The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Guide | How to Get Inside Hyrule Castle

Here’s a guide on how to get inside Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Nov 07, 2026

After you leave Kokiri Forest, the great owl Kaepora Gaebora directs you to Hyrule Castle. But once you walk up to the main gate, the guards will block your path and kick you out. You cannot walk through the front door, so you have to find a secret path to get inside and meet Princess Zelda.

Getting the Weird Egg from Malon

Turn around from the main gate and head toward the carriage. Talk to Malon, the young girl standing near the cart. She mentions that her father went to the castle to deliver milk and has not returned. She hands you the Weird Egg.

Keep the Weird Egg in your inventory while you make your way toward the castle grounds. After a short period of real-time walking, the egg hatches into a Pocket Cucco (or Wake-Up Cucco), which you need very soon in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Infiltrating the Castle Grounds

Infiltrating the Castle Grounds

Behind Malon, look at the stone wall to spot a set of vines. Climb up the vines to scale the gate wall. Walk along the top of the rampart, hit the stone markers if you want to hear the time, and proceed until you find a ladder. Climb down the ladder to reach the outer garden area.

Guards patrol this entire perimeter. Drop off the ladder and quickly run into the flowerbeds on your left near the perimeter wall.

Stick close to the fence to stay out of sight of the guard on the right. Once past him, run straight down the middle path between the hedges where the guards cannot spot you.

Keep moving left along the dirt path toward the back wall. You will spot another set of climbable vines, but check the nearby tree first. Roll directly into this lone tree to knock down a Gold Skulltula. Defeat it to collect your Gold Skulltula Token.

Crossing the Moat

Climb up the wall vines near the tree to reach the higher ridge. Do not run straight across the open ground in front of the sentries. Instead, jump straight down into the castle moat water below.

Swim along the water canal under the stone bridges to bypass the stationary guards overhead. Follow the current until you reach a wooden walkway with a flight of stone stairs leading out of the water in the far corner. Climb the stairs to access the castle courtyard exterior.

Waking Talon and Moving the Crates

At the back exterior of the castle, you will find a sleeping man blocking the drainage tunnel. This is Talon, Malon's father. By now, your Weird Egg should have hatched into a Cucco in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Pull out the chicken and use it right next to Talon. The crowing wakes him up instantly. Once he realizes how late it is and that he left Malon alone, he sprints away, leaving the path clear.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Waking Talon and Moving the Crates

Now look at the two wooden crates sitting nearby. You need to push and pull these blocks along the grooved path to build a platform up to the drainage hole.

Grab the first crate, pull it back, and push it off the edge so it falls into the water channel below. Next, drag the second crate across the ledge and push it directly on top of the first block.

Jump onto the stacked crates, hop across to the castle opening, and crawl through the narrow sewage pipe into the interior.

Sneaking Past the Courtyard Guards

Climb up the ladder inside the pipe to reach the upper courtyard ramparts. Walk up the small flight of stairs and stop before entering the open area.

For the first section, climb onto the wooden crates and walk carefully across the narrow wooden beam to bypass the guard below. Drop down quietly on the far side and head up the next stairs.

The second area has two moving guards. Watch their patrol routes using your camera. Wait for the guard at the bottom to turn his back and face left, then quickly sneak forward and hide behind the first large bush in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Watch the second guard ahead. The moment he turns around and begins walking away, dash across the open path and duck through the archway into the central gardens.

In the final garden corridor, break the wooden crates if you need some quick recovery hearts or items. Watch the patrol patterns ahead. One guard walks in a continuous loop while another turns periodically in place.

Wait until the patrolling guard walks past your position, step out behind him, and trail behind his line of sight.

Make sure to stay out of the center guard's vision cone. Slip through the gate opening at the end of the hall to complete your entry and reach the castle courtyard in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Sneaking Past the Courtyard Guards

FAQ

Q. How do I get the Weird Egg to hatch?

A. The Weird Egg hatches automatically after a set amount of gameplay time passes or day turns to night. Simply keep moving along the path toward Hyrule Castle, and it will hatch into a rooster by the time you reach the moat.

Q. What happens if a guard spots me?

A. If a guard catches you in their line of sight, they will throw you out to the moat area or the main entrance gate. You will have to walk back through the gardens to try the route again, but any crates you pushed into position remain saved where you left them.

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