A single, winding dirt-swept road curves up into the crook of a rocky canyon, leading to a lone structure in the desert wastes beyond the Dune Sea of
Tatooine. Here stood the palace of
Jabba the Hutt, an immense curving building of sandblasted metal and pitted stone.
Visitors to the gangster's stronghold were faced with a large, featureless gate. A perimeter droid, little more than an electronic eyeball with a gruff voice box, questioned newcomers before admitting them into the dank recesses of the remote castle.
A huge corridor led to the criminal bustle of Jabba's den. In his throne room, Jabba reclined upon a large dais, keeping a sickly eye on the motley horde assembled around him. His every depraved whim was satisfied -- his hunger sated by snacking on live gorgs, his lasciviousness by the performance of his favored dancing girls.
Jabba's bloodlust was slaked by a secret concealed beneath his throne room. With the press of a button and an angry shout of "boska!" Jabba would activate a trap door, sending an unsuspecting victim tumbling into a cavern below. In this bone-strewn cave lurked the rancor, a fearsome and vicious predator bred for combat and ferocity.
In a corner alcove, Jabba kept a number of trophies. Aside from the taxedermic heads of exotic wildlife, this is where Jabba displayed the carbonite-frozen form of Han Solo, following the Corellian's capture by Boba Fett.
Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker infiltrated the palace of Jabba the Hutt. He simply strolled in, unarmed, using his Jedi talents to bypass guards and servants, and presented the Hutt with an ultimatum -- free his captive friends or die. It would seem Luke's bid failed miserably, for his attempt resulted in his capture.
But it was all part of Luke's plan. With the rancor dead by Skywalker's hand, