In a Galaxy Far, Far Away. . .

    The character Luke Skywalker appears in The Force Awakens. He is found on a distant planet. The planet is called Ahch-To. But this planet is actually a rocky island. It’s called Skellig Michael. It rises up 715 feet. It is about 7 miles off the coast of Ireland. 

    Nearly 1,500 years ago, a group of Irish monks rowed to the island. At the top, they built a home out of stone. Luke lives in that home. 

    Thousands of birds live on the island. One species is very cute: the puffin. It inspired the porgs. Those are the little creatures that live with Luke.

    In The Force Awakens, the character Luke Skywalker is found hiding out on the distant planet Ahch-To. But Ahch-To is actually a rocky island called Skellig Michael, about 7 miles off the coast of Ireland. 

    Skellig Michael rises 715 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 1,500 years ago, a group of Irish monks rowed to the island and carved more than 600 stairs into the rock. At the top, they built a home out of stone. Luke lives in the huts that the monks once lived in. 

    Today, Skellig Michael is home to thousands of seabirds. One species, the puffin, seemed especially cute to the creators of Star Wars. The porgs, the little creatures that live with Luke on Ahch-To, were inspired by the puffin.

    If you love Star Wars, you’ll remember the icy planet Hoth. It’s in The Empire Strikes Back. But you don’t have to be a fan to be amazed by the planet’s real-life location. 

The Hoth scenes were filmed on the Hardanger Glacier in Norway. A glacier is a field of ice and snow that stays frozen all year. There are no roads leading to Hardanger. Visitors travel by train—if they dare. Deep cracks called crevasses are hidden in the ice. 

No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse. But the worst storm in 50 years blew in while they were there. The weather didn’t stop them. They needed to shoot a scene of Luke escaping from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him walking out of the hotel door into the storm!

    The Hoth scenes were filmed on the Hardanger Glacier. It’s in Norway. A glacier is a field of ice and snow. It stays frozen all year. 

    No roads lead to Hardanger. You get there by train—if you dare. Crevasses are hidden in the ice. A crevasse is a deep crack.

    No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse. But a rough storm blew in. The weather didn’t stop the crew. They needed to shoot a scene with Luke. In the scene, he escapes from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him walking out the hotel door into the storm!

    If you love Star Wars, you’ll remember the icy planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. But you don’t have to be a fan to be amazed by the planet’s real-life location. 

    The Hoth scenes were filmed in Norway on the Hardanger Glacier, a field of ice and snow that stays frozen all year. No roads lead to Hardanger, so visitors must travel by train—if they dare. Deep cracks called crevasses are hidden in the ice.

    No one on the Star Wars crew fell into a crevasse, but the worst storm in 50 years blew in while they were there. However, the weather didn’t halt production. The crew needed to shoot a scene of Luke escaping from an ice monster’s cave. So they filmed him emerging from the hotel’s door into the storm!

    The end of The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots from the evil First Order attack across a huge, white field. The field is extremely bright. Surely it can’t be real?

    But it is. The Crait scenes were filmed on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni was once covered with salt-water lakes. Thousands of years ago, the water dried up. It left behind 10 billion tons of salt in a field the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this flat, white field floods with water. The water reflects the sky. It turns the salt flats into the world’s largest mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.

    The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots attack on a huge, white field. The field is very bright. It can’t be real—right?

    It is. The scenes were filmed on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. They are in Bolivia. That’s a country in South America. Salar de Uyuni used to be covered with saltwater lakes. Thousands of years ago, the water dried up. It left a field of salt the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this area fills with water. The water reflects the sky. It turns the salt flats into a huge mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.

    The end of The Last Jedi takes you to the planet Crait. Giant robots from the evil First Order attack across a huge, white field that is extremely bright. It can’t possibly be real, right?

    But it is. The Crait scenes were filmed in Bolivia on the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. Long ago, the area was covered with saltwater lakes. However, thousands of years ago, the water dried up, leaving behind 10 billion tons of salt in a field the size of Connecticut. 

    In the rainy season, this flat, white field floods with water, which reflects the sky. The water turns the salt flats into the world’s largest mirror—and the coolest battlefield in the galaxy.