A travel guide to Indiana Jones’ best filming locations
When you think of cinematic globe-trotters, the audacious archaeologist Indiana Jones surely comes to mind. Sure, the likes of James Bond and the family of Fast and Furious characters are pretty great at exploring the many corners of planet Earth, but no one does it with quite the same style as Harrison Ford’s iconic adventurer, who has explored countless mysterious locations over 42 years of existence.
Conjured from the mind of George Lucas, Jones first appeared in the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, where he became an instant cinematic icon. A sequel followed in 1984 as the character’s name joined the title for the sinister adventure Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a film even Spielberg himself admits is “too dark…and much too horrific”.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would bookend the original trilogy in 1989, with the character bowing out in style before he was resurrected from the ashes kicking and screaming 19 years later for the supremely disappointing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So, in preparation for the release of Ford’s final, final outing as Indiana Jones in James Mangold’s Dial of Destiny, we thought we’d take a trip through the archaeologist’s most exciting travels.
From the jungles of Hawaii to the sandy historical sites of Jordan, take a trip in our travel guide below.
A travel guide to Indiana Jones’ best locations
Huleia National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii, USA – Raiders of the Lost Ark
The opening scene of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark is a piece of cinematic history, showing the title character navigating through a deadly tomb where he has to overcome a series of intricate traps. The iconic introduction supposedly took place in Peru, South America, but the moment was actually captured in Huleia National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii, with the production team using the jungle to recreate the Peruvian wilderness.
Perfectly introducing the brave, loyal and ruthless title character, Spielberg’s opening scene gives us a sack full of reasons to love Indiana. Keen travellers can’t get as close to the area as Indiana, though, with the wildlife refuge closed to the public, still kayak and helicopter tours still operate.
Kairouan, Tunisia – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Don’t take a sword to a gunfight. That’s the main takeaway from the scenes in Cairo from Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Indiana Jones coming up against an impressive swordsman in a one-on-one, only to take him down with one nonchalant shot from his pistol. These scenes were not captured in Cairo, Egypt, however, these moments actually took place behind the scenes in Kairouan, Tunisia.
A city in the northern Tunisian desert, Kairouan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that features the Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba, a key landmark of the city that attracts Muslims and tourists from across the world.
Kandy, Sri Lanka – The Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones’ second outing upped the stakes and the budget, taking the character to India, where he fought an insidious religious cult. Though Spielberg and his production team requested to film in North India and Amer Fort, they were denied permission due to the government finding the exploitative material offensive. Instead, they took the production to Kandy, Sri Lanka, where they used models and matte paintings to recreate an Indian setting.
The location is most memorable for the Victoria Dam, which the production team constructed a rope bridge over. Unfortunately for daring tourists, the rope bridge is no longer there, so if you’re looking for similar heights, your best bet is The Ruwanwella Suspension Bridge.
Tuolumne River Rapids, Yosemite National Park, California, USA – The Temple of Doom
For anyone who’s seen Steven Spielberg’s dark adventure, The Temple of Doom, you’ll know that much of the movie is subterranean, taking place in a deep cave that was actually shot in Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England. This meant that much of the film, aside from the introduction and finale, wasn’t actually shot on location, with the raft scene that opens the movie being shot in Yosemite National Park, California.
With over 40 named whitewater rapids winding over 18 miles, the location was perfect to host the insane intro to the movie. If you’re keen to follow in the footsteps of Indiana, white water rafting adventures can be carried out in the same location today.
Al-Khazneh, Petra, Jordan – The Last Crusade
There is arguably no location more impressive in the Indiana Jones franchise than Al-Khazneh in Petra, Jordan, which features a vast structure carved into the side of a stone face that provides an astonishing view into the past. Hosting the finale of the third film in the Indiana Jones series, the ancient city, which was declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, quickly became a tourist hotspot.
Thought to date back to 9000 BC, the city was the perfect place to host the mysterious ending to The Last Crusade, in which Indiana Jones has to venture through a deadly network of caves and passages to reach the fabled Holy Grail.
Grand Canal, Venice, Italy – The Last Crusade
The sheer majesty of Al-Khazneh, Petra, Jordan might snatch the headlines for the best location in The Last Crusade, but Spielberg makes the most of his carefully-chosen spots throughout the film, capturing the boat race in the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. The San Barnaba di Venezia was used as the exterior for a library in the movie, giving an extraordinary backdrop to the epic action scene that saw Indiana evade capture on a speedboat.
Although much of this scene was filmed on the Grand Canal, just like a lot of the iconic locations on this list, many of the more intricate moments were captured in the Elstree Studios of Borehamwood, England.
Hilo, Hawaii – The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Although hype for the release of Spielberg’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was at an all-time high upon its release in 2008, few could ultimately deny that the film was one of the most disappointing movies of all time. Made during a point in cinematic history where CGI held a tight grip over contemporary productions, the film swapped out many real locations for ones recreated with a green screen.
With that being said, the film wasn’t all bad, and Spielberg used a handful of real locations, including Hilo, Hawaii, whose jungles doubled as the Amazon rainforest in the movie. Spielberg had actually planned to shoot a fight scene at a nearby waterfall, but due to an approaching hurricane, he sent the second unit to film shots of Brazil’s and Argentina’s Iguazu Falls instead.
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut – The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a unique movie in the action-adventure franchise, being the only one to be entirely shot in the United States. This was largely due to the fact that Spielberg didn’t want to be away from his family, with the director making the decision to actually shoot where his son, Theo, was studying; Yale University, New Haven.
Although some of the university’s facade was changed to keep in line with the 1950s context of the movie, the majority of it was kept the same, with the world-famous college hosting a chase scene that was a high point of the 2008 film.
