Where Lake Hylia is in the Light World, you find Ice Lake in the Dark World. The Ice Palace is on an island in the center of the lake.

Prepare for the Dungeon

Use the Magic Mirror to return to the Light World in the Lost Woods. If you don't have any Medicine of Magic in a bottle, it is recommended to play the Flute and go to location 2, the Witch's Hut, then go northeast to the Waterfall of Wishing and throw in an empty bottle to get more Medicine of Magic.

Next, go outside and play the Flute, then go to location 8, southeast of Lake Hylia. Be careful of the Octoballoon, and jump off of a ledge to get into the water. Swim west to reach the lake. Swim to the island in the center and swim onto the dock.

If you need fairies for your bottles, go north into the cave, then go to the northeast corner of the room and bomb the east wall (if it is not open already) and go through the opening to find some fairies. Catch some for your empty bottles, then go back outside.

Enter the Dungeon

Pick up the black boulder in front of the cave to reveal a warp tile. Step on it to go to the Dark World. You will be inside of the enclosed part of the building in the middle of Ice Lake. Avoid the Pikit and go down the stairs to enter the dungeon.

Get a Key

In the north wall, there are two red-eyed statues. The one on the left will come to life if you stand in its path. Do so, then use the Fire Rod to melt it. This will open the door to the next room. Go through.

Be careful when moving around on the slippery floor here. Use the Hookshot to kill the Bari. One of them will drop a key. Take it and unlock the north door, and go through.

Get the Compass

There are some hidden Zols in the floor that will come out as you walk around. Go south and step on the switch in the southwest corner, kill or ignore the Zols, and go east through the door.

Push the center block to the right, and go south through the door. Move to the left to try to keep the Pengators from surrounding you. Kill them to reveal a chest. Open it to get the Compass. Then go north to the previous room.

Get a Second Key

Push the center block north, then east and step on the switch to open the doors. Go through the east door. Don't lift the northernmost skull in this room, because it hides a Rabbit Beam. Kill or avoid the Pengators, use the Magic Powder on the Bubble to turn it into a fairy if you wish, then pick up the southernmost skull to reveal a switch. Step on it to open the doors. The east door just leads to a dead end, so go through the west door.

Step on the switch to open the doors, push the center block to the left, then go north through the door. Kill or ignore the red Bari, and hit the crystal switch to lower the blue blocks. Then place a bomb near the crystal switch (there is a bomb under the skull if you need one) and go north past where the blue blocks were. When the orange blocks go down, place a bomb on the cracked floor. When the hole opens, fall in.

There are two Stalfos Knights hiding near the corners of this room: one near the northeast corner, one near the southeast corner. They will fall down from above when you approach. To defeat them, hit them with your sword, then place a bomb on their collapsed bones. The explosion will destroy them. After you defeat both of them, the south door will open. Go through.

The floor in this room will randomly change direction from left to right. If you don't move after you enter this room, the floor will not move you. You can also walk up against the north or south wall to prevent the floor from moving you. When you are ready to proceed, carefully make your way around the spike Traps. Kill all of the Baris to find a key, and keep an eye on the holes in the walls. If you see a sparkle in a hole, a black Babusu will soon come out of that hole and run straight across the room. When you reach the west side of the room, make sure that the crystal switch is orange. Go through the locked door in the southwest corner.

Get a Third Key

If there are orange blocks in the way, go to the previous room and hit the crystal switch to turn it orange, then return to this room. Make your way around the winding path while avoiding the spinning Guruguru Bar, and pick up the southwest skull to reveal a floor switch. Step on it to open the east door. Make your way to the east door and go through it.

Be careful of the hidden Zols in the floor. You can pick up the skull in this room to get a magic jar. The switch just opens the door to the previous room, so you can ignore it. Go down the stairs in the northeast of the room.

Kill all of the Pengators to open the door. Go north through it.

Stay in the doorway to avoid the giant spike Trap. Wait for it to start moving north, then go through the west door when the Trap has gone far enough north.

Carefully go northwest across the slippery floor while avoiding the spinning Guruguru Bar to reach the northwest block, then go south to reach the stairs on the west side of the room. Go down the stairs, then approach the center of the north wall and use the Fire Rod to kill the Freezor that comes out. Go to the right and kill the Freezor that comes from there as well. A chest will appear. Open it to get some bombs. Place a bomb near the northwest corner of the stairs to open a hole, and fall into it.

You will land in front of the big chest, but you do not yet have the Big Key. Push the blocks to the right and go through the east door. The Freezor on the left will come to life, but you can ignore it and go through the east door.

Use the Magic Powder on the Bubble to turn it into a fairy, then go north to the three skulls in the northwest corner, and pick up the lowest one to get a key. Then use the Hookshot to go to the skull that is by itself near the northeast corner of the room. Pick it up to reveal a switch. Step on it to open the south door. Go through.

Get a Fourth Key

Make your way along the slippery path, avoiding the spinning Guruguru Bar. Try to go past when the Guruguru Bar is pointing north. Then go through the west door.

Pick up the skull in the corner and step on the switch to make a chest appear. Open it to get a key. Kill or avoid the Baris and go up the stairs in the north wall.

Get a Fifth Key and the Map

Don't pick up the southernmost skull, because there is a Rabbit Beam hiding under it. There are Zols hiding in the floor in this room, so watch out for them and go to the southeast corner, then use the Fire Rod to kill the Freezor that comes down from the north wall. Then go through the locked door in the north wall.

