Gerudo’s Fortress and the Haunted Wasteland Walkthrough

Ocarina of Time 100% Completion Walkthrough20 chapters

Walkthrough overview

• Kokiri Forest and the Lost WoodsKokiri Sword, Deku Shield, both Skull Kid Heart Pieces, upgrades, Saria’s Song, Skulltulas.
• Inside the Great Deku Tree (Dungeon 1)Map, Slingshot, Compass, all 4 Gold Skulltulas, Queen Gohma, Heart Container and the Kokiri’s Emerald.
• Hyrule Field and Hyrule CastleEvery field grotto, Pieces of Heart, Skulltulas, Din’s Fire, Zelda’s Letter and Lullaby.
• Kakariko Village and Hyrule MarketBottle, Sun’s Song, Heart Pieces, masks, mini-games, shops and Skulltulas.
• Death Mountain, Goron City and Hyrule MarketBracelet, Big Bomb Bag, Heart Pieces, Gold Skulltulas, the Great Fairy, Richard and Din’s Fire.
• Dodongo’s Cavern (Dungeon 2)Every room, Dungeon Map, Compass, Bomb Bag, 5 Gold Skulltulas, King Dodongo tactics and the Goron’s Ruby.
• Zora’s River and Zora’s DomainBean seller, frogs, Heart Pieces, Silver Scale, Ruto’s Letter, Lake Hylia, Farore’s Wind and Jabu-Jabu.
• Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly (Dungeon 3)Carrying Ruto, Boomerang, Map, Compass, 4 Gold Skulltulas, Big Octo, Barinade and Zora’s Sapphire.
• Transition to AdulthoodThe Ocarina, Song of Time, Door of Time, Sacred Realm, Light Medallion, Sheik, age change and the ruined Market.
• Lon Lon RanchEpona’s Song, Lon Lon Milk bottle, tower Heart Piece, 4 Skulltulas, Ingo’s races, Epona and the cow.
• Forest Temple (Dungeon 4)Minuet of Forest, all 5 Small Keys, 5 Gold Skulltulas, Fairy Bow, the four Poe Sisters and Phantom Ganon.
• Fire Temple (Dungeon 5)Goron Tunic, Bolero of Fire, 8 Small Keys, 5 Gold Skulltulas, Megaton Hammer, two Flare Dancers and Volvagia.
• Ice CavernReach it across Zora’s Fountain, Blue Fire, 10 Silver Rupees, 3 Gold Skulltulas, a Heart Piece and the Iron Boots.
• Water Temple (Dungeon 6)Three water levels, 6 Small Keys, 5 Gold Skulltulas, Dark Link, the Longshot, the Boss Key and Morpha.
• Bottom of the WellDrain the Kakariko well, beat Dead Hand for the Lens of Truth, then get the Map, Compass, keys, Skulltulas.
• Shadow Temple (Dungeon 7)All 5 Small Keys, Map, Compass, Hover Boots, Boss Key, 5 Gold Skulltulas, Bongo Bongo and Shadow Medallion.
• Gerudo’s Fortress and the Haunted WastelandFree the 4 carpenters, get the Gerudo Card, win the archery prizes, then cross the Haunted Wasteland.
• Gerudo Training GroundEvery room, all 9 Small Keys, the Silver Rupee puzzles and the Ice Arrows in the central treasure room.
• Spirit Temple (Dungeon 8)Child and adult routes, 5 keys, Map, Compass, Boss Key, 5 Skulltulas, Silver Gauntlets, Mirror Shield, Twinrova.
• Ganon’s Castle and Ganon’s TowerLight Arrows, six trials, Golden Gauntlets, Double Defense, the tower climb, Ganondorf and Ganon.

This chapter covers the far-west corner of Hyrule: Gerudo Valley, the fortress of the Gerudo thieves, and the sandstorm-filled Haunted Wasteland that leads to the Desert Colossus. Rescuing the four carpenters earns you the Gerudo Membership Card, which stops the guards from jailing you, opens the Horseback Archery range and lets you into the Gerudo Training Ground. The Heart Pieces and Gold Skulltulas here are easy once the card is yours.

What you need

Everything except the valley’s two child Skulltulas is adult Link only. The Longshot (Water Temple) gets you across the broken bridge and out of the fortress cells, and Epona does the same jump if you have her. The Fairy Bow is for the guards, the archery range and the Wasteland gate. For the desert crossing you need the Lens of Truth and either the Longshot or the Hover Boots, and the Hover Boots from the Shadow Temple are the safer choice. Epona’s Song is needed for the archery range and for a fast ride from Hyrule Field, see Lon Lon Ranch: How to Get Epona.

Gerudo Valley

Cross the broken bridge

Gerudo Valley is west of Hyrule Field. As an adult, the wooden bridge at the entrance has collapsed. Gallop at the gap on Epona to jump it, or aim the Longshot at the targets strung above either side of the gap. Talk to the man outside the white tent: he is the head carpenter, and he says that the Gerudo broke the bridge and that his workers have run off to the fortress. Several red boulders near the tent can be bombed, and one hides a chest with Rupees.

Two Gold Skulltulas for adult Link

Both of these appear only at night, so play Sun’s Song first. One crawls on the rock wall behind the carpenters’ tent. The other is under the stone arch in front of the tent, on the leg of the arch on the fortress side. Use the Longshot on both.

Two Pieces of Heart and two child Skulltulas

Return as a child, when the bridge is still whole, or as an adult if you prefer, for the valley’s two Pieces of Heart, which you can take at either age. Pick up the Cucco near the left side of the bridge and glide off the cliff. To reach the Heart Piece in a crate, glide to the narrow ledge on the Hyrule Field side of the cliff and break the crate. An adult can get there by dropping onto the ledge and aiming the Longshot at the crate. For the other, land on the ledge beside the Gerudo woman and her cow, jump into the water and swim to the waterfall; a ladder behind it climbs to an alcove with the Heart Piece. An adult can walk upriver in the Iron Boots, or ride a Magic Bean from the soil on the cliff platform.

