20 Star Wars locations you can visit in real life

Yuma Desert, USA

There’s a fair amount of desert in the Star Wars universe, from the Rub’ al Khali desert near Abu Dhabi (which formed Rey’s homeland Jakku) to the aforementioned deserts of Tunisia as Tatooine.

But Tunisia isn’t the only desert to become Tatooine. Buttercup Valley in Arizona’s Yuma Desert became the dry Dune Sea of Tatooine, home to the carnivorous Sarlacc and their Pit of Carkoon.

The pit itself, and Jabba the Hutt’s ship, took more than five months to erect and the town of Yuma became home to members of the Star Wars cast and crew during the filming of Return of the Jedi.

If you fancied visiting the site of Boba Fett’s apparent demise (George Lucas has since bent over backwards to try and save the inexplicably popular character), you’re not the only one. AZcentral reported that, in the lead up to the release of The Force Awakens, more and more visitors were taking interest in the location.

“With the new movie, we’re getting more calls than usual asking us about Buttercup Valley (where filming took place) and how to find it,” said Ann Walker of the Yuma Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There actually isn’t all that much to see anymore — just sand. Anakin Skywalker would absolutely hate it. But don’t let that stop you.

It’s still a place where Harrison Ford’s feet touched the ground and that in itself is pretty cool. Plus, buy a house in Yuma, and there’s a strong chance wood from the Star Wars set will have been used to build it. Not that there’s much way to prove it, but still. You’ll know.