Ong Jmal · Anakin's Hometown
The desert set still standing near Nefta.
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The Experience
Built for The Phantom Menace in 1997, left standing in open sand, and reachable only by 4x4.
There is no road to it, which shapes every itinerary that goes.
Ong Jmal sits beyond Nefta, on the far side of Chott el Jerid from the rest of southern Tunisia. Tozeur is the practical base; Djerba is 250km away on the wrong side of the salt pan.
No sealed road reaches the set. Every tour that gets there transfers into a 4x4, which is why Mos Espa never appears on a coach itinerary.
There is no shade anywhere on the site and the sand reflects hard. Morning and late afternoon are both better for the light and much better for standing in it.
The white Lars homestead exterior stands on the edge of Chott el Jerid nearby. Some Ong Jmal itineraries add it and some do not — ask before you book if you want both.
Photo Gallery
The sand, the salt pan and the country the set was built in.
Everything that gets there crosses sand for the last stretch.
| Feature | MOST DIRECT Private Day Tour from Tozeur | 2-Day Tour from Sousse or Hammamet | A Day Trip from Djerba |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches Ong Jmal | ✓ | ✓ By 4x4 on day two | ✗ Wrong side of the salt pan |
| Reviews | 2 ratings at 5 / 5 | 408 ratings at 4.4 / 5 | — |
| Also Includes | Chebika, Midès, Tamerza | El Jem, Matmata, a night in Douz | The eastern cluster only |
| Private Vehicle | ✓ Driver and guide for the day | ✗ Coach, then jeeps | Varies |
| Base Required | Tozeur | Sousse, Monastir or Hammamet | Djerba |
| Trip Length | A full day | Two days | One day |
| Starting Price | From $100/per person | $151 per person | From $57 per person |
| Free Cancellation | ✓ Up to 24 hours before | ✓ Up to 24 hours before | ✓ Up to 24 hours before |
| Check Availability | Compare | View Options |
More Options
Different departure towns, lengths, and prices — all with free cancellation and instant confirmation.
MOST REVIEWEDA full day from Djerba to the Ksar Ghilane oasis by 4x4, taking in the Ksar Hadada film location and the hilltop village of Guermassa on the way.
2-DAY CLASSICThe most-reviewed two-day run south: El Jem, Matmata and the Sidi Driss cave hotel on day one, a desert camp at Sabria, then Chott el Jerid, Chebika and Kairouan on the way home.
LOWEST PRICEThe cheapest way to sleep in the Tunisian Sahara from Djerba — two days by 4x4 through Tataouine, Chenini and Ksar Ghilane with a night at a desert camp.
SUNSET & SUNRISEA late start, a night in a desert tent and both a Saharan sunset and sunrise — with Ksar Hadada, the Chahbania salt lake and the Ksar Ghilane hot spring either side of it.
SMALL-GROUP 4X4A small-group 4x4 day trip from Djerba and Zarzis to Ksar Ghilane, with the Berber mountain village of Toujane and the Sidi Idriss cave hotel at Matmata.
BERBER VILLAGESA day across the Dahar from Djerba: the Chahbania salt lake at first light, the Tataouine market, and the hilltop Berber villages of Chenini and Douiret.
FROM SOUSSETUI's two-day southern loop from Sousse and Monastir: El Jem, Matmata, a night in Douz, then Chott el Jerid and the Mos Espa film set at Onk Jemal by 4x4.
FROM HAMMAMETTUI's two-day Sahara tour out of Hammamet, with accommodation, the El Jem amphitheatre, Matmata's cave houses and a crossing of Chott el Jerid.
Anakin's Hometown
What survives at Ong Jmal, and the short list of tours that reach it.
Mos Espa is the one Star Wars location in Tunisia that still looks like the film. The entire town set — the domed houses, the market frontages, the pod-racing hangars — was built in open desert at Ong Jmal, beyond Nefta, for The Phantom Menace, shot here in July and August 1997. When the crew left, the set stayed.
Nearly thirty years of wind have taken their toll and the dunes press against the western edge, but you can walk through the streets Anakin is supposed to have grown up in, which is not something the other locations offer.
