The Real Sarlacc Pit Exists in Arizona and You Can Visit It

Every Star Wars fan is aware of this scene from Star Wars Return of The Jedi: where Luke & Han are taken to be fed to the giant Sarlacc Pit. A big fight breaks out, people are fed to the creature & our heroes escape with Princess Leia. However you want to find the giant Sarlacc Pit, you don't need to travel all the way to Carkoon, you can take a short drive to Arizona.

If you haven't seen Return of the Jedi, here's the scene with the Sarlacc Battle scene

And in all kinds of different versions of the movie too. (Try to spot all the slight differences).

Regardless on which version you've seen, the scene plays out the same.

Where is the REAL Sarlaac Pit

If you live around Yuma, Arizona, you'll be surprised to know that the Sarlacc Pit/jail barge scenes were shot in the areas around the Imperial Sand Dunes (California) & the Yuma Desert near Buttercup Valley. Ever since it was revealed that it was in our backyard, people have posted photos & videos of their travels to find the real life locations as they were shot in the movie.

To give some idea, this is roughly where the crew went to shoot these scenes (as you can see it's RIGHT at the border of the 2 states & Mexico).

Google Maps

And people did find it

A LOT of people in fact. If you travel to the Buttercup Valley & travel to Midway Campground, you'll find the coveted spots. Many people have shared their experiences online like Down the Rabbit Hole, who was nice enough to post a video with him & the comparisons to the movie & real life.

Someone even used wood from Jabba's barge to CREATE a house In Yuma.

So if you want to travel to see the real Sarlacc Pit yourself, you might want to avoid bring Luke, Han or Leia along. They might not enjoy the trip as much as you.