Learn how to get to Death Mountain in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo Switch 2. Includes information on what to do in Kakariko Village, how to reach Goron City, and how to talk to Darunia.
Going to Kakariko Village
After meeting up with Princess Zelda, Impa will send you off to Death Mountain to find the next Spiritual Stone. With Zelda’s Letter in-hand, you should have what you need to climb up Death Mountain Trail. Make east towards Kakariko Village towards the volcano, you can’t miss it.
Kakariko Village
Kakariko Village is a quaint place that’s slowly growing in size. There’s some notable places here that will prove useful in your adventures later on, and is overall a good place to relax
Death Mountain Trail Guard
Going up the stairs in northern Kakariko Village will lead you to a closed gate with a guard next to it. Show the guard Zelda’s Letter and he’ll open the gate for you.
He’ll recommend you get a proper shield and suggests you get one from the Bazaar in Hyrule Castle Town. He’ll also ask you to get a mask for his son from the Happy Mask Shop that’s there as well.
The next time you purchase a Hylian Shield from the Bazaar, you’ll get a discount. If you do check out the Happy Mask Shop, this can open up the Happy Mask Salesman side quest.
You’ll need a Hylian Shield as enemies at Death Mountain have fire attacks that can burn your Kokiri Shield. If you want a free Hylian Shield, there is a way only that only the bravest souls can achieve.
While the Hylian Shield is fire-proof, Child Link can only use it by huddling up like a turtle. If you want more mobility in combat, the Deku Shield is better.
Cucco Lady
On the south side of Kakariko Village is an empty pen with the Cucco Lady next to it. Talk to her and help her find all 7 Cuccos. When you find and throw them all back into the pen, and she’ll reward you with an Empty Bottle!
House of Skulltula
In the middle of the village to the south of the construction site is the House of Skulltula. The family living here have been cursed into Skulltula forms due to their greed.
You can break the curse by collecting Gold Skulltula Tokens. For the first 50 tokens obtained, you can return here and for every 10 you’ve collected, one of the sons will return to their old self. They in turn, will grant you rewards such as the Adult Wallet!
The only way to break the curse from the father is to find and collect all 100 Gold Skulltula tokens found throughout Hyrule.
Graveyard
A path on the southeast side of Kakariko Village leads to the Graveyard. You can actually pull back the tombstones here at night. During the day, the kid walking around here will scold you if you try.
Disturbing the wrong tomb can awaken a Poe, an angry ghost that disappears if you lock onto them. Defeat them by not locking on and hitting them with your sword.
Royal Family Tomb
If you go towards the very back, you’ll find the Royal Family’s Tomb. Play Zelda’s Lullaby on the Triforce emblem to open the grave.
Go inside and defeat the Keese to unlock the door. The next room is filled with pools of green acid, and the only walkable paths are guarded by Redead. The Redead have very poor eyesight, so they rely on sound to find their prey.
You can either walk straight through the acid, or slowly walk around the Redead to get past them. One wrong move and they’ll shriek, paralyzing you.
If they get to close, jump onto you and start biting you. Flail around with the Left Stick to break free of the paralyze or if they’re on you, then either fight them or run away.
When you reach the final chamber, you’ll find a stone monument that will teach you the Sun’s Song. This can be used to change the time of day, or to freeze certain types of undead enemies such as Redead.
Use this song to freeze any remaining Redead on your way out. This only creates a small field around you, so you’ll need to be close enough to the Redeads to freeze them.
Hylian Shield
On the right set of graves near the the Royal Tomb, the second from the left can be pulled open. Inside will be a Redead guarding a small chest with a Hylian Shield inside. If you already have a Hylian Shield, you’ll instead get 20 rupees.
Piece of Heart – Tombstone
To the right of the grave with the Hylian Shield, way down at the end, another tombstone hides a secret passage. This one contains a large chest with a Piece of Heart.
Goron City
When you go past the guard onto Death Mountain Trail, you’ll find a large boulder blocking the entrance to the cave. A nearby Goron will tell you that this is Dodongo Cavern. Continue up the trail and follow the signs to enter Goron City.
Goron City is built of four levels, each with stone poles marked with different colors. The top two floors are marked red, while the bottom two floors are yellow.
Go to the Bottom Yellow Floor and look for the sealed door with the Triforce Rug in front of it. Play Zelda’s Lullaby on the rug to open the door. Talk to Darunia and you’ll find out he’s not in a great mood as his people are starving.
Go to the southeast hall of the Upper Yellow Floor and you’ll hear the music from the Lost Woods past some boulders.
If you light the torches using a Deku Stick and the fire from Darunia’s chambers, you can then ignite the Bomb Flowers on the walls with a lit Deku Stick. This opens up a shortcut to the Lost Woods!
Lost Woods
Upon entering the Lost Woods at the Goron City shortcut, you’ll encounter Kaepora Gaebora. Follow his advice and find your way through the Lost Woods by following the music through the tunnels.
If you make a wrong turn and end up at Kokiri Forest, the path from the start is the following:
- Right
- Left
- Right*
- Left
- Forward
- Left
- Right
*Step 3 is where the Goron City shortcut leads you. Go through the tunnel where Kaepora Gaebora was resting (left from exiting the shortcut) and continue along the route from step 4 onwards, turning left at the deep pond.
If you do this correctly, the Lost Woods will take you to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Defeat the Wolfos to unlock the gate, then fight your way past the Mad Scrubs until you reach the final area where you’ll find Saria.
Talking to her will have her teach you Saria’s Song. With this, you can talk to Saria any time and this upbeat song can help a certain someone not be so angry.
Accessing Dodongo Cavern
Return to Darunia in Goron City and play Saria’s Song for him. Now that he’s in a better mood, he’ll give you the Goron Bracelet. With this item, you can now pick up Bomb Flowers on the floor.
Return to the Blue Floor to exit Goron City, and make a right when you’re outside. A Bomb Flower is found on the ledge above Dodongo Cavern. Throw the Bomb Flower over the fence towards the boulder, and the explosion will break open the entrance.
Now you must save the Gorons from starvation by venturing into Dodongo Cavern and clearing out the monsters that have appeared there.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Dodongo Cavern Walkthrough
