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The straightforward main-story order in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is Inside the Deku Tree → Dodongo’s Cavern → Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly as child Link, followed by Forest Temple → Fire Temple → Water Temple → Shadow Temple → Spirit Temple → Ganon’s Castle as adult Link.
That adult sequence is a practical route, not a rule enforced by the game. Forest, Fire and Water can be rearranged in valid progressions, and Shadow and Spirit can also change places once their prerequisites are met. The two optional side dungeons—Bottom of the Well and Ice Cavern—should be treated separately from the mandatory route.
Complete dungeon order at a glance
This table shows the recommended route, the age or story phase, each dungeon’s location and the action or item that opens the way.
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| Order | Phase | Dungeon | Location | What lets you enter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Child Link | Inside the Deku Tree | Kokiri Forest | Obtain the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, then speak with the Great Deku Tree. |
| 2 | Child Link | Dodongo’s Cavern | Death Mountain | Receive the Goron’s Bracelet from Darunia and use a Bomb Flower to open the route. |
| 3 | Child Link | Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly | Zora’s Fountain, behind Zora’s Domain | Find Ruto’s Letter in Lake Hylia, show it to King Zora, catch a fish and release it before Lord Jabu-Jabu. |
| 4 | Adult Link | Forest Temple | Sacred Forest Meadow in the Lost Woods | Obtain the Hookshot from Dampé’s Crypt and use it on the small tree in the Meadow. |
| 5 | Adult Link | Fire Temple | Death Mountain Crater | Reach the crater; the Goron Tunic helps Link enter, and Sheik teaches Bolero of Fire there. |
| 6 | Adult Link | Water Temple | Under Lake Hylia | Sink with the Iron Boots and use the Hookshot to open the entrance. |
| 7 | Adult Link | Shadow Temple | Below Kakariko Village’s graveyard | After the required story event, learn Nocturne of Shadow; Din’s Fire opens the entrance and the Lens of Truth is used inside. |
| 8 | Adult and child Link | Spirit Temple | Desert Colossus | Cross the desert and learn Requiem of Spirit. Progress alternates between child and adult Link. |
| 9 | Adult Link | Ganon’s Castle | Final castle area | Reach it after the medallion dungeons and clear its six seal rooms. |
The route above follows the progression presented by the GameFAQs walkthrough by MrShotgun. The Zelda Dungeon location guide supplies the location and access details. Neither source treats the adult section as a single mandatory order.
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Child Link’s three-dungeon sequence
The first three dungeons are the least ambiguous part of the game. Story gates and required items naturally lead you from the forest to Death Mountain and then to the Zora region.
1. Inside the Deku Tree
Begin in Kokiri Forest. Before entering, make sure you have the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield; these are the basic equipment the Great Deku Tree expects you to have. Speak with the Great Deku Tree to trigger access to the dungeon.
Inside, the dungeon introduces the game’s lock-and-key rhythm and awards the Fairy Slingshot. The route ends with Queen Gohma. Completing it advances the story toward Death Mountain rather than opening an optional branch, so it is always the first main dungeon in a normal playthrough.
2. Dodongo’s Cavern
After the forest section, travel to Death Mountain and deal with the Goron situation. Darunia gives you the Goron’s Bracelet. That bracelet is the practical gate: it lets child Link pick up a Bomb Flower and use it to open the way into Dodongo’s Cavern.
The important navigation decision is outside the dungeon. If the entrance still appears blocked, return to Darunia’s area and confirm that you received the bracelet; ordinary bombs do not replace this story item for the initial Bomb Flower route. Once the cavern is open, it is the second required child dungeon.
3. Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly
The third child dungeon is reached through the Zora area. First find Ruto’s Letter in Lake Hylia. Show it to King Zora in Zora’s Domain, then catch a fish. Release that fish in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu at Zora’s Fountain to gain entry.
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This sequence is easy to miss because the entrance is not a conventional doorway. A fish released anywhere else will not start the route; it must be offered before Lord Jabu-Jabu. Once inside, the dungeon completes the child Link portion of the main path and sets up the time shift to adult Link.
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After the time transition, the game no longer requires one universal temple order. A reader-friendly progression is Forest Temple, then Fire Temple, Water Temple, Shadow Temple, Spirit Temple and finally Ganon’s Castle, but the walkthrough documents legitimate variations.
