IMPORTANT: This level, along with the next two, the GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL and the SACRED LAKE, are like one big level made up of linked parts. You can move between them as many times as you need to, but twice through each level should be enough if you explore thoroughly. This walkthrough attempts to cover everything with minimal backtracking.
LEVEL 7A: TEMPLE OF KARNAK (first visit)
Updated: 5/5/19(†)
Kills: 11 Items: 33 plus Canopic Jar Secrets: 4*
NOTE: The numbers of kills, items, and secrets listed above refer to the first visit only. The rest are covered in the Temple of Karnak (second visit). One of the regular pick-ups will be the SHOTGUN if you didn't find it in an earlier level.
Cutscene: Lara drives into the ruins at breakneck speed, swerves to a stop, and hops out the Jeep.
COURTYARD WITH OBELISK: The level begins in an open area with pillars. Turn left (west) and climb over the ruined wall into a courtyard with a pointed obelisk. (screenshot) Two black scorpions emerge—one on the ground to the left, one from behind the obelisk after you step down onto the floor. Shoot them with pistols before they get too close. (screenshots)
NOTE: Unlike the red scorpions in earlier levels, these guys are venomous. If Lara gets stung, her health bar will turn yellow, showing that she's been poisoned. Her vision will start to blur and waver—an interesting effect and worth experiencing if you've got a medipack to spare or have recently saved the game. She'll continue to take damage from poison until you use a medipack. (screenshot)
Pick up the small medipack on the step near the obelisk. Now survey the scene: To the left (south) are THREE GOLDEN DOORWAYS. Ahead (to the west) is a HALLWAY LINED WITH COLUMNS. To the right (north) is a stone wall with a gap in it, leading to another open area. Start with the area on the left.
THREE GOLDEN DOORWAYS: Enter through the middle doorway. Vault up onto the stone block just inside, then climb onto the ledge on the right. Jump over to the next ledge to get a small medipack. Turn around and take a standing jump back to the middle ledge, then a running jump to the next ledge. Pick up some Uzi clips. Finally, jump into the alcove in the far wall for a box of wideshot shotgun ammo. Safety drop into the room below. Drop into the shallow pit and crawl through the small opening. This is SECRET #1 (26/70). As soon as Lara can stand, draw guns and kill a black scorpion. (screenshots)
Go up the steps to the south. Face the ceramic jar on the raised pedestal and jump up and down while shooting to break it, or climb up next to the jar and shoot it. Inside is a box of shotgun shells. In the next room, 3 more black scorpions lurk behind the pedestals. The first two emerge from the left and right as you enter the room. The third appears in the far left corner as you approach. Once you've triggered each one, hop back while firing to avoid being stung. Then shoot the light-colored jars to get the items inside: a large medipack, wideshot shells, Uzi ammo, and flares. The black-and-orange jars are unbreakable. Return to the room to the northeast and crawl out the way you came. Climb out of the shallow pit and head forward, then right, to get back outside. (screenshots)
OBELISK COURTYARD (again): Turn left (west) and look for two worn blocks, one low, one higher, to the left of the entrance to the HALLWAY LINED WITH COLUMNS. Climb onto the higher corner of the low block. Jump from there to the right side of the higher block. Turn a little to the right and take a standing jump to grab the ledge above the doorway. Pull up and get some wideshot shells. Then safety drop to the ground. (screenshots)
HALLWAY LINED WITH COLUMNS: Enter the ruins here. In the anteroom with the square mosaic in the floor, notice the carved, gray door on the right. You'll return here later. For now, continue up the ramp. There is a pool at the top of the stairs, but Lara will look up to the right—a none-too-subtle hint. Use the block to climb onto the ledge above. Turn around and take a running jump over the opening in the floor to the walkway in the center, then a standing jump to the far walkway. Pick up Uzi clips and shotgun shells in the corners. Then jump back to the center walkway and and use the mechanisms in the 2 niches to open the gates. Inside the left alcove is a small medipack on the floor and a SHOTGUN (or shotgun shells if you already have the gun) on the pedestal. Inside the right alcove is another pedestal with CANOPIC JAR 1. (screenshots)
Cutscene: When Lara takes the jar, we see a room with wide stairs, an ornate bowl, and a square button on one wall. That's where we're headed.
