Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2) Guide: Where to Find Princess Ruto and How to Enter Jabu-Jabu's Belly
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo Switch 2, tracking down the third Spiritual Stone takes Young Link up the rapids to Zora's Domain. Right after clearing Dodongo's Cavern, King Zora XVI reveals that his daughter, Princess Ruto, has vanished along with Zora's Sapphire, the Spiritual Stone of Water required to open the Door of Time.
Finding Princess Ruto in the official Nintendo Switch 2 remake requires more than searching Zora's Domain: you must first upgrade your diving depth, swim through a submerged shortcut to Lake Hylia, retrieve a message in a bottle, and offer a fresh fish to the patron deity Lord Jabu-Jabu. Here is the complete step-by-step walkthrough to locate Princess Ruto and escort her through the third dungeon.
Quick Summary: All 5 Steps to Find Princess Ruto
| Step | Location | Required Item | Key Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Open Zora's Domain | Zora's River | Fairy Ocarina | Play Zelda's Lullaby on the Triforce crest in front of the waterfall |
| 2. Dive 6 Meters Deep | Zora's Domain (Upper Ledge) | 20 Rupees | Win the diving mini-game to earn the Silver Scale |
| 3. Find the Clue | Lake Hylia (Underwater) | Silver Scale | Swim through the underwater tunnel and grab the Bottle with Ruto's Letter |
| 4. Enter the Dungeon | Zora's Domain & Fountain | Ruto's Letter + Fish | Show the letter to King Zora, bottle a free fish, and drop it in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu |
| 5. Escort Ruto | Jabu-Jabu's Belly | Fairy Slingshot + Boomerang | Drop into the hole behind Ruto and speak to her twice to carry her |
1. Reach Zora's Domain and Speak to King Zora XVI
To reach Zora's Domain, head northeast from Hyrule Field into Zora's River. Blow up the boulders blocking the entrance using Bombs (or the nearby Bomb Flowers), then follow the river upstream past the shallow ledges until you stand before the giant waterfall.
Step onto the stone crest engraved with the Triforce symbol and play Zelda's Lullaby (Left, Up, Right, Left, Up, Right) on your Ocarina. The waterfall parts to reveal the cavern entrance. Climb the main ramp all the way to the throne room at the top and speak with King Zora XVI: he tells you that Princess Ruto is missing, but refuses to move from his throne until you bring back proof of her whereabouts.
2. Get the Silver Scale and Retrieve Ruto's Letter in Lake Hylia
With his base lung capacity of 3 seconds (3 meters), Young Link automatically floats back to the surface before he can reach the submerged tunnel connecting Zora's Domain to Lake Hylia. To double your diving depth, take the passageway to the left of King Zora's throne room and speak to the Zora standing at the edge of the upper waterfall.
- Win the Diving Mini-Game (20 Rupees): Pay the 20-Rupee entry fee, dive into the basin below, and collect all 5 glowing Rupees underwater in under 50 seconds. Climb back up and speak to the Zora host to claim the Silver Scale, extending your dive timer to 6 seconds (6 meters). If you also want to unlock the 9-meter upgrade later as Adult Link, check out our complete Silver Scale and Golden Scale diving guide.
- Take the Underwater Shortcut to Lake Hylia: Jump back into the main pool at the bottom of Zora's Domain, face the submerged stone archway, and hold the dive button to swim straight through the tunnel.
- Pick Up the Bottled Letter: As soon as you emerge in Lake Hylia, look between the two submerged stone pillars right in front of you. Use ZL targeting to lock onto the sunken Bottle resting on the lakebed, dive down, and grab it.
Reading Ruto's Letter reveals that the princess was swallowed whole by Lord Jabu-Jabu while trying to feed him, though she insists that you must not tell her father.
3. Move King Zora and Offer a Fish to Lord Jabu-Jabu
Swim back through the Lake Hylia tunnel to return to Zora's Domain and climb up to the throne room. Assign Ruto's Letter to your item wheel and use it while standing directly in front of King Zora. Shocked to learn that his daughter is trapped inside the guardian deity, the monarch slowly scoots sideways to open the passage to Zora's Fountain and lets you keep the Empty Bottle.
Before walking through the newly opened corridor behind the throne, you need to put a Fish inside your bottle to coax Jabu-Jabu into opening his mouth. Do not waste 200 Rupees buying one at the Zora Shop: simply step into the shallow water at the bottom of Zora's Domain (right near the shop entrance), walk up to one of the fish swimming in circles, and swing your Empty Bottle to catch it for free.
Head through the passage behind King Zora to reach Zora's Fountain, stand directly in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu, and use your bottle to release the fish onto the stone platform before him. The giant deity immediately opens his jaws wide and inhales Link into Inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly, a dungeon that has also been making headlines today thanks to the Master Quest files and Jabu-Jabu secrets uncovered in the Switch 2 code.
4. Where to Find Princess Ruto Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly and How to Escort Her
As soon as you land inside Jabu-Jabu's mouth, equip your Fairy Slingshot and shoot the white uvula hanging from the ceiling to unlock the fleshy door. Follow the winding corridor into a large central chamber filled with holes in the floor.
- Follow Her Down the Pit and Speak Twice: You will spot Princess Ruto standing in the middle of this pit room. After scolding you for following her, she turns around and walks straight into the hole right behind her. Drop down that exact same hole to land on basement floor B1 right next to Ruto, then speak to her twice in a row: on the second interaction, she sits down and agrees to let Link lift and carry her on his shoulders.
- How to Use Ruto to Solve Dungeon Puzzles: Because Princess Ruto refuses to walk on her own, she acts as a heavy dungeon item. Young Link is too light to keep the blue and yellow floor switches pressed down by himself, so you must either step on them while carrying Ruto or set her down directly on top of the button. You can even throw her at electric jellyfish enemies (Bari and Biri) to defeat them safely without taking shock damage.
- What Happens If You Lose Ruto? If you walk through a door without carrying her or if she falls into deep water, do not worry: Princess Ruto automatically respawns back in the central pit room (or the last room where you set her down), and her dedicated icon marks her exact position on the dungeon map.
- Get the Boomerang and Zora's Sapphire: Ride the water geyser elevator back up with Ruto, place her on the switch in the northern hallway to unlock the Boomerang, and cut down the three parasitic tentacles (red, green, and blue). Finally, toss Ruto onto the elevated platform holding Zora's Sapphire: after defeating the mini-boss Bigocto and the dungeon boss Barinade, she will reward you with the Spiritual Stone of Water back at Zora's Fountain.
My Perspective
On Nintendo Switch 2, the entire Jabu-Jabu sequence feels noticeably smoother thanks to the quick item wheel and Joy-Con 2 gyro aiming, which lets you snap Slingshot shots and Boomerang locks onto ceiling switches and Barinade's tentacles without breaking stride. My biggest routing tip here is simple: never waste 200 Rupees buying a fish at the Zora Shop when a single swing of your newly emptied bottle in the shallow water at the bottom of the stairs gets you one for free in three seconds. And once you are inside the dungeon, do not hesitate to toss Ruto directly at the electric Bari jellyfish before you unlock the Boomerang, since she is completely immune to their shock attacks and saves you plenty of hearts early on.
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Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
