How do I get into the Bottom of the Well?

Learn the Song of Storms from Guru Guru in the Kakariko windmill as an adult, then return to childhood and play it inside the windmill. The windmill speeds up and the well drains, so you can climb down and crawl in.

How do I beat Dead Hand?

Let one of the hands grab you so the body appears, break free, and slash its face until it turns away. Back off when it burrows, because it sends out a shockwave, then repeat until it collapses.

Which coffin has the Small Key in the Bottom of the Well?

The coffin by the back-left (southwest) torch. Light that torch with a Deku Stick and the coffin opens; the other coffins only release enemies.

Do I need to clear the whole Bottom of the Well?

No. The Lens of Truth is the only required item and it sits near the entrance. The Map, Compass, three Small Keys and three Gold Skulltulas are optional.

Ocarina of Time Bottom of the Well Walkthrough: Lens of Truth, Dead Hand

What do you need for the Bottom of the Well?

The Bottom of the Well is the child-era mini-dungeon under Kakariko Village. It holds the Lens of Truth, which the Shadow Temple expects you to own. Almost everything here is a trick for the eyes: fake walls, invisible holes and hidden chests. In the usual route you return here as a child after the Water Temple; for the full order, see the walkthrough hub.

Item	Detail
Location	Kakariko Village well (child era)
Needed to enter	Song of Storms, played in the windmill as a child
Useful to bring	Bombs, Deku Sticks, Boomerang, Slingshot, Sun’s Song
Small Keys	3 (all optional)
Dungeon item	Lens of Truth
Mini-boss	Dead Hand
Gold Skulltulas	3 (#79–#81 on our checklist)

How do you drain the well?

Learn the Song of Storms as an adult. Enter the Kakariko windmill and show Guru Guru your ocarina; he teaches you the song.
Return to childhood. Put the Master Sword back in its pedestal at the Temple of Time.
Play the song in the windmill as a child. The windmill spins wildly and the well drains. Climb down the well and crawl through the hole.

What is the fastest route to the Lens of Truth?

Clear the entry corridor. Climb down the ladder and kill the Skulltula blocking the way; hit it when it turns its back.
Walk through the fake wall. The wall beside the skeleton is an illusion, so walk straight through it into the main room.
Follow the shallow water. The main room is a ring with hidden holes, and the stream of water marks a safe path. Either direction works. A Green Bubble circles the room counter-clockwise; stun it with the Boomerang and finish it with the Slingshot, or avoid it.
Play Zelda’s Lullaby on the Triforce. The Triforce mark sits by a stone mouth pouring water. Playing the song lowers the water across the whole dungeon.
Drop into the drained pool by the entrance. Go back to the pool near where you came in. The chest at the bottom holds Bombs, and vines let you climb out later.
Crawl through the hole behind the chest. Kill the Skulltula that drops down at the far end, climb up and go through the door.
Let a hand grab you. Dead Hand only surfaces after one of the white hands catches you. Wiggle the stick and press buttons to break free.
Slash its face. Hit Dead Hand’s head until it turns away, then keep your distance: it burrows and sends out a shockwave. Get grabbed again and repeat until it collapses.
Open the chest for the Lens of Truth. The Lens reveals fake walls, hidden holes and invisible enemies, but drains magic while it is on.
Take the invisible chest behind it. A hidden chest directly behind the Lens chest holds a Gold Rupee worth 200. Leave it if your wallet is full.

You can leave now. Everything below is optional.

Where are the three Small Keys and the Compass?

Key 1: the fake wall by the pool. After climbing out of the drained pool, look left into the old water channel. The Lens shows an opening; the chest inside holds a Small Key.
Key 2: the second hidden room. Leave, turn left and follow the drained path. Where it bends left, use the Lens to find another hidden room with a Small Key. The two key rooms sit on either side of the entrance, off the ring corridor.
Compass: behind a fake wall with a hole. Continue and turn right at the corner, then use the Lens on the wall to find a hidden room. An invisible hole lies in front of the chest; step around it and open the chest for the Compass.
Drop down on the west side. Follow the westernmost passage and drop to the lower level the water used to cover. The chest there holds a Recovery Heart. Climb up and go through the door.
Freeze the Gibdo. Play the Sun’s Song to stop it, then attack until it falls.
Light only the back-left torch. Use a Deku Stick on the torch in the back-left (southwest) corner. Its coffin opens, Keese fly out, and the third Small Key is inside. The other coffins only release enemies, and Din’s Fire lights every torch at once.

Where are the three Gold Skulltulas?

#	Where	How
#79	West locked door in the centre area	Kill the Deku Baba, shield against the flying pots, Boomerang the token off the back wall
#80	The other locked door in the centre area	Kill the Keese, walk the invisible ledge around the room with the Lens, token in the far corner
#81	Northeast crawl hole, locked door, Like Like room	Cross the pit room with the Lens, then beat the Like Like; token on the wall

#79: the west locked door. Walk through the fake wall into the centre area and turn left to the locked door. Kill the Deku Baba, block the flying pots, then Boomerang the Gold Skulltula on the back wall.
#80: the other locked door. Walk past the wooden X to the second locked door. Kill the Keese, then use the Lens to find the invisible ledge around the room and follow it to the Gold Skulltula in the far corner.
Pass the portrait hole. Back in the ring corridor, an invisible hole sits in front of the scary portrait. Go around it to the right and crawl through the hole to a locked door.
Clear the pit room. Keep the Lens on for the floor holes. Kill the Fire Keese and deal with the Beamos using a bomb, or stun it with a Deku Nut. The chest gives 5 Rupees, or a Deku Shield if yours burned.
#81: beat the Like Like. Stay by the wall and shoot the Like Like with the Slingshot before it can swallow your shield. Kill the Gold Skulltula on the wall; the chest here also holds 5 Rupees.

How do you get the Dungeon Map?

Fall into the basement. Drop through the hidden hole between the wooden posts of the X in the centre area. Collect the Blue Rupees on the bridge, then drop to the floor.
Freeze the first ReDead. Play the Sun’s Song and attack it while it cannot move.
Bomb the path between the two lit torches. Two boulders block it. Another ReDead waits behind them; freeze it too. The large chest beside it holds the Dungeon Map.
Collect the five Silver Rupees. Three float over the poison pond and two sit up the ladders near the blue flames. The bars lift; go through the door and the wall beyond to return to the main area. A warp song also gets you out.

What other chests are in the Bottom of the Well?

Chest	Where	Contents
Rubble chest	Cracked brown rubble near the main room entrance; bomb it and drop in	Bombchus
Cage chest	Southwest cell of the centre area, guarded by a Skulltula	Deku Nut
Northwest chest	Under bombable rubble in the northwest corner; use the Lens for the pits	Deku Nuts

What should you do after the well?

With the Lens, the Treasure Chest Shop in the Market at night stops being a gamble: use the Lens in each room to see which chest holds the key, and the last room gives a Heart Piece (#33 on our Heart Piece checklist). Then head for the Shadow Temple. The three tokens from this dungeon are listed in context on the Gold Skulltula checklist.