POOL AND FLOODED PASSAGEWAY: Drop down to the floor and jump into the pool. Swim down to the bottom and retrieve some flares. Return to the surface for air if necessary. Then swim down through the opening in the side wall. Swim forward and down through the passageway until you come to a square door at the bottom right. Position Lara facing the gray tile at the center of the door and press Action. She'll then open it. Swim through the door and follow the flooded passageway. Just beyond the turn to the left, look for a small, square opening in the ceiling where you can get air. Turn around while treading water and climb out onto the ledge to find SECRET #2 (27/70), Uzi clips and crossbow ammo, two separate pick-ups. (screenshots)
Save the game since the next section is a bit tricky. Stand facing the opening in the floor and jump into the water. Swim down and forward, through an uneven horizontal opening into a perpendicular passageway with bluish lighting. To the right is a dead end with a gate, through which you can see another area. To the left is a small, triangular opening. Swim through, staying close to the ceiling so Lara doesn't get stuck. This is SECRET #3 (28/70). Pick up the goodies: a large medipack, Uzi clips, wideshot shells, and poisoned arrows. (screenshots)
To get from secret #3 back to the air pocket where you found secret #2, swim out along the ceiling then downward. Turn right and swim down through the uneven horizontal opening. When you clear the angled ceiling, turn right and swim upward, into the opening. (screenshots)
NOTE: If you have trouble collecting all of the items in the third secret room in one go, you can swim back to this opening between pick-ups.
When you have everything, top up Lara's air meter, then swim back along the flooded passage (southward), around the corner to the right, through the square door, left up the slope, and on to the bottom of the deep pool. From there, head straight up to the surface. Climb out of the water and return down the ramp and up the steps to the OBELISK COURTYARD. (screenshots)
BUILDING WITH RED BANDS AROUND ROOFS: Turn left (north) and climb up into the gap in the stone wall. Instead of dropping down into the open area below, turn right and climb up onto the stone wall. Walk up the slope toward the carved pillar with the blue and green decorations, then turn left. Take a running jump across the sandy slope to land on the slightly angled stone block beyond. Then take another running jump over to the long ledge with the red border. Pick up the small medipack sitting on the block to the right. Then follow the walkway toward the other end of the building, picking up some shotgun ammo and Uzi ammo on the way. Safety drop off the ledge into the doorway on the left side of the building (when facing it). Enter with pistols drawn. A black scorpion emerges from an alcove ahead on the right. Hop back while shooting to avoid being stung. Head for the back left corner of the room. Jump over the shallow pit and climb onto the corner block to retrieve some flares. Then drop down into the shallow pit and follow the short passageway inside. (screenshots)
ROOM WITH STAIRS, PITS, AND CEREMONIAL BOWL: On the left wall, just ahead of where you entered, look for an elevated crawlspace between the first two square pillars. (screenshot) Climb in and crawl through the passageway until Lara can stand. Follow the dead-end passageway around to the left for SECRET #4 (29/70), flares and 2 sets of Uzi clips. Return to the opening and drop back down into the big room.
In the middle of this large room is a wide staircase leading down to the CEREMONIAL BOWL that you saw in the cutscene when you picked up the first CANOPIC JAR. This staircase is flanked by two large, rectangular pits. (screenshot) Down in the pit on the left, there's a black scorpion. You can shoot it from the edge of the pit or just ignore it. The pit on the right contains another scorpion, along with a small medipack.