Kill or ignore the Pengators in this room and go north, avoiding the spinning Guruguru Bar. Go through the northeast door.

Use the Hookshot to kill the red Baris in the way, then use the Hookshot on the block to go across the gap. Go through the south door.

Walk slightly south to make the giant spike Trap come toward you, then go south past it while it goes toward the right. Then walk slightly south into the path of the second giant spike Trap to make it come toward you, then wait for it to start moving back and go northwest to the stairs. Go up.

Kill the blue Baris with the Hookshot, then use the Hookshot on the skull to go past the spikes. Don't lift the skull yet; you will come back here later. The cracked east wall won't open up if you place a bomb there, so ignore it. Go up the northeast stairs.

Watch out for the Stalfos Knight that falls from above near the east door. Hit it with your sword, then place a bomb on its bones to defeat it. Use the Hammer on the Moles and lift the large block, then quickly throw it and run away from the Rabbit Beam that was hiding under it. Take the key and use the Hammer on the next set of Moles. Another Stalfos Knight will fall from the ceiling, so defeat it, then pick up the southwest skull to reveal a switch. Step on it to reveal a chest. Go north and pull on the statue's tongue to open the east door, then open the chest to get the Map. Then go through the east door.

Get a Sixth Key

Go up the stairs to the next room. Then pick up the two skulls, then open the chest to get the Big Key. Ignore the blocks to the left, and go back down the stairs. Pull the statue's tongue and go through the west door, then go north down the stairs.

Pick up the skull to reveal a switch, and step on it to reveal a chest. Use the Hookshot on the chest to go across, and open the chest to get a key. Go through the locked door in the west wall.

Get the Blue Mail

Step into the path of the giant spike Trap to make it move downward, then go west past it when it is moving back upward. Go through the west door.

Go down the stairs, then place a bomb near the northwest corner of the stairs to open a hole in the floor. Fall in to find the big chest. Now that you have the Big Key, you can open it to get the Blue Mail. This reduces the damage that you take from enemies by half. Push the blocks to the east and go through the east door.

Walk east to make the leftmost Freezor come downward, and kill it with the Fire Rod, then go to the north wall and go through the locked door.

There is a Stalfos Knight above the center of this room, so use the Hookshot to kill the Baris from a distance, then go to the center of the room to make the Stalfos Knight appear. Hit it with your sword, then feel free to ignore it and go through the locked door in the north wall, or place a bomb on its bones to defeat it before you go through the locked door in the north wall.

Avoid the Bubble or use Magic Powder on it to turn it into a fairy, then go through the south door.

There is a Stalfos Knight that will appear just south of the door. If you lift the skull in this room, you will find a switch that won't stay pressed, and you don't have a way to keep it pressed. For now, just go through the locked door in the east wall.

Stay near the door and use the Hookshot or Boomerang to hit the crystal switch. A Rabbit Beam will emerge from the lowered blocks. After it is gone, you can optionally pick up the skulls to get arrows, hearts, bombs, and magic, then go back to the previous room.

Go through the north door, then go up the stairs, kill or ignore the red Baris, and go through the south door. There are blocks around a hole, but don't bother pushing the blocks on the right side of the hole. They won't fall close enough to the floor switch down below for you to push the block onto the switch. Instead, you will have to go the long way to reach the left side of this hole. Go through the east door.

Use Magic Powder on the Bubble to turn it into a fairy, then go to the skull that is by itself near the northeast corner, and step on the floor switch, then go through the south door.

Follow the path until you reach the long room that has a slippery floor and some Pengators and spike Traps. There are two skulls to the right. Pick up the leftmost of those two skulls, then step on the floor switch to open the southwest door. Go through it and fall down the hole to reach the room with the big chest. Go east and you will be back in the room with the blocks around the hole. Kill the or ignore Freezor that comes out of the left side of the north wall, then push the southernmost block into the hole. Then fall into the hole.

Go slightly north of where you land and kill the Stalfos Knight, then pick up the skull to reveal the floor switch. Push the block down onto it to keep it pressed. Go through the south door.

Kill the red Baris, but DON'T pick up the large block on the right side of the room, because there are four monsters hiding under it. The skulls in the southeast corner just have an arrow and a bomb, so it is probably not worth the risk. Instead, go to the west side of the room and pick up the two skulls there, then pull the rightmost statue up until it is out of the way. Use the Hammer on the Moles, then lift the heavy block to reveal a hole. The boss room is below. When you are ready, fall into the hole.

Kholdstare

Throughout the battle, blocks of ice will fall from the ceiling, breaking into four pieces, either diagonally or up, down, left, and right. Avoid letting these shards of ice hit you. In the GBA version, if you run out of magic during the battle, the ice shards will sometimes drop magic jars.

Use the Fire Rod on the giant block of ice to melt it, or destroy it instantly by using the Bombos Medallion. The Fire Rod will melt the ice in eight hits. When the ice is gone, Kholdstare will split into three snowballs that slide around the room. Avoid letting them touch you, because you will lose three hearts if you have the Blue Mail, or six hearts if you didn't get the Blue Mail.

The Fire Rod does the most damage to these snowballs, so use it until your magic runs out, and if you have any Medicine of Magic, use it to continue attacking with the Fire Rod. Otherwise, you can hit the snowballs with your sword until they are defeated.

Afterward, take the Heart Container and the crystal. After the cutscene, your health and magic will be refilled and you will be sent outside.

Your next goal is to find a way into the seventh Dark World dungeon.