How to Complete the Spirit Temple

The Spirit Temple is the denouement before the final confrontation with Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Unlike any other dungeon in the game, Link must explore it both as a child and an adult to conquer it. The Spirit Temple was built behind a colossal statue that the Gerudo call the “Goddess of Sand”, located in the westernmost part of the Haunted Wasteland.

The opening cinematic of Ocarina of Time teases the Spirit Temple’s existence if the Start button isn’t pressed for long enough. Unusually, the Spirit Medallion comes before the Shadow Medallion on the Quest Status screen and the file select screen, which implies that the Spirit Temple was once meant to be completed before the Shadow Temple during the game’s development.

Gaining Access to the Spirit Temple

Link Must Earn the Gerudo’s Respect

While the previous four temples require fairly little preparation before Link can enter them, the Spirit Temple is in a region he can’t initially access as a child and requires a lot of work. He must first get across the broken bridge in Gerudo Valley with either a Longshot or Epona, then head toward the Gerudo’s Fortress. From here, Link must infiltrate the fortress undetected by any of the Gerudo guards and rescue all four carpenters. Only then will he earn the Gerudo’s respect and Membership Card/Token, depending on the game’s version. With either item in Link’s possession, Link no longer has to sneak around the fortress undetected.

Link is granted access through the Haunted Wasteland, which requires either the Longshot or Hover Boots and the Lens of Truth to traverse. Following a friendly Poe will eventually lead Link to the Desert Colossus, where the Spirit Temple resides. Link initially can’t do anything in the Spirit Temple, but the left cobra statue hints to players about what to do to proceed.

If you want to proceed in the past, you should return here with the pure heart of a child.

Sheik will teach him the Requiem of Spirit as soon as he leaves. This allows Link to warp to the Desert Colossus as a child after he returns the Master Sword to its pedestal. The Prelude of Light allows him to warp to the Temple of Time to do just that.

Ocarina of Time Dungeon #8 — Spirit Temple Part 1: Child

Gold Skulltulas: 3 / Small Keys: 2

Upon entering the Spirit Temple as a child, head up the stairs, but mind the Flying Pots. It’s safe to ignore the Armos statues, so head toward the tiny hole on the left to meet Nabooru. Choose the “Nothing, really” option (the second dialogue option doesn’t matter), then skim through her text until the third option, and choose “Yes”.

She’ll eventually move out of the way and allow Link access through the hole. If the Hylian Shield isn’t already equipped, do so before a Fire Keese burns the Deku Shield. Destroy all enemies in this room (including the Armos statue), and mind the Blade Traps. Doing so will unbar the door to the right, but head through the left one first.

Link will be face-to-face with a Stalfos as his younger self for the first time. His Kokiri Sword will take longer to wear down its health, but it’s otherwise what players should be used to. It’s possible to simply knock the Stalfos into the chasm below if it’s lured nearby. A Green Bubble floats over the chasm but can be destroyed with a single Deku Seed while it’s not in flames. A Deku Nut or the Boomerang can stun it as well.

With those distractions out of the way, the easiest way to hit the crystal switch behind that narrow-linked fence is with the Boomerang and enough patience to get the throwing angle just right. The fence will lower as a bridge, so get across and mind the Flying Pots ahead. There’s a Blue Rupee in the small chest. The next room introduces a new enemy hiding in the center pot with the Blade Trap circling around it — an Anubis.

Anubis

It’s vulnerable to fire!

The crystal switch activates the firetrap near the barred door. It can be triggered from the other end of the room with the Slingshot to save magic. Destroy the Anubis to unbar the door. Navi will warn Link of a Floormaster.

Watch for the
shadows
of monsters that hang from the ceiling.

It would be wise to destroy the Wallmaster, as well as the Keese in the room. The Fairy Slingshot can strike the Keese and Gold Skulltula #1 perched on the other side of the linked fence. Collect all the Silver Rupees to open the fence and don’t forget to use the Boomerang to fetch the Skulltula Token. Light both torches with either a Deku Stick or Din’s Fire to earn a small chest with Small Key #1. The next door leads Link back around to where the Blade Traps are, so head through the tiny hole on the right, next to the lit torches, and unlock the door on the other side.

Two Skullwalltulas must be shot down with the Fairy Slingshot before Link can climb up the rocky wall. Gold Skulltula #2 hides just behind him as he reaches the top. Two more Skullwalltulas hang on the wall to the right, while two Lizalfos will drop from the ceiling as Link ventures around the room. Destroy them all, then strike the crystal switch ahead to earn a small chest with some Bombchu. There’s another small chest with a Blue Rupee in this room. The dormant sun switch will give Link a hint about what to do if examined.