- Forest and Fire can be swapped. Completing Fire before Forest is a valid progression if you have reached its entrance and learned the required song.
- Water can come before Fire is finished. One documented route enters Water during the broader Forest/Fire progression rather than waiting for Fire’s completion.
- Shadow and Spirit can change order. Once their respective prerequisites are available, either can be approached first.
- Spirit is not a single-age dungeon. Its progress deliberately sends you back to child Link for one section and to adult Link for the other.
Use the recommended order when you want the least backtracking. Use the alternatives when you already have the required item, song or story trigger and want to follow a different exploration path.
How to reach each adult dungeon
4. Forest Temple: get the Hookshot, then return to the Meadow
The Forest Temple is the first adult dungeon in the simple route. Its entrance is in the Sacred Forest Meadow, reached through the Lost Woods. The immediate obstacle is not the temple door but the vertical approach to it.
- Go to Kakariko Village as adult Link and enter Dampé’s Crypt.
- Obtain the Hookshot there.
- Travel through the Lost Woods to the Sacred Forest Meadow.
- At the Meadow, use the Hookshot on the small tree to reach the temple entrance.
If the Meadow path seems to lead nowhere, check the Hookshot first. The Forest Temple reference attributes a warning from Sheik that Link cannot enter while inadequately equipped and directs him toward Kakariko Village; the Hookshot is the practical answer to that access problem.
5. Fire Temple: Death Mountain Crater and Bolero of Fire
The Fire Temple is in Death Mountain Crater. The location is available from the mountain route, but the guide identifies the Goron Tunic as helping Link enter the crater safely. Sheik teaches Bolero of Fire there, which gives you a reliable way to return to the area later.
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Fire can follow Forest in the recommended order or be tackled earlier in an allowed progression. If you cannot remain in the crater long enough to continue, verify that you have the Goron Tunic rather than treating the problem as a dungeon-order error. The song is also useful for reducing repeated travel after you leave.
6. Water Temple: lower Lake Hylia with the Iron Boots
The Water Temple is beneath Lake Hylia. Its entrance is underwater, so the access check is straightforward: equip the Iron Boots to sink, then use the Hookshot to open the entrance.
- Reach the lake and enter the underwater approach.
- Equip the Iron Boots to descend.
- Use the Hookshot at the entrance mechanism.
- Inside, change the water level as required to expose new rooms and routes.
Water does not have to wait for the complete Fire Temple in every valid progression. If you already satisfy the Iron Boots and Hookshot requirements, entering Water earlier is consistent with the alternate route described by the walkthrough.
7. Shadow Temple: trigger the event in Kakariko, then use Din’s Fire
The Shadow Temple lies beneath the graveyard in Kakariko Village. It is a late adult dungeon because the entrance depends on a story event and a song rather than location alone.
- Complete the relevant Kakariko story event.
- Learn Nocturne of Shadow.
- Use the song to reach the Shadow Temple entrance.
- Use Din’s Fire to open the entrance.
- Keep the Lens of Truth available for navigation inside.
The Lens of Truth is especially important when the visible route does not match the actual route. If the temple will not open, playing Nocturne before the Kakariko event or arriving without Din’s Fire will not solve the gate; return to the story sequence and confirm both prerequisites.
8. Spirit Temple: one dungeon, two ages
The Spirit Temple is at Desert Colossus. Reaching it requires crossing the desert and learning Requiem of Spirit. The unusual part begins after arrival: the temple’s progression is split between child Link and adult Link.
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- Cross the desert to reach Desert Colossus.
- Learn Requiem of Spirit so the area can be revisited efficiently.
- Return as child Link for the child section.
- Return as adult Link for the adult section.
Do not interpret the first age-specific barrier as a missing item or a broken sequence. Switching ages is the intended solution. Spirit can be approached before or after Shadow once both areas’ prerequisites are met, but its internal child/adult split remains the same.
9. Ganon’s Castle: clear the six seals before the final encounters
Ganon’s Castle is the final main-route dungeon. The walkthrough places it after the medallion dungeons and describes six seal rooms that must be cleared before the final encounters.
