Ice Palace

The Ice Palace is the fifth dungeon of the Dark World in A Link to the Past.

Entrance to the Palace
It is located in the middle of Ice Lake, the Dark World counterpart of Lake Hylia. Access to the dungeon is granted by swimming to the largest island in the Light World. Lifting up the black rock (which requires collection of the Titan's Mitt in Thieves' Town) reveals a portal; Link must step on it to be transported to the middle of Ice Island, where he can enter the dungeon.

Themes and Navigation
The Ice Palace is possibly the first ice-themed dungeon in the Zelda series, followed six years later by the Ice Cavern from Ocarina of Time. As such, the ground is frozen in most rooms, making Link's traction more difficult. It contains numerous floors as well, although none of them have too many rooms, and the main objective is to descend to the last floor, where the boss resides. Link frequently has to move blocks that obstruct his way, and some creatures can only be defeated with the Fire Rod or the Bombos Medallion. This dungeon is considered to be one of the most difficult in the game, although one of its rooms has its complexity lowered in the Game Boy Advance remake. The main treasure is the Blue Mail, a tunic that increases Link's physical defenses. The Palace's boss is Kholdstare, a living formation of ice. After defeating the boss, Link receives a Heart Container and the 5th Crystal.

A similar location called the Ice Ruins exists in Lorule in, though it is on Death Mountain while Lorule's version of Turtle Rock is located in the middle of a swamp.

A Link to the Past comic
The Ice Palace is also featured in the A Link to the Past comic, although it is referred to as the Ice Tower. During Link's search for a map of the Dark World to know the whereabouts of Turtle Rock, the young hero travels to the Ice Tower, where they are confronted by Kholdstone. Link reveals that all he wants is to see the map of the Dark World, but Kholdstone mentions that the map is his greatest treasure and will not let anyone see it. The monster unleashes two Stalfos to attack Link, but when the young   hero sees that they keep  respawning even after defeating them, he  begins  to focus his power on  the Master Sword,    which causes for the tower to begin to collapse. Kholdstone warns Link   that if he destroys the tower, then he will destroy the map as  well,   making him realize that the map is etched on the tower's floor. However, the tower collapses shortly after, with Link landing near the location of Turtle Rock.