The Desert Palace can be reached after you complete the Thieves' Hideout dungeon and get the Sand Rod. An item is hidden there.

Required Item

To enter the Desert Palace, you need to complete the Thieves' Hideout dungeon to get the Sand Rod. It helps if you have the Mother Maiamai upgrade it to the Nice Sand Rod. Then use the warp fissure in southwest Lorule, go west into Misery Mire, then use one of the warp fissures north of the Misery Mire entrance. Then you can use the Sand Rod to reach the Desert Palace.

Desert Palace 1F

Use the Sand Rod to go north from the entrance. Go north from there and go up to the western ledge, then use the Sand Rod on the sand to the east. Merge with it and go east to the treasure chest, which contains a blue rupee. Merge with the sand again and go around to the north to reach the northern exit. Go through.

Go to the east side of the room and go up the stairs. Merge with the wall to get past the Beamos. Go south and go through the southeast door.

Go north and use the Sand Rod to the east to go across to the right side. Then go north and use the Sand Rod to reach the crystal switches to the left. Hit them all before the time runs out to make the southern bars go away. Go down below and go south. Use the Sand Rod on the sand in order to hide from the Beamos. Go through the south door.

Go south and pull the statue onto the sand. Then go south and go up the stairs. Use the Sand Rod to reach the statue in the northeast corner of the room, and use the Sand Rod again to get the statue that you pulled onto the sand. Put the statues onto the switches in the floor. The west exit will open. Go through.

Step on the switch here to create a shortcut to the exit. Go out and save the game if you wish, then come back. Use the Sand Rod to go west on the sand, past the spinning blade traps, and go through the west exit.

The door locks behind you. Go down to the sand. A monster called a Hokkubokku pops its head out of the sand. Use the Sand Rod to push it up out of the sand, then hit it with your sword, but be careful. The segments of its body pop off when you hit it, and they bounce around the room, hurting you if they hit you. When you get rid of all of the segments and the Hokkubokku's head, the battle ends. A chest appears to the south, but you won't be able to get it yet. For now, use the north exit.

Go north past the sand and fall into the pit. You can use the Fire Rod on the mummies (known as Gibdos) to turn them into Stalfos. From the pit, go right and go up the stairs, then go all the way south and use the Sand Rod to reach the chest to the left. It contains a potion ingredient. Now go to the northwest corner of the room and go through the door.

Go to the right and open the chest to get the compass. Pull the switch to the right of that to make some sand start flowing. Go back to the last room.

Open the chest that you can reach now that the sand has filled the pit. It contains a key. Use it in the locked door in the east wall.

Go north and pull the switch to fill the room with sand. Go to the east side of the room and go up the stairs. Use the Sand Rod to reach the platform to the left, being careful to avoid the Beamos. From the platform, face northward and use the Sand Rod. Use the pillars to go to the platform to the north. Step on the switch there to make the wall slide open. Use the Sand Rod from the left end of the platform, then merge with the wall and go north and then east along it to reach the big chest in the northeast corner. Open it to get the Titan's Mitt. This allows you to pick up large boulders. Now go to the west side of the room and use the southwest exit. In the next room, use the south exit.

Go to the stairs on the right side of the room and go south. Use the Sand Rod to make a path to the south. Lift the boulders to reach the chest, which contains a key. Go north to the locked door in the west wall. Lift the boulder and unlock the door.

Go south and use the south exit.

Outside

This exit takes you outside. There's nothing to explore out here, so go north and into the cave entrance in the wall.

Desert Palace 2F

The door locks behind you and the tiles start shooting at you. Use your shield or sword to break the tiles. Afterward, two Debirando pop out of the sand. Use the Sand Rod to push them out of the sand, then kill them. Afterward, a green portal appears, and a bridge raises itself. Use the green portal to go outside and save, then come back in. Go up the stairs and use the Sand Rod to make pillars to the north. Merge with them and go to the left side of the room. Go through the west exit.

Go north past all the monsters. Kill the right-hand statue and go through the wall behind where it was. Use the Sand Rod on the buried chest. Open it to get a silver rupee. Go back to the south part of the room and use the Sand Rod to go to the walkway to the north. Go through the east exit.

Go down the stairs and use the Sand Rod on the sand under the Beamos. Merge with the sand and go around to the right. Go up the stairs and open the chest to get a Silver Rupee. Go through the east exit.

In the next room, ignore the stairs to the south and just go through the east exit.