Show me the light!

The boulder sticking out of the wall is easiest to destroy with a Bombchu, but a well-timed bomb can also destroy it. Doing so will shine sunlight upon the sun switch (even if it’s night outside) and unbar the door ahead. The next room is the main chamber, with a smaller Desert Colossus built inside. A statue (not an Armos) rests on Link’s immediate left, so push it off the balcony onto a blue switch below to unbar a door. If desired, the torches on the small pedestal closest to the Desert Colossus can be lit with Din’s Fire to earn a large chest with the Dungeon Map inside. Once finished (or ignored), climb up the stairs and go through the next door and the hallway after.

The next room has several small Beamos, Blade Traps, and Silver Rupees. It’s safest to destroy them all with Bombchu, and doing so yields some platforms Link can use to climb upward and fetch the Silver Rupees. After all five are collected, the metal torch will ignite. Use a Deku Stick to light the other three wooden torches on the other corners of the room to earn a small chest containing Small Key #2.

Lastly, arrange the blocks in the middle of the room so that the one with the dormant sun switch can be pulled toward the sunlight. This will unbar the door ahead. Gold Skulltula #3 is hiding above the door Link came from in this hallway, so don’t forget about it. Unlock the door ahead to discover a metal statue sitting on a stone throne. That’s an Iron Knuckle — attacking it with any weapon will activate it, though it’s recommended to do so from a distance.

Iron Knuckle

Watch out for its axe attack! It hurts a lot! Strike when it drops its guard!

Destroy the Iron Knuckle to unbar the door ahead. Head on through to find an old friend — Kaepora Gaebora. Skim through his dialogue and select “No” to avoid “hearing what he has to say again.” This is the last time players will have to sit through that. Open the large chest to receive the Silver Gauntlets. After a cutscene depicting Nabooru getting black magic cast upon her is finished, warp to the Temple of Time and draw the Master Sword, then warp back to the Spirit Temple as an adult.

If you want to travel in the future, you should return here with the
power of silver
from the past.

Ocarina of Time Dungeon #8 — Spirit Temple Part 2: Adult

Gold Skulltulas: 2 / Small Keys: 3

With Silver Gauntlets in hand, return to the Spirit Temple (mind the Flying Pots again) and push the giant block on the right until it falls into an indent within the floor. A small Beamos and a Blade Trap guard a crystal switch above them. Strike the crystal switch to unbar the door on the left, but go through the one on the right. It leads into a room with three rolling boulders and six alcoves — one of which is blocked by a Time Block.

The Hover Boots (or a jump attack in midair) will allow Link to get the Silver Rupee floating over the boulders. The others are collected from within the alcoves. Play the Song of Time to remove the Time Block hiding Gold Skulltula #4, then head through the newly unbarred door to find a small chest containing Small Key #3. Beware of the Like Like that will ambush Link from the ceiling.

When backtracking, the Longshot can latch onto the rocky wall ahead to avoid damage from the rolling boulders. Go through the door on the left (the Beamos will respawn if it was destroyed) to find a Triforce on the edge of a platform. A Wolfos will spawn nearby, but it is easy to destroy now. Play Zelda’s Lullaby to earn a large chest with the Compass. Latch onto it with the Longshot to claim it. To avoid the Wolfos in the sand below, latch onto the rocky wall with the Longshot and climb up. Leave and go through the locked door toward a narrow corridor. A Like Like will ambush Link from the ceiling, alongside two Flying Pots.

Climb (or latch onto) the rocky wall to discover a rotatable mirror illuminated with light, but beware of the invisible Floormaster. The Lens of Truth will expose it, but it’s easier to destroy the three small hands with Din’s Fire after it’s initially damaged. After it’s destroyed, grab one of the handles and rotate the mirror across the first three sun switches. The first two will yield small chests — the first contains a Recovery Heart, the second contains a freezing trap. The third sun switch will unbar the door ahead. Don’t activate the fourth sun switch — it will summon a Wallmaster. The door leads to the main chamber but from the other side. The nearby statue is an Armos, which can easily be destroyed with the Master Sword (unlike the Kokiri Sword).

Climb up the stairs to reach a lit torch. There’s a rusted switch across a gap just ahead. Use the Hover Boots to reach it, then whack it to unbar the door by the stairs. Carefully navigate to the top of the statue’s left hand, which has a Triforce on it. Play Zelda’s Lullaby on it to earn a small chest containing Small Key #4 on its right hand (use the Longshot). Climb up the other set of stairs (the one Link can access as a child) to find Gold Skulltula #5 near the platform across the gap. The Longshot can claim its Token. Return to Adult Link’s starting point using a Hookshot target above the door he came in, climb the stairs again, and unlock the next door.

