On Aug. 2, 2027, darkness will fall on Tatooine. The path of the “eclipse of the century” crosses southern Tunisia, putting several of the most famous Star Wars filming locations in the moon’s shadow for up to four minutes. Around Tozeur, eclipse chasers can experience totality among the dunes of Mos Espa and the rocky Jundland Wastes, while on Djerba, locations used for Mos Eisley and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home will also briefly go dark.
Other iconic sites are tantalizingly close to — but beyond — the southern edge of the path of totality. For example, Hotel Sidi Idriss, used as Lars Homestead in the original movie and in Attack of the Clones, gets only a 99.98% partial eclipse. So too Chott el-Djerid, site of the famous “binary” sunset over the salt flats — let’s hope someone gets a partial eclipse shot from this iconic site. The nearby real-life Tunisian town of Tataouine is also just outside of the path.
For Star Wars fans planning to chase the 2027 eclipse, location will be everything. Here are four filming locations firmly inside the path of totality. All times, totality durations and historical cloud cover data come from Time and Date.
1. Eriguet dunes (Mos Espa)
Location: south of Chott el-Gharsa, Tozeur Governorate, southwest Tunisia
Start of totality and duration: 10:06 a.m. CET; 2 minutes, 9 seconds
Chance of clouds: 2%
With a massive budget and three prequels to make, Lucasfilm built a new film set that would double as the Mos Espa spaceport on Tatooine for The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. This is where Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jar Jar Binks and Padme get stranded, where they meet Anakin Skywalker and where the podrace takes place. Now abandoned, it’s in the middle of nowhere, between two huge salt lakes and subject to the intense heat and moving Eriguet dunes — but it is firmly within the path of totality. Nearby are two other shooting locations — the Ong Jemel outcrop, where Darth Maul arrives on the scene, and Yardang, where Qui-Gon and Darth Maul battle — the first-ever lightsaber duel filmed on location.
2. Maguer Gorge (Jundland Wastes)
Location: Jebel Sidi Bouhlel canyon, Dghoumès National Park, Tozeur, southwest Tunisia
Start of totality and duration: 10:06 a.m. CET; 3 minutes, 37 seconds
Chance of clouds: 1%
Often called “Star Wars Canyon” by fans and crew, Maguer Gorge in Jebel Sidi Bouhlel doubled as the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. It’s where Luke Skywalker is attacked by Tusken Raiders, where Obi-Wan Kenobi first appears and where Luke and Obi-Wan discover the slaughtered Jawas. The canyon also provided the distant view of Mos Eisley — the famous “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” On Aug. 2, 2027, you’ll likely be pointing your macrobinoculars at the eclipsed sun rather than Tusken Raiders.
Steven Spielberg later filmed here for Raiders of the Lost Ark, including the scene in which Indiana Jones threatens to destroy the Ark with a bazooka. Just south of Dghoumès National Park is a desert oasis called Bouhlel Sdada, used for the archaeological dig scenes in Raiders.
3. Ajim (Mos Eisley)
Location: Ajim city center, Médenine Governorate, Djerba island, Tunisia
Start of totality and duration: 10:10 a.m. CET; 3 minutes, 55 seconds
Chance of clouds: 19%
Djerba Island’s palm trees, beaches and Mediterranean horizons will make it a popular destination for eclipse chasers after a long totality away from the heat and crowds of Luxor in Egypt. It’s also home to three notable Star Wars filming locations. The original movie’s Mos Eisley footage was shot here, with Ajim doubling as a Stormtrooper checkpoint (“These are not the droids you’re looking for”), the Cantina exterior, and an alley near Docking Bay 94 where stormtroopers watch the Millennium Falcon blast off. In reality, it’s an abandoned bakery.
4. Amghar Mosque (Obi-Wan Kenobi’s house)
Location: Ajim outskirts, Médenine Governorate, Djerba island, Tunisia
Start of totality and duration: 10:09 a.m. CET; 4 minutes
Chance of clouds: 19%
Just north of Ajim, this mosque — originally a fisherman’s house — was used as a stand-in for “Old Ben’s” house, where Obi-Wan Kenobi gives Luke Skywalker a lightsaber. It was used purely for photography, and no actors set foot here. It was also cut from the movie’s Special Edition in 1997, so you’ll only find it in the original version. Completists might also want to check out Sidi Jemour Mosque to the north, which was used for scenes with Biggs Darklighter that didn’t even make the final cut. IYKYK …
How to go on a Star Wars tour in Tunisia
Tunisia’s Star Wars locations are spread across the south, so the easiest way to see several is on an organized tour or with a private driver and guide. Tozeur is the main base for visiting Mos Espa, Ong Jemel and Jebel Sidi Bouhlel, with local operators offering half-day and full-day 4×4 excursions into the desert. Djerba Island is the other major hub for three sights. Longer multi-day tours typically connect Tozeur with Matmata, home to Hotel Sidi Idriss — the Lars Homestead — as well as Djerba.
One tour company, Star Wars Tours, is running a (sold-out) special departure called “Eclipse tour from the Outer Rim” that witnesses totality at the Mos Espa set. Other Star Wars-focused tour operators include Galaxy Tours, though one-day trips to the Mos Espa set from Tozeur are also available.
Where else to watch the eclipse in Tunisia
Tunisia is surely one of the most attractive destinations for the Aug. 2, 2027 total solar eclipse. Historical cloud cover is exceptionally low, while totality reaches around five and a half minutes near the centerline. It also offers established tourism infrastructure and generally lower August temperatures than Egypt, making it an obvious alternative for eclipse chasers hoping to avoid the biggest crowds around Luxor.
You can, of course, visit the Star Wars sets in the days before or after the eclipse. For Tunisia’s maximum duration of totality, consider Sfax, where darkness lasts 5 minutes, 41 seconds, or nearby Chaffar Beach, with its long, open Mediterranean coastline. Offshore, the low-lying Kerkennah Islands get around 5 minutes, 39 seconds. Inland, Sidi Bouzid offers about 5 minutes, 33 seconds beneath typically dry skies, while the spectacular Roman amphitheater at El Jem gets 4 minutes, 23 seconds. On Djerba Island, meanwhile, beaches and extensive resort infrastructure make combining an eclipse chase with a conventional Mediterranean vacation particularly easy — with a view of Mos Eisley thrown in for good measure.