After getting the medipack, climb out of the pit, stand on the higher of the two white marble steps, and jump up to grab the handholds on the ceiling. Monkey swing across the pit, drop onto the block on the other side, and kill another scorpion lurking on the floor near the block. (screenshot)
Climb onto the ledge in the middle of the north wall and press the large, square button (screenshot) to open the brown door on the opposite wall, letting in yet another scorpion. Hop down onto the wide stairs and shoot the scorpion as you approach the door. (screenshot) Behind the brown door is a small niche. Operate the mechanism inside to lower the CEREMONIAL BOWL, revealing an opening in the floor. (screenshot) Safety drop through this opening into the room below.
NOTE: Lara will lose a little health in the fall even if you safety drop, but if you use the modified safety drop maneuver, described in my Useful Bugs section, she'll land safely in the pool below the BOWL. (screenshot)
ROOM WITH CEREMONIAL BOWL AND STATUES HOLDING LONG HORNS: Pick up the large medipack on the block behind the BOWL. (screenshot) There are several exits from this room: a raised crawlspace on the east wall (screenshot), blue-lit doorways in the southeast and southwest corners, and the pool below the CEREMONIAL BOWL. The current prevents you from swimming into the next room, and we'll go through the crawlspace later. Both of the corner doors lead into the next room. To get all the pick-ups, go through the doorway on the right. (screenshot)
BLUE-LIT ROOM WITH POOL AND SEATED STATUE: Run straight forward, jump into the water, roll, and swim underneath the ledge to find 2 boxes of shotgun shells. (screenshot) Swim to the center of the room and let the current carry you back to the BOWL, where you can climb out. (screenshot) Now climb up into the doorway to the left of the BOWL. On one side of this doorway is a rectangular niche. Use CANOPIC JAR 1 here. (screenshot)
NOTE: There is a similar niche in the right doorway, but you will not be able to activate it until you find a second canopic jar.
Cutscene: When you place the jar in the niche, the gray door opens back at the room inside the HALLWAY LINED WITH COLUMNS, where you found the CANOPIC JAR. (screenshot)
Climb into the crawlspace high on the wall near the doorway where you just used the jar. (screenshot) Continue through the passageway. There are several turns and places where you have to climb ledges and crawl through narrow spaces, but there are no traps or enemies, and you can't really make a wrong turn. On the way, pick up some flares in an alcove on the right side of the passage. (screenshot)
You'll emerge in a sandy room outside the ROOM WITH THE CEREMONIAL BOWL. You can find flat spots on the sand hill that enable you to jump out of this area to get back outside. Or, if you have trouble with that, just climb up onto the ledge directly opposite where you dropped down from the passageway. Then hop down on the left. (screenshot) Return through the gap in the south wall to the OBELISK COURTYARD. (screenshot)
OBELISK COURTYARD (again): Turn right (west) and re-enter the HALLWAY LINED WITH COLUMNS. (screenshot) Inside on the right is the gray door you just opened. (screenshot) Enter here and slide down into the next level.
*NOTE ON SECRETS: There are 70 secrets in the entire game. These are marked "(x/70)" in this walkthrough. To check your progress in-game, press Pause (P on keyboard, Start on PlayStation or Dreamcast controller) then choose Statistics. At the end of this section, you should have 29/70.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 3/4/00 - Previous edit, details not available.
5/5/19 - First major update since this walkthrough was created in 1999. This revision includes many new screenshots as well as various other corrections and clarifications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup and the old tombraiders.com forum, without whom parts of this walkthrough could not have been written. Thanks also to Andre, Nick B., Ryan, Sharon E., and Vasco for their help on this level.
FYI: Canopic jars are the containers that held the organs of a mummy. There were four jars for holding the intestines, liver, stomach, and lungs. The brain was not thought to be important, and was extracted and thrown away. The stopper of the jars was generally shaped to resemble the deceased or in the images of the four sons of Horus. (Visit the Theban Mapping Project for more info.).
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