Arriving at the castle does not mean the final battle begins immediately. Treat each seal room as a required clearance task. If the central route does not open, inspect the seal rooms for an uncleared objective rather than searching for another dungeon. Once all six are dealt with, the castle’s final sequence becomes available.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Optional side dungeons
These areas are useful for progression and exploration, but they are not additional mandatory steps between the six medallion temples.
Bottom of the Well
Bottom of the Well is in Kakariko Village. Its access deliberately uses both ages:
- As adult Link, learn Song of Storms.
- Return to Kakariko as child Link.
- Go to the windmill and play Song of Storms to drain the well.
- Enter the drained well.
The reward is the Lens of Truth, which also supports the later Shadow Temple route. Because the well is not one of the medallion dungeons, you can treat it as an optional preparation stop rather than inserting it into the numbered main sequence.
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Ice Cavern
Ice Cavern is behind the frozen version of Zora’s Domain. Use Blue Fire to progress through the ice. Its reward is the Iron Boots; after the area, Sheik teaches Serenade of Water.
The Iron Boots are the access requirement for the Water Temple, so Ice Cavern often functions as preparation for Water even though it is classified separately. If you are planning the recommended route, completing Ice Cavern before entering Water avoids arriving at Lake Hylia without the means to sink.
Why dungeon totals differ
Dungeon counts depend on what a guide includes. The MrShotgun GameFAQs walkthrough describes the game as having nine dungeons, two mini-dungeons and one optional dungeon. That is the walkthrough’s classification, not a universal standard shared by every list.
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The disagreement usually comes from labels rather than missing content. Bottom of the Well and Ice Cavern are often separated from the principal temples, while some guides group them differently. When comparing checklists, compare the names and locations instead of relying on a single total.
Progression troubleshooting
| What you see | Most likely check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dodongo’s Cavern is blocked | The Goron’s Bracelet has not been obtained. | Return to Darunia, receive the bracelet and use a Bomb Flower at the route into the cavern. |
| Lord Jabu-Jabu does not open the route | Ruto’s Letter has not been shown to King Zora, or the fish was released elsewhere. | Find the letter in Lake Hylia, show it to King Zora, catch a fish and release it directly before Lord Jabu-Jabu. |
| Forest Temple cannot be reached | The Hookshot from Dampé’s Crypt is missing. | Obtain the Hookshot, return through the Lost Woods and use it on the small tree in Sacred Forest Meadow. |
| You cannot continue toward Fire Temple | You may be missing the Goron Tunic or the crater access route. | Confirm the Goron Tunic and use Bolero of Fire after Sheik teaches it for later returns. |
| Water Temple’s entrance is inaccessible | The Iron Boots or Hookshot is missing. | Complete the Iron Boots step in Ice Cavern, sink in Lake Hylia and use the Hookshot at the underwater entrance. |
| Shadow Temple will not open | The Kakariko story event, Nocturne of Shadow or Din’s Fire is missing. | Finish the event, learn the song and use Din’s Fire at the entrance; carry the Lens of Truth for the interior. |
| Spirit Temple seems to stop after the first section | The dungeon is being attempted with only one age. | Return as the other version of Link; Spirit Temple intentionally divides its progress between child and adult Link. |
| Ganon’s Castle has no final path | One or more seal rooms remain uncleared. | Clear all six seal rooms before looking for the final encounters. |
A practical route for a first playthrough
- Finish Inside the Deku Tree, then use the Goron’s Bracelet and Bomb Flower route to open Dodongo’s Cavern.
- Complete the Lake Hylia letter-and-fish sequence for Jabu-Jabu’s Belly.
- As adult Link, obtain the Hookshot from Dampé’s Crypt and enter Forest Temple.
- Prepare for Death Mountain Crater and complete Fire Temple, unless you prefer the documented Water-before-Fire variation.
- Use Ice Cavern to obtain the Iron Boots, then enter Water Temple under Lake Hylia.
- After the Kakariko event, learn Nocturne of Shadow and complete Shadow Temple, or visit Spirit Temple first if its desert prerequisites are ready.
- At Desert Colossus, follow Spirit Temple’s child section and adult section rather than trying to force one age through the entire dungeon.
- Reach Ganon’s Castle and clear all six seal rooms for the final sequence.
This ordering minimizes unexplained locked entrances while preserving the game’s intended freedom in the adult half. If a temple appears unavailable, check its specific song, item and story trigger before changing the entire route.
Quick Recap
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