Go north and go down the stairs. Make your way south, using your shield to block arrows. In the south part of the room, there is a crystal switch. Go over to it and stand on the red tiles just south of the crystal switch. Hit the switch to go up. Go to the left side of the room and go north up the stairs. Use the Sand Rod to the east to go to the middle platform. Go to the south end of it and use the Sand Rod on the sand under the the statue. Pull the statue north, then use the Sand Rod in the sand to the left. The arrow trap will now hit the crystal switch over and over. Go to the southeast corner of the room and step on the tiles as they go up and down. Go up to the chest to the north. Open it to get a key. Now go to the northeast door of this room and go through.

Go down to the sand and lift the boulder north of the door. Use the Sand Rod on the submerged chest to reveal it. Open it to get a silver rupee. Now go to the left side of the room and use the Sand Rod on the sand below the space where the lower ball is rolling. This will allow the ball to roll into the lower cracked stone. Now use the Sand Rod somewhere else to stop the ball from rolling downstairs. Go up those stairs and use the Sand Rod on the upper path where the upper ball is rolling. It will roll into the upper cracked stone. Use the Sand Rod somewhere else to keep the ball from rolling into you. Go east and lift the boulder on the sand. Then go west and use the Sand Rod on the upper path to make the ball roll all the way east. You will have to go east and use the Sand Rod on each area of sand to keep the ball rolling. When it cracks the rock, sand will flow southward. You can merge with the wall and go east to reach the south part of the room, collecting some rupees and hearts in the wall along the way. Before you leave this room, go through the secret south exit that you can see on the map. You will reach a submerged chest. Use the Sand Rod to raise it. It contains a silver rupee. Now exit north, then go east. Go through the south door.

Now that there is sand in this room, you can go onto a ledge and use the Sand Rod to reach the big chest on the right side of the room. It contains the Big Key. There is also a secret exit in the south wall. Go through to find a fairy fountain. Then go north to the previous room and use the door in the west wall. Keep going west until you reach a locked door. Go through.

Go down the stairs, get past the monsters, and then when you reach the Beamos, make it start firing its laser, then use the Sand Rod on the sand under it. It should activate the three switches as it spins, opening the south door. Go through.

Go south and four Leevers will pop out of the sand. Kill them, then a couple of Debirando will stick their heads out of the sand. Use the Sand Rod to make them pop up, then kill them. A chest will appear in the north part of the room. It contains a key. Go north to the previous room.

Go north past the first Beamos to find a second Beamos. Make it start shooting its beam, then use the Sand Rod under it to make it rise up. Quickly run to the blue tiles on the east side of the room. Run up to the red tiles when you can, then when the red tiles go up, merge with the wall and go north to the locked door. Unlock it.

In this next room, there is a door in the west wall, behind the sand. Go through it and go north to the chest. Open it to get a silver rupee. Go south and exit the room. Go south in the sandy room and use the south exit. Then exit south a third time to reach the room in the southwest of the map.

Go to the ledge that sticks out to the east and use the Sand Rod from there. Open the chest at the end to get a key. Drop down to the sandy area and go west up the stairs. Before leaving the room, go southwest through the south wall to find a bunch of rupees hidden under the left side platform. Then go back out and use the north exit.

Go east and unlock the door.

Use a bomb or the hammer on the cracked block, or just hit the bomb monster when it's in front of the cracked block. Go north past where the block was. In the sandy area, use the Sand Rod to put bombs up next to the cracked blocks on the pillars, and also use bombs on the cracked blocks in the lower part of the room. Go around and collect the rupees if you wish. Once all of the cracked blocks on the pillars are gone, the arrow trap will shoot the crystal switch over and over. Go to the tiles in the south middle part of the room and step on them as they go up and down in order to reach the raised ledge to the left. Go west and go through the south exit.

Pull the switch to fill the area with sand, then just walk east to go up some stairs to the big door. Use the Big Key to go through.

Use the Sand Rod from the middle of the ledge and then walk south along the sand pillars. Pick up the boulder and throw it somewhere. Use the Sand Rod from the south end of the ledge. Walk south and go outside.

You will appear on a ledge with a warp fissure to Lorule. Go through.

Zaganaga

Go south to start the boss battle. A cactus-like monster called Zaganaga appears on one of the pillars. Use the Sand Rod to go over to the pillar where Zaganaga is, then hit it with your sword. After a few hits, it disappears. Keep an eye on the sand to see which pillar Zaganaga is going to next.

After a while, Zaganaga starts spitting peahats at you. Be careful not to let these knock you down. Zaganaga might also take a breath and then shoot a blast of sand at you. Run out of the way to avoid getting knocked down. Keep hitting Zaganaga until it dies.

Go north to get the Heart Container, then touch the painting of Irene.