The Lost Valley

21:16 The Lost Valley is level 3 of the 1996 Tomb Raider: a hidden green valley in Peru where Lara meets velociraptors and a Tyrannosaurus rex, finds three machine cogs, and repairs an ancient machine that diverts the river and opens the way to the Tomb of Qualopec. It has the most secrets in Peru, 5, with 16 pickups and 13 kills (6 wolves, 6 raptors and the T. rex), by Stella's count, and it is where Lara finds the shotgun. Crystal Dynamics counts it among the 1996 game's top 5 levels for that T. rex encounter. It is also the first place Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis let the press play, in June 2026. The clip is Josh Strife Plays on the 1996 PlayStation version.

Quick facts

Sources: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: Lost Valley (Remastered counts); PlayStation Blog, Jun 11, 2026.

Walkthrough

The order below follows Stella's Remastered walkthrough. The cogs can be taken in any order; this one picks up the shotgun first.

1. The stream. From the start, follow the tunnel to a ledge and head upstream, jumping across the water to a wooden bridge.
2. The shotgun. Cross the bridge and the dry streambed. The shotgun lies among bones on the next ledge. In the Remastered version, taking it before any cog earns the "Lethal and Loaded" achievement.
3. The machine. Back at the ancient machine at the top of the stream, shimmy along a narrow crevice nearby to the first secret.
4. The waterfall. Let the current carry Lara over the waterfall. Two wolves wait on the bank of the pool.
5. 21:45 Into the valley. Kill a wolf in the cave opposite the waterfall, climb the stepped blocks, take the large medi pack at the top, and walk into the green valley. Raptors come first; the ground shakes, and the T. rex follows as the valley widens.
6. The first cog. Go through a rectangular opening in the east wall, kill a raptor, and climb the ledges of a small pool room to the cog.
7. Behind the waterfalls. An opening in a corner behind the waterfall holds the second secret; climbing past the second waterfall leads to a cave with the third.
8. The building. Past a rock archway and two raptors, climb the sloped rock and ledges to the roof of the building for the fourth secret. Inside, swim through the underwater passage in the small pool to the second cog.
9. The broken bridge. Through a passage in the south wall, take a running jump to the far end of the broken bridge. The third cog sits on the platform where the bridge meets the wall.
10. 28:55 The repair. Walk back to the machine, place the three cogs and throw the switch. A gate diverts the stream.
11. The flooded passage. Swim downstream through the gate and the flooded tunnel to the fifth secret.
12. 24:04 The exit. Drop into the now dry streambed, then into the pool, climb onto the ledge behind the waterfall, and follow the passage to the end of the level.

How to beat the T. rex

22:28 The fight is optional: Lara can leave the T. rex alive and still finish the level. Its bite is an instant kill. Stella gives two ways to kill it: keep moving in the open, away from corners, firing as it turns and watching for the head grab; or hide in the ground-level cave under the broken bridge, kill the raptor inside, and shoot the T. rex from the higher opening, where it cannot follow. In the Remastered version it has a boss health bar.

Secrets

Source: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: Lost Valley.

Original and Remastered

The layout is the 1996 one. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered lights its openings as visible light sources, the Lost Valley among them, and adds plants. PC Gamer felt the new look cost the T. rex some of its menace: its reveal now happens in a lush jungle under gloomy skies rather than out of "the inky void". Stella notes one cave opening looks light rather than dark in the classic graphics. Aspyr's April 2024 update added a "Bloody T-Rex" Lara outfit for Photo Mode. In Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), the cog puzzle became a moving, physics-based climb.

The Lost Valley in Legacy of Atlantis

2:12 The Lost Valley is the most shown part of the remake as of Nov 2, 2026. The State of Play release date trailer on Jun 2, 2026 focused on it and its reworked cog puzzle, and at Summer Game Fest that month the press played about an hour of it: the cog puzzle, raptor fights and a T-Rex chase that ended the demo. The PlayStation Blog found the first part has no combat and that the game gives little guidance on where to find the missing cog. All of this is a pre-release build. The clip is IGN's Jun 2026 first preview.

21:36 The T-Rex fight is no longer an arena: it is a chase across the level, and the makers say simply shooting it will not work. PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon described it as a scripted chase. The raptors now have feathers, which come off as damage marks, and wolves and raptors hunt in packs whose behavior changes as the pack shrinks, the last one going "berserk". The T-Rex is also the subject of the Collector's Edition statue; see Legacy of Atlantis Editions and Price, Legacy of Atlantis Previews and What's New in Legacy of Atlantis. The clip is ENFANT TERRIBLE's upload of the Gamescom 2026 demo, pre-release footage of the T-Rex chase.

Frequently asked questions

How many secrets are in The Lost Valley in Tomb Raider? Five, by Stella's count, the most of any Peru level in the 1996 Tomb Raider.

Where are the three cogs in Tomb Raider's Lost Valley? One in a pool room through an opening in the east wall of the valley, one through the underwater passage inside the building, and one on the platform at the far end of the broken bridge.

Do you have to kill the T. rex in Tomb Raider? No. The fight in the 1996 Tomb Raider is optional. Hiding in the cave under the broken bridge and shooting from its upper opening is the safest way to kill it.

Where is the shotgun in Tomb Raider 1? In The Lost Valley, among bones on a ledge across the first wooden bridge, upstream from the start.

Is the T-Rex in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis? Yes. In the remake it chases Lara across the Lost Valley instead of fighting her in an arena, and the makers say shooting alone will not beat it.

What comes after The Lost Valley? The Tomb of Qualopec, where Lara takes the first piece of the Scion and meets Larson.

Sources

• Lost Valley, Stella's Tomb Raider Site, read Nov 2, 2026
• Tomb Raider (1996) Top 5 Levels, Crystal Dynamics, Feb 26, 2024
• Creepiest Enemies in Tomb Raider as Chosen by the Fans, Crystal Dynamics, Oct 31, 2024
• 10 Remaster Details You Might Have Missed, Crystal Dynamics, Feb 19, 2024
• Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Update 1.2 Patch Notes, Crystal Dynamics, Apr 11, 2024
• Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered review, PC Gamer (Kerry Brunskill), Feb 13, 2024
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary Q&A - Demo Details, General Game Updates, GameSpot, May 25, 2007
• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches Feb 12, 2027 on PS5, PlayStation Blog (Michael Lovan), Jun 2, 2026
• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis hands-on report, PlayStation Blog (Phil Hornshaw), Jun 11, 2026
• After playing the new remake of Tomb Raider, I'm convinced you can't actually remake Tomb Raider, PC Gamer (Wes Fenlon), Jun 11, 2026
• Creatures of Peru, Amazon Game Studios, Jul 6, 2026
• Combat Reimagined, Amazon Game Studios, Aug 17, 2026
• Was it Good? - Tomb Raider 1, Josh Strife Plays, Jan 22, 2022 (video)
• Tomb Raider (1996) Playthrough (No Commentary), Look Back Gaming, Apr 24, 2020 (video)
• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis - The First Preview, IGN, Jun 11, 2026 (video)
• TOMB RAIDER New Extended Demo Gamescom 2026 | LARA CROFT Legacy of Atlantis Next-Gen Remake, ENFANT TERRIBLE, Sep 2, 2026 (video)