Jedi devotees can tread hallowed locations

ANEW list of must-see travel destinations shows travellers how to get as close as possible to a galaxy far, far away. Booking.com took a look at filming locations for the latest instalments of Star Wars to come up with spots Jedi fans should add to their bucket list.

At the top of the list are two locations that were transformed into fictional planets for the newest Star Wars film, Rogue One.

The film shot to the top of the box office when it was released last week and its rich imagery is thanks to places like Jordan.

The protected desert park Wadi Rum in southern Jordan stood in for the desert moon Jedha, which makes its debut in the Star Wars world for Rogue One.

On screen, it is a setting for civil war. In real life, it is known as the Valley of the Moon.

Its deeply coloured sand and rock formations have stood in for different planets before, in the space-travel-gone-wrong action film The Martian.

Booking.com recommends a stay at the Wadi Rum’s camping sites such as Salmon Zwaidh Camp.

“This authentic Bedouin camp is surrounded by orange-coloured rock mountains, which you’ll instantly recognise from scenes in the movie,” the company said.

For a colder interplanetary travel location, Booking.com recommends Iceland’s southern coast.

The black sand flats of Myrdalssandur stood in as the planet Eadu, a significant location for Rogue One’s hero Jyn Erso.

“This area is known best for its black sand beaches, steep sea stacks and subpolar oceanic climate, so it’s easy to see why it was used as a setting for another planet,” Booking.com said.

Pack the winter woollies for this one. The region’s annual mean temperature is only 5.3 degrees Celsius.

Other locations that made the list include the Maldives, which was turned into the warm planet of Scarif for Rogue One. On film, it’s not exactly friendly. It is the place where the Empire begins building the Death Star.

Outside of the Star Wars universe, it is an incredibly popular though expensive holiday spot.