Star Wars Filming Locations in Tunisia

Tunisia has the most concentrated collection of real-world Star Wars filming locations anywhere on Earth. When George Lucas needed landscapes for a desert planet on the outer rim of the galaxy, he found them in southern Tunisia — and he kept coming back. The cave dwellings of Matmata, the vast white salt flats of Chott el-Djerid, and the dust-coloured set town near Tozeur all stand today, largely unchanged from their appearances on screen.

This is not a theme park route. The sites are real places in working use, connected by hundreds of kilometres of desert highway. That distance is part of what makes the journey worthwhile.

Hotel Sidi Driss, Matmata — Luke’s Home

Matmata is a Berber village in southern Tunisia built around underground cave dwellings called troglodyte homes. The rooms are carved into craters, with open-air central courtyards below the surrounding plain. It was exactly this architecture that Lucas photographed during a 1976 location scouting trip — and it became the Lars homestead, Luke Skywalker’s childhood home.

Hotel Sidi Driss is the specific property that served as the homestead interior. The cave dining room appears in A New Hope (1977) during the early scenes of Luke at home with his aunt and uncle. The same location was redressed and used again for Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002). The hotel retains film memorabilia from all three productions and the owners are accustomed to visitors who arrive specifically for the connection.

• Location: Matmata village, Gabès governorate
• Getting there: Louage (shared taxi) from Gabès to Matmata, approximately 40 minutes. Taxis from Gabès cost around 40–60 TND as of 2026. Most Sahara tours include a Matmata stop.
• Entry for non-staying visitors: approximately 5 TND as of 2026, which usually includes a look around the cave rooms and the courtyard
• Opening hours: the hotel operates as accommodation year-round; day visits are generally welcome 8am–8pm

If you plan to stay overnight, booking ahead is advisable in spring (March–May), when Star Wars pilgrimages peak. Rooms run approximately 100–180 TND per night including breakfast as of 2026.

Chott el-Djerid — The Twin Suns Scene

The most emotionally resonant image in the entire Star Wars saga — Luke standing at sunset watching the twin suns of Tatooine sink below the horizon — was filmed on the Chott el-Djerid, a vast salt lake that spans the interior of southern Tunisia between the towns of Kebili and Tozeur.

At roughly 5,000 square kilometres, Chott el-Djerid is one of the largest salt flats in the Sahara. During the dry season it becomes a shimmering white plain with mirage effects that make the horizon dissolve. The film crew captured exactly that quality for the binary sunset sequence in A New Hope, and returned to the same landscape for sequences in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

There is no admission charge to the Chott. It stretches alongside the main road between Tozeur and Kebili (the GP16), and there are several pullout points where you can walk out onto the surface. In summer the salt crust is hard enough to walk on. In winter and spring, parts of the lake fill with shallow water that creates a pink and violet reflection effect at dawn.

• Getting there: Drive or take transport on the GP16 between Tozeur and Kebili. The crossing takes about 40 minutes by road.
• Best time: Early morning and an hour before sunset produce the best light. The twin suns effect is strongest when the sun is near the horizon.
• Note: Do not drive off the road onto the salt flat without a 4x4. The crust is unreliable in lower sections.

Mos Espa — The Podrace Desert City, near Tozeur

The most dramatic location on any Star Wars route is the Mos Espa set, a purpose-built desert settlement constructed outside the town of Nefta, approximately 10 km from Tozeur, for the filming of Episode I – The Phantom Menace in 1997.

Unlike Hotel Sidi Driss, which is an existing building repurposed for filming, Mos Espa was built entirely as a set. It consists of a series of curved adobe-style structures — slave quarters, market stalls, domed buildings — spread across an area of desert between two sand ridges. The set was left standing after filming and has remained in place for over two decades, with sand dunes slowly advancing from the south and partially engulfing several buildings.

The set is not managed as a formal tourist attraction. There is no entry booth and no organised access. Most visitors arrive by 4x4 from Tozeur with a local guide or as part of an organised Star Wars tour. The route is straightforward in dry conditions but requires a reliable vehicle. Do not attempt it in a standard saloon car — the soft sand on the approach track is deceptive.

• Location: Approximately 10 km from Tozeur, beyond the Nefta oasis road; GPS coordinates are widely shared in fan communities (search “Mos Espa set Tunisia” for current positions)
• Getting there: Hire a driver from Tozeur for approximately 60–100 TND for a half-day as of 2026, or join a guided Star Wars tour from Tozeur
• Entry: No formal charge. Some local guides conduct their own informal tours.
• Films: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Condition: The set is weathered and partially buried, but the main street, slave quarters, and dome structures are still recognisable from the films. Bring sun protection — there is no shade.

Sidi Bouhlel — The Canyon of the Rockslide

Less visited but equally significant, the Sidi Bouhlel canyon east of Tozeur served as multiple exterior Tatooine locations across the films. The canyon’s ochre sandstone walls and angular rock formations appeared in several action sequences in A New Hope, including the Jawa Sandcrawler and early Obi-Wan scenes. The same canyon was used again for sequences in The Phantom Menace.

The canyon sits near the village of Sidi Bouhlel, off the road between Tozeur and the Chebika oasis. Most 4x4 tours that include the mountain oases (Chebika, Tamerza, Mides) pass through or near this area, making it easy to combine with an oasis day trip.

Djerba — Rumoured Early Locations

Some fans and travel writers have placed filming in the village of Ajim on Djerba during the early pre-production period. This connection is not confirmed by official Lucasfilm records and should be treated as rumour rather than established fact. The Djerba connection appears to stem from location scouting photographs from the mid-1970s rather than actual production use. We flag it here for completeness, but it is not worth a dedicated visit on that basis alone — Djerba has plenty of other reasons to go.

Organised Star Wars Tours

Several operators run dedicated Star Wars routes through Tunisia:

• Sahara Sky Tours (based in Tozeur): specialise in southern Tunisia and offer 2–4 day Star Wars specific routes covering Mos Espa, Chott el-Djerid, Sidi Bouhlel, and the Matmata area. Approximately 600–1,200 TND per person as of 2026 depending on group size and duration.
• GetYourGuide listings for “Star Wars Tunisia”: a range of private day tours and multi-day itineraries are available, some departing from Tunis and others from Tozeur. Prices vary significantly by duration and group size. Browse current Sahara desert tours for options that include the Star Wars locations.
• Tozeur-based 4x4 operators: for Mos Espa and Sidi Bouhlel only, a half-day tour from Tozeur typically runs 80–150 TND per vehicle as of 2026.

If you are doing this independently, the logical base is Tozeur for the set and the Chott, and Matmata or Douz for the cave dwelling locations. The full circuit works best with a hire car or a driver arranged in Tozeur, as public transport connections between the southern sites are infrequent. Compare car hire options in Tunisia for the best rates on a 4x4 or SUV suited to the southern tracks.

Combining the Route with Other Sites

The Star Wars locations sit within one of the most geographically varied parts of Tunisia. While in the south, the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza, and Mides (accessible as a day trip from Tozeur) add a different dimension to the same journey — Roman ruins, palm-shaded canyons, and waterfalls cut into desert hillsides.

Douz, 90 km east of Tozeur, is the gateway to the deep Sahara and runs camel treks and overnight dune camps that go far beyond anything the Star Wars route alone offers. It pairs well with a night at Mos Espa or time on the Chott.

Our full Tozeur destination guide covers accommodation, food, and the wider region. For a structured route through the south, the 7 days in Tunisia itinerary includes a Star Wars day from Tozeur. For a closer look at Chott el-Djerid — which features throughout multiple Star Wars films — see our Chott el-Djerid visitor guide.