Location guide · Child and Adult Link · Death Mountain
Death Mountain Walkthrough
Show Zelda’s Letter to the guard at Kakariko’s north gate to open Death Mountain Trail, climb to Goron City for the Goron’s Bracelet, blast open Dodongo’s Cavern with a Bomb Flower, then return with Bombs to open the summit Great Fairy for the Magic Meter and Din’s Fire.
As adult Link you come back with the Goron Tunic to cross Death Mountain Crater, learn the Bolero of Fire from Sheik and enter the Fire Temple. Biggoron at the summit is a key stop on the adult trading sequence. The mountain also holds four Heart Pieces and six Gold Skulltulas across the trail and crater, one of them a remake-only Business Scrub.
What changed in the remake
- Confirmed Great Fairies now ask for a Rupee offering, and the summit fountain is listed at 25 Rupees.
- Confirmed The summit Great Fairy gives the Magic Meter and Din’s Fire. KeenGamer’s remake walkthrough instead says the Magic Meter and Spin Attack, as on N64.
- Single source A new Business Scrub in Death Mountain Crater sells a Heart Piece for 100 Rupees, replacing the Ice Cavern Heart Piece from the original.
- Single source Crater heat drains your hearts steadily instead of running a countdown timer.
- Single source The Bolero of Fire is played R L R L A R A R on the Switch 2 note buttons.
Before you go
Death Mountain stays locked until you have met Princess Zelda. Her letter is the pass the Kakariko gate guard wants, and Impa teaches you Zelda’s Lullaby as you leave the castle, which you need for Darunia’s door. Learn Saria’s Song in Sacred Forest Meadow too, or you will stall halfway through Goron City.
Buy the Hylian Shield from the Castle Town bazaar if you can. Falling rocks and fire-breathing enemies make the Deku Shield a poor fit, and child Link can crouch under the bigger shield to block debris. Bring Deku Sticks for the Goron City torches, and an empty bottle if you have one.
Child Link route up the mountain
- In Kakariko Village, walk to the gate at the north end and show Zelda’s Letter to the guard. He lets you through and the trail opens for good. Adult Link can pass freely.
- Climb Death Mountain Trail. Watch for red Tektites hopping across the path and for boulders that roll down the slope; step to the side rather than trying to outrun them. Keep to the main path for now.
- Take the turn into the big carved doorway to enter Goron City. Go down to the bottom floor, play Zelda’s Lullaby at Darunia’s door, then play Saria’s Song for him to receive the Goron’s Bracelet.
- Leave the city and pull up the Bomb Flower beside the fence overlooking Dodongo’s Cavern. Throw it down at the boulders blocking the entrance, then go in and clear the dungeon. You leave with the Bomb Bag and the Goron’s Ruby.
- With Bombs in hand, follow the trail higher. Bomb Flowers and your own Bombs clear boulders and cracked walls along the way. Near the top, rocks rain down from the volcano; watch their shadows, wait for a gap and hold your shield up if one is about to land on you.
- At the summit, bomb the cracked wall near where the owl Kaepora Gaebora perches. Inside the fountain, stand on the Triforce mark, play Zelda’s Lullaby and make the Rupee offering. The Great Fairy grants the Magic Meter and Din’s Fire.
- Talk to the owl at the summit if you want a quick ride back down to Kakariko instead of walking.
Where Din’s Fire comes from: a source conflict
This site follows games.gg and FinalBoss, which both say the remake moved Din’s Fire to the summit fountain and gave the Hyrule Castle fountain the Spin Attack upgrade. KeenGamer’s remake walkthrough still says the summit fairy grants the Magic Meter and Spin Attack, which is how the N64 game worked. If you leave the summit without Din’s Fire, open the Hyrule Castle fountain as child Link before you need fire for the Shadow Temple.
Adult Link route through the crater
- Return as adult Link and go to Goron City. Stop the small rolling Goron with a Bomb and talk to him to receive the Goron Tunic. Equip it before going any further.
- Enter Death Mountain Crater, either through Darunia’s room in Goron City by pushing the statue at the back, or through the cave entrance near the summit. Without the tunic the heat wears you down fast.
- Cross the crater toward the bridge. Sheik appears and teaches you the Bolero of Fire (R L R L A R A R), which warps you to the crater’s edge on any later visit.
- Continue across the bridge and down to the Fire Temple entrance. The Fire Temple walkthrough picks up from here.
- After you win the Megaton Hammer in the Fire Temple, come back and smash the large boulders on the crater’s west side to reach the second Great Fairy, who doubles your magic.
Biggoron on the summit
Biggoron, a Goron as tall as the mountaintop, waits at the summit during your adult years. He matters for the trading sequence: bring him the Broken Goron’s Sword, then the World’s Finest Eye Drops, then the Claim Check after three days to collect the Biggoron Sword. Because the Eye Drops are on a timer, plan your route from Lake Hylia back to the summit before you hand over the frog.
Heart Pieces and Gold Skulltulas on the mountain
Death Mountain Trail has a Heart Piece on the ledge above Dodongo’s Cavern; ride the Magic Bean plant there as an adult. Death Mountain Crater has three more: one at the foot of a climbing net to the left of the summit entrance, one from the new Business Scrub low on the left side for 100 Rupees, and one on a central spire you reach by planting a bean beside the Bolero warp as a child and riding it as an adult. games.gg suggests coming in at full health, because the heat burns while you stun the Scrub with a Deku Nut. Goron City’s urn adds one more Heart Piece.
VGC lists six Gold Skulltulas across Goron City and the trail. On the trail itself: a bottled bug on the soft soil outside Dodongo’s Cavern, a cracked wall on the path back toward Kakariko, and two Megaton Hammer boulders near the crater entrance and outside Goron City. Our Gold Skulltula checklist adds two more in the crater, in crates just inside the summit entrance and in the soft soil you reach as a child after warping with the Bolero. Only one remake list includes those two crater spiders, so treat them as less certain.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open Death Mountain Trail?
Meet Princess Zelda first, then show Zelda’s Letter to the guard at the north gate of Kakariko Village. Adult Link does not need the letter.
What does the Death Mountain Great Fairy give in the remake?
Two remake guides say the Magic Meter and Din’s Fire, after a 25-Rupee offering. One other remake walkthrough still lists the Spin Attack instead of Din’s Fire.
How do I survive Death Mountain Crater?
Wear the Goron Tunic, which adult Link gets from the rolling Goron in Goron City. Without it the heat drains your health quickly.
Where do I learn the Bolero of Fire?
Sheik teaches it on your first adult trip into Death Mountain Crater, near the bridge that leads to the Fire Temple.
Where is Biggoron?
At the summit of Death Mountain Trail during your adult years. He is the source of the Biggoron Sword at the end of the trading sequence.