The curved hallway has a single small Beamos guarding it, followed by a room with narrow paths across a pit. Three Anubis and a small Beamos must be destroyed to unbar one of the doors. Again, without Din’s Fire or Fire Arrows, the switch across is the only way to destroy each Anubis. Go through that door and head toward the barred door to the right.

From that spot, strike the Armos behind the blue switch with a projectile — it should be lured on top of the switch, which unbars the door. Quickly head through it and the hallway to reach another Iron Knuckle. It’s the same fight from earlier, but Link’s weapons are much stronger as an adult, especially the Biggoron’s Sword. Destroy it to unbar the door ahead — it leads to a large chest with the Mirror Shield. Don’t forget to equip it.

Backtrack to the room with the four Armos statues and head to the light beam. Use the Mirror Shield to reflect light toward the sun switch and unbar the other door. It leads to a small chest containing Small Key #5. Backtrack to the room that had the three Anubis and carefully navigate toward the locked door. Two small Beamos guard the rotating rocky wall above. Rather than scaling it, latch onto the top layer with the Longshot. Get past the next two small Beamos and Blade Trap toward another Triforce. Play Zelda’s Lullaby to unbar the door and head through.

Many Trap Doors and Torch Slugs populate this room, but they’re easy pickings with the Megaton Hammer. One Trap Door hides an eye switch that must be struck by an arrow. This will cause a platform to appear above a Hookshot target, thus allowing Link to reach the switch above the Boss Chest surrounded by flames. That switch puts out the flames and allows access to the Boss Key. Leave the room and head right through another door. The next room has many bars and two Flying Pots. Strike the crystal switch below Link on the right and go through the next door. A Lizalfos will ambush Link from the ceiling, but the real feature is the White Bubbles that surround the mirror.

White Bubble

Aim for it when it stops!

Blow up the bulging wall on the left with a bomb, then turn the mirror until the light shines through the opening toward another one. Another Lizalfos will ambush Link. Turn the next mirror right, so that the light shines on the larger mirror through the bars. Backtrack to that room (mind the Flying Pots, there are some on the lower level) and reflect the light upon the sun switch with the Mirror Shield. This will lower the platform Link is standing on toward the Desert Colossus’ eye level.

The Desert Colossus’s face…it sure looks evil!

Reflect light upon the colossus’ face for long enough — this will cause it to crumble, revealing a latchable wall with the Longshot that ascends out of Link’s way to grant him access to the Boss Room. A short cutscene depicts two witches who command an Iron Knuckle to kill him.

Iron Knuckle

Something’s strange… This is not an ordinary enemy!

Destroy the Iron Knuckle to discover that it was Nabooru underneath the armor, brainwashed to do Ganondorf’s bidding. After a brief cutscene where Link just stands around and lets two evil witches cast a spell upon Nabooru without even trying to intervene, head through the next set of doors. Climb (or latch onto) the rocky wall and head toward the center of the platform to confront the real bosses.

Sorceress Sisters — Twinrova

Koume/Kotake

Ganondorf’s surrogate mother. Sorceress of Flame/Ice. She seems vulnerable to
low/high temperatures
.

Attacking Koume or Kotake normally is useless. Both witches can only be harmed when one’s magic is reflected towards the other one with the Mirror Shield. Strangely, even Fire Arrows have no effect against Kotake, and Ice Arrows have no effect against Koume. The safest way to reflect their magic is to lock on to the attacking witch and switch the target to the other one if they happen to fly on-screen.

This won’t always work, but it should keep Link from getting burned or frozen. Even if the initial blast is avoided, their magic leaves behind a sheet of flame or frost for a short period of time, which will damage Link if he wanders into it. After four successful reflections, the two witches will unleash their “Double Dynamite Attack”: Twinrova.

Twinrova

This is the combined form of Kotake and Koume. Turn their
magic attack
back at them!

This phase is arguably easier since there’s only one target to lock on to. Simply block a fire or ice ball with the Mirror Shield to absorb it. Absorb three of the same magic attacks in a row to unleash a torrent upon Twinrova, which leaves her vulnerable to attack. Make sure to avoid (not block) any magic attacks of the opposite element that the Mirror Shield has absorbed — it will cancel out the magic within the shield and inflict residual damage on Link.

The Longshot can latch onto Twinrova while she’s vulnerable, in case Link falls off the arena. Other than that, just repeat this pattern until Twinrova is destroyed. After the last blow, the witches separate into their two individual selves and soon realize they’re already dead. They ascend into the light bickering before a new Heart Container appears. Walk into the light and Link will receive the Spirit Medallion, thus concluding Ocarina of Time’s Spirit Temple.