Gerudo Valley in OoT 3D: The Broken Bridge, Heart Pieces and Skulltulas

Gerudo Valley at a glance

Gerudo Valley is the canyon at the west edge of Hyrule Field, the only road to Gerudo’s Fortress, the Haunted Wasteland and the Desert Colossus. Young Link can visit the canyon, but a Gerudo guard at the gate at the west end of the bridge stops him. Adult Link finds the bridge broken: jump the gap on Epona or use the Longshot. The valley holds 2 Pieces of Heart, 4 Gold Skulltulas, a chest, two grottos, a cow and a soft soil patch.

How to cross the broken bridge

When you come back as adult Link, the wooden bridge over the canyon has collapsed. The master craftsman on the far side says: “Those Gerudo thieves... They broke the bridge.” There are three ways over:

1. Jump it on Epona. Play Epona’s Song in the valley to call her, back up toward Hyrule Field to get a run-up, then gallop straight at the gap. She jumps it on her own; you do not press anything to jump.
2. Longshot across. Stand at the edge of the gap and aim the Longshot at the target hanging over the far end of the bridge. The Longshot comes from the Water Temple. The ordinary Hookshot is too short.
3. Later, walk across. Once the four carpenters in the fortress are free, they rebuild the bridge. You still need one of the first two ways to reach the fortress the first time.

Epona won’t jump the gap?

• She is not at full speed. Use a carrot (A) to make her gallop, and give yourself a long straight run.
• You are coming in at an angle. Line up with the bridge and ride straight across it.
• She will not come. You need Epona’s Song from Malon and to have won Epona at Lon Lon Ranch as adult Link.

Pieces of Heart

Both Pieces of Heart are in the river canyon, and both can be collected by either young or adult Link.

Behind the waterfall

At the top (north) end of the river, a ladder behind the waterfall climbs to a small alcove with the Piece of Heart. As young Link, get down to the ledge with the cow (see below), drop into the river and swim upstream to the ladder. As adult Link, one way is to put on the Iron Boots and walk up the riverbed against the current, then take them off near the waterfall, swim up and climb the ladder.

In the crate on the ledge

Further down the river, on the fortress side, a large crate sits on a ledge you cannot walk to. Break it and the Piece of Heart is inside.

• Young Link: pick up the cucco near the bridge on the Hyrule Field side, jump off with it and glide down onto the ledge.
• Adult Link: drop onto the ledge with the silver rock on the Hyrule Field side, then aim the Longshot at the crate across the river.

Gold Skulltulas, chest, cow and grottos

Gold Skulltulas (4)

• By the entrance bridge (young Link, at night): on the wall beside the small waterfall by the little bridge at the Hyrule Field end. Use the Boomerang.
• In the soft soil (young Link): on the ledge with the cow, empty a bottle of bugs onto the soft soil.
• On the pillar (adult Link, at night): on the rock pillar across from the carpenters’ tent. Pull it down with the Hookshot.
• Behind the tent (adult Link, at night): on the rock wall behind the carpenters’ tent. Hookshot it.

Play the Sun’s Song to skip to night. All four are also in the Gold Skulltula list.

The cow and the soft soil

Below the bridge, on the fortress side of the river, is a ledge with a cow and a patch of soft soil. Young Link can reach it by dropping down from the bridge. Play Epona’s Song to the cow with an empty bottle for Lon Lon Milk. The cow is not there in adult Link’s time. You can plant a magic bean in the soil, but the adult Link platform is not needed for anything in the valley.

The chest behind the boulders

On the fortress side, between the tent and the cliff, a chest is boxed in by large boulders. Bombs do not work on them; smash them with the Megaton Hammer from the Fire Temple. The chest holds a Purple Rupee (50 Rupees).

Two grottos

• Under the silver rock (Hyrule Field side, downstream): lift the rock with the Silver Gauntlets. Inside are Octoroks in a pool and 39 Rupees in all (three blue, four green, one red).
• Song of Storms grotto (fortress side, near the tent): play the Song of Storms on the spot to open it. Inside are two Deku Scrubs that sell Red Potion and Green Potion refills.

The carpenters’ tent

Across the bridge, the master craftsman stands outside a white tent. His four workers ran off to Gerudo’s Fortress, and he asks you to find out what they are doing. Rescue all four (Ichiro, Jiro, Sabooro and Shiro) and the bridge is rebuilt. You get the Gerudo Token inside the fortress, not here. The Token lets you into the Gerudo Training Ground and through the gate to the Haunted Wasteland.

• Poacher’s Saw: in the adult trading sequence, give him the Poacher’s Saw. He says his Biggoron tool broke and hands you the Broken Goron’s Sword to take to Biggoron.
• The Running Man: the man who runs around Hyrule Field waits inside the tent in adult Link’s time. Once the carpenters are rescued and the bridge is rebuilt, he challenges you to a race to the bridge in the Lost Woods.

More tips

• The river leads to Lake Hylia. Fall or jump into it and the current sweeps you out into Lake Hylia. It is a quick way there, but there is no way back up.
• Gossip Stone: on the lower riverbank near the big waterfall, upstream from the cow. With the Mask of Truth it says: “They say that the thief named Nabooru, who haunts this area, is a Gerudo.”
• Big Poes: two of the ten are on the way, in Hyrule Field near the road to the valley: the Gerudo fork and the lone tree.
• No Great Fairy here. There is one at the Desert Colossus, beyond the fortress and the Haunted Wasteland.
• Master Quest mirrors the whole world, so the valley’s left and right are swapped, but everything is in the same place.

Gerudo Valley FAQ