This is the detail that trips people up. Ong Jmal is in the west, past Tozeur and Nefta, on the far side of Chott el Jerid. The other Tunisian sets — Matmata’s Sidi Driss, Ksar Hadada, the Tataouine ksour — are 250km east of it.
If you are staying on Djerba, you cannot reach Mos Espa on a day trip, and a tour that says “Star Wars” from the island means the eastern cluster. See Star Wars tours from Djerba for what that cluster actually is.
There is also no sealed road to the site. Everything arrives by 4x4 across sand, which is why Mos Espa never turns up on a coach itinerary and why the tours that include it cost more than the ones that do not.
The catalogue is narrow here, and it is worth being precise.
The private Tozeur day tour at $100 is the most direct route: a vehicle and driver for the day, Chebika, Midès and Tamerza in the mountains, and Mos Espa out on the sand. It has only a couple of reviews so far — a function of being a small private operation rather than a signal — but it names the set explicitly in its itinerary.
The two-day Sousse and Monastir tour at $151 is the most-reviewed of the itineraries that reach Ong Jmal, with 408 ratings. Its second day crosses Chott el Jerid, swaps the coach for a 4x4, and runs out to the set.
The Hammamet two-day tour at $154 follows a comparable route from the other resort coast, and the Ong Jemel and Nefta 4x4 adventure from Tozeur at $80 is the cheapest dedicated run out to the site.
Two-day tours from Djerba to Tozeur — $150 and $197 — also reach the western cluster, because they relocate you rather than trying to day-trip it.
The white dome that stood in for the Lars homestead exterior sits on the edge of Chott el Jerid near Nefta, not far off the Ong Jmal track. Some itineraries include it; many do not mention it either way, so ask.
The canyon at Sidi Bouhlel, north-east of Tozeur, was used for Tatooine exteriors across several films and is still known locally as Star Wars Canyon. It appears on far fewer tours.
The filming-locations guide maps all of them against the tours that stop there.
There is no shade on the site and nothing to buy. Go early or late, take water, and expect sand in everything afterwards. Local vendors sometimes set up at the entrance in high season; there is no ticket office and no fixed admission, so what your tour includes is transport and a guide rather than entry.
Guest Reviews
Ratings and review counts are the tour operators' live figures on GetYourGuide and may shift slightly day to day.
"Our driver/live guide did more than his job. He made sure we had a day we'll never forget! It was worth the price. He gave us lots of information all day, each piece more interesting than the last, and even gave us tips for the rest of our trip to Tunisia."
Read all 2 verified reviews
See All ReviewsA private vehicle and driver for a full day from Tozeur — Chebika's oasis, the Midès canyon, the Tamerza waterfall, and the Mos Espa set standing in the open desert at Ong Jmal. Starting from $100 per person.
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Where the set is, whether it survives, and which tours go.
Yes. The whole town set was built in open desert at Ong Jmal for The Phantom Menace, shot in Tunisia in July and August 1997, and was never dismantled. It is weathered and the dunes press against one edge, but you can still walk through the streets.
At Ong Jmal, beyond Nefta, west of Tozeur and on the far side of Chott el Jerid from the rest of southern Tunisia. The other Tunisian sets are about 250km east of it.
Not in a day. The island is on the wrong side of the salt pan. Two-day tours from Djerba to Tozeur reach the western cluster by relocating you, and the northern two-day tours that overnight near Tozeur can include it on day two.
By 4x4 across sand. There is no sealed road, which is why the set never appears on a coach itinerary and why the tours that include it cost more than the ones that do not.
There is no ticket office and no fixed admission. Local vendors sometimes set up at the entrance in high season. What your tour covers is transport and a guide rather than entry.
The white Lars homestead dome on the edge of Chott el Jerid, and the canyon at Sidi Bouhlel north-east of Tozeur, still known locally as Star Wars Canyon. Neither is guaranteed on an Ong Jmal itinerary — ask before booking.
Still have questions? Email us at info@tunisiasaharatours.com
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