to find out what happened to them.

The first man sits near the tent furthest in the center . He resembles a merchant, which makes it clear that he is the Nakhtigar Boniface mentioned. The man is not feeling well, so it is decided not to disturb him.

The second one is sitting by the tent on the left . He looks like a scientist from the Academy, very drunk, and keeps muttering about a stone slab. It's becoming clear he won't be able to say anything coherent.

The third man, a hermit, stands a little further away, at the entrance to the camp , not far from the yaks. He doesn't want to talk, so you'll have to leave him too without learning anything new. Paimon will notice someone standing even further away, at the entrance to another part of the cave. Talk to the fourth man standing further away.

From the taciturn man, go straight ahead to the second hermit, a blue-haired girl named Jaht, who you need to talk to. She will tell the Traveler what happened to the expedition.

Meet the others with Jeht and head to the area around the ruins

After returning to camp with Jecht, you need to speak with everyone again. The scholar Tirzad distrusts the desert dwellers, so he decides to accept the Traveler's help. After the cutscene, head with Tirzad to the ruins' outskirts – head to the cave where you spoke with Jecht earlier.

When you see a multi-colored stone door, approach it. Tirzad will be able to interact with the mechanism on his own and open the door. After entering the tomb, do not forget to activate the teleport located on the left.

Walk forward down the corridor

Proceed down the corridor to the triangular stone doors. Near them is a cube-shaped mechanism, buried in sand. Use Dispel with your character's Anemo to remove it and activate the device.

Continue exploring

After opening the doors, move on. An enemy will appear in the center of the room: a Primordial Construct: Scout . Destroy it with Jecht and Jebrail and explore the room: to the right, near the stone torch, lies a Tablet: Sheep's Head , and to the left, a rich chest buried in sand, which must be inflated with Anemo.

Proceed to the next hall. To the left, there'll be a pile of rocks containing 15000 Mora . Approach the fairy and follow her down the hallway, using the mechanism to open the door.

Go straight ahead to the hall with traps (in the room before it, don't forget to take another pile of stones!), run forward, wait until the path becomes safe, and take the ordinary chest from the fairy.

The next room contains a sealed Rich Chest . To obtain it, defeat the Primordial Construct: Shaper . Then, go to the end of the hall and turn left where the Dendroculus is hovering . Activate the elevator beneath it and descend below.

How to solve the torch puzzle

In the room on the floor below, there's a sealed Rich Chest . To obtain it, you need to solve the torch puzzle. There are four torches in total. Three of them are normal and can be lit instantly using the Pyro element . The fourth is invisible, located against the wall to the right, and is activated using a Triyana Seed. Wait until the seed is near a torch, and activate it using Electro ( if you accidentally ignite the Triyana Seed, hit it with Dendro to revive it ). Light the torch when it becomes visible, using Pyro.

After this, a rich chest and a mechanism that opens the door to the next rooms will become available. Follow the fairy further down the corridors – the creature will give you a regular chest, next to which will be the Tablet: Valley.

Continue exploring the ruins and inspect the strange device

Walk slightly forward from the fairy, and a cutscene will begin. It will show an argument between Jebrail and Tirzad, resulting in the scientist losing consciousness. After the conversation, continue exploring the ruins with Jecht . Proceed deeper into the room and up the stairs – there's an elevator you need to activate.

Once you reach the top, head to the stone door. To the right of it you'll see a locked Pedestal of Secret Rituals , and to the left, a strange living mechanism. Examine the strange device , then return to Tirzad, who Jecht believes has regained consciousness. After examining the device, you'll earn the achievement "Close Encounters of a Certain Degree ."

Tell Jabrail about the finds

Return to the elevator and go down. Tirzad really came to his senses. Approach Jabrail and talk to them. Benben activates the stone slab, which the scientist will get on the order of the hermit. After that, Tirzad will ask the Traveler to speak to him alone.

At the end of the dialogue, the scientist will give you the Red Sands Slab , which possesses special powers . This slab can be used to control mechanisms in the ruins of King Deshret. As you progress through the quests, the tool will reveal the locations of important locations within the ruins.

After obtaining the Red Sands Slab, talk to Jeht and move on.

Keep moving forward

Take the elevator back up, go to the Pedestal that was sealed and activate it. The door will open.

Open the gate and look for a way out

There will be a fairy behind her, follow the creature. Ahead is a hall with traps, carefully go through it. Take a regular chest and go through another room with dangerous mechanisms.

A little further on, you'll see a trap that releases a circular wave. Jump over it and enter the nook on the right – a Dendroculus is hovering on a statue.

In the next room, you'll see a riddle. Take the Primordial Light and take it to the blue-glowing platform, where a Cage of Eternal Light will appear , opening the passage further.

The next room contains a rich chest, a Tablet: Giant Serpent , and an enemy— a Primordial Construct: Shaper . After defeating the enemy, take the two Primordial Lights and place them on the platforms. The cage on the left initially faces the wrong direction— double -click it to rotate it.

After solving the puzzle, a beam will appear and unlock the Pedestal. Activate it to go forward.

In the next room, with the help of Jaht and Jabrail, defeat the two opponents, take the rich chest and go further, turning on the Pedestal to open the door.

Go through the tunnel and continue exploring

In the passage, you'll see a cave, not the interior of a tomb. Immediately to the right will be a pile of stones . Walk forward a little to trigger a cutscene.

Look for an exit by following the direction of the wind and leave the hole

Proceed forward along the tunnel. To avoid getting lost, follow the fairy. When you reach the fork where you'll see Geo Mold, turn right . Follow the fairy to the exit, where you'll receive a regular chest and the Desert Expedition achievement.

After completing the task, access to the Red Sands Slab will open , which can be used to conveniently track current tasks while watching the Path of the Supplicant.

Access to further quests will also be unlocked. The next part is " Introduction to Desk Archaeology ."

Achievement Close Encounters of some degree in Genshin Impact

To earn the "Close Encounters of a Certain Degree" achievement in Genshin Impact, you need to complete the "Inspect the Strange Device" stage in the "Lost in the Sands" quest. Once completed, the achievement's requirement will be met— an unusual friend will join the archaeological team.

You can get 5 Primogems for this achievement.

Desert Expedition achievement in Genshin Impact

To earn the Desert Expedition achievement in Genshin Impact, you must complete the Lost in the Sands quest . Once completed, the achievement's requirement will be fulfilled— the Desert Expedition is just beginning.

You can get 5 Primogems for this achievement.

Rewards

The traveler for completing the task will receive:

• Source stones - x40;
• Adventure experience - x350;
• Mora - x40000;
• Hero experience - x3;
• Magic ore of enhancement - x3.

Video walkthrough

We hope our walkthrough of the "Lost in the Sands" quest helped you accept Boniface's quest and continue exploring the ruins in Abju Road. If anything remains unclear, please ask in the comments. Keep an eye on the Genshin Impact section of our website.