Two child Skulltulas are here as well. At night, the first is at the mouth of the small waterfall, just past the entrance: use the Boomerang. The second is on the patch of soft soil next to the cow on the lower ledge, and it comes out when you let a bug loose into the soil. See Magic Bean Beds for the bean spots.

Gerudo’s Fortress: free the four carpenters

Guards and what happens when you are caught

Gerudo in purple patrol the walls and the courtyards. Gerudo in white stand still and are harmless, so ignore them. A guard who spots you throws you into a cell, but you keep all your items. Look up at the window above the bars and aim the Longshot at the wood overhang on the window. Hook onto the near edge, because the far edge lands you in the middle of the guards. If you are caught again, repeat the escape. Guards fall to a single arrow, and a Longshot hit freezes them briefly. You can also time your moves around their patrol routes and the corners of the fortress.

Fighting the Gerudo thieves

Each carpenter is watched by a Gerudo thief who attacks as soon as you talk to him. Keep her locked on, block with the shield and stay back. Her jump attack goes straight through the shield and sends you back to the cell, so move away when she winds up. A jump attack of your own usually lands, and a Longshot hit leaves her frozen for a free sword strike. When she falls, she drops a Small Key that opens the cell.

Carpenter 1: Ichiro

From the cell, shoot or avoid the nearest guard and take the door immediately on the left. Round the corner to find Ichiro in a cell. Talk to him, beat the thief and open the cell with her key.

Carpenter 2: Jiro

Continue through the next opening, back out into the courtyard. The door close by leads to a central hub room that is patrolled by guards. The safer way is to turn right as soon as you leave, step out through the next opening and shoot the guard around the corner once she turns away. Climb the low ledge and go in the doorway to find Jiro’s cell and the second thief.

Carpenter 3: Sabooro

The next exit puts you outside beside another opening. Instead, climb down the vines next to it and go through the only door on that level. Talk to the man in the cell, fight the thief and free him.

Carpenter 4: Shiro

Climb back up the vines and take the door on the left. Guards patrol below a ledge in this room, and they cannot see you above them, so shoot them with arrows or cross the platform with the Hover Boots. Follow the path out into the open. Ignore the ledge beside you for now, turn the other way and drop into a small walled area. The door here has no other approach. Inside, stay behind the crate, shoot the guard when she shows herself, run around the corner to Shiro and fight the last thief.

The Gerudo Membership Card

When all four carpenters are free, the a Gerudo guard comes and tells you that you may join the Gerudo. She hands over the Gerudo Membership Card, which means the guards no longer arrest you. The carpenters rebuild the valley bridge, so you will not need the Longshot to enter again.

Roof chest and Horseback Archery

Heart Piece and Gold Skulltula on the roof

Climb to the top of the fortress through the guard room, then onto the ledge and the roof. Follow the highest roof to the end, and look down at night for a Gold Skulltula on the wall of the gap (Longshot). Across the gap is a large chest. The Longshot reaches it, or play the Scarecrow’s Song to call Pierre to the far side. The chest holds a Piece of Heart.

Horseback Archery range

In daylight, call Epona with her song and ride to the large range at the back of the fortress. Speak to the woman in white while you are on horseback. Each try costs 20 Rupees. Epona runs the track by herself, and you aim and shoot with the Fairy Bow. You get twenty arrows. Seven jars line the first stretch and are worth 100 points each, and the big targets give 100 for a perfect hit and 60 for a near one. Spend all your arrows. Scoring 1000 or more wins a Piece of Heart. Scoring 1500 or more gives the Biggest Quiver (50 arrows), and the Heart Piece always comes first, even if you score 1500 on your first win.

After you have both prizes, return at night and use the Longshot on the Gold Skulltula that crawls on the lone target at the far end of the range.

Haunted Wasteland

The gate and the River of Sand

Climb the ladder to the Gerudo woman at the large gate in the north-west corner of the fortress. With the card she warns you about the two trials ahead, claps, and opens the gate. A river of quicksand crosses the first stretch. Longshot to the half-buried crate on the far bank, or hover over with the Hover Boots.

Follow the flags

Follow the red flags one after another. If you step off them you are sent back to the start. A sign points off the path toward a dock where a Carpet Merchant sells ten Bombchus for 200 Rupees. You reach him with the Hover Boots, and you can skip him. If you lose the path, go back to the last flag you saw and look for the next one.

The stone building and its Gold Skulltula

The flags end at a stone building with a ramp up one side. Drop through the opening in the roof into the room below. A Gold Skulltula clings to the wall straight ahead, and the two torches can be lit with Din’s Fire or Fire Arrows for 50 Rupees. Then climb the ramp to the roof.

Follow the Phantom Guide

On the roof, stand by the stone plaque and put on the Lens of Truth. A Poe, the Phantom Guide, appears and floats off through the sand. Follow it closely and keep the Lens on, so top up your Magic Meter first. Leevers pop out of the sand in groups along the way. They run in straight lines and are easy to dodge. The Poe leads you past the last row of poles, and the sandstorm ends at the entrance of the Desert Colossus.

Arriving at the Desert Colossus

The Colossus holds the Spirit Temple, three more Gold Skulltulas, a Heart Piece, the Great Fairy of Nayru’s Love and a refillable fairy pool, and you can leave it for the Spirit Temple chapter. Sheik teaches you the Requiem of Spirit there, a warp that returns you to the Colossus directly. Before you go, you may want the Gerudo Training Ground for the Ice Arrows.

Chapter checklist