Ancient Castle of Ikana

In, the Ancient Castle of Ikana, also called Ikana Castle, is located deep in Ikana Canyon, and is home to the long dead king of the Ikana Kingdom, Igos du Ikana. The Castle was the center of the once-great Kingdom of Ikana and home to the Ikana Royal Family. It was protected by Ikana's soldiers, who were led by Captain Keeta.

Entrance to the Castle
The main entrance of the Castle of Ikana is sealed up by an impenetrable Front Gate and cannot be entered normally. Therefore, Link has to find an entrance somewhere else. The two accessible entrances are:
 * After obtaining the Mirror Shield from Beneath the Well, there is a small cave that is connected to the courtyard of the castle.
 * The other entrance can only be used once the Mirror Shield or the Light Arrows have been obtained. It is a small opening next to the main gate and can be opened by removing the Sun Block, by either reflecting sunlight on it or shooting it with a Light Arrow.

Themes and Navigation
The castle is an ancient building that is home to countless undead enemies, especially ReDeads and Wallmasters. The outer area is patrolled by Garo ninjas, who provide information about the place after Link defeats them. The inner area leads to three routes. The southern and northern routes both take the young hero to the roof of the castle, and are filled with deadly obstacles and enemy encounters.

The primary theme of the dungeon is light versus darkness. Most of the puzzles require Link to create a source of light by interacting with the outside of the castle so that he can use the Mirror Shield to progress further through the inside of the castle, first by pressing a switch on the top of a pillar, and later by exploding the entrance room's ceiling with a Powder Keg so that the throne room can be accessed. Once Link enters the throne room, he will encounter Igos du Ikana and his two minions. After successfully defeating them using the Mirror Shield and the Fire Arrows, the King teaches Link the Elegy of Emptiness, which is necessary to advance once inside the Stone Tower.

There is also an optional puzzle regarding the pillars in flames (north of the castle) that leads to a Heart Piece.

Trivia

 * The ReDeads inside the ruins react to the Gibdo Mask, Garo's Mask or the Captain's Hat. They start dancing as soon as Link dons one of these masks and are unable to hurt Link, even after being attacked.
 * By throwing a Powder Keg off a fence on the roof, it is possible to skip half the dungeon and a Wizzrobe battle.
 * For apparently no reason, there is a paper airplane sitting on the top of the pillar furthest to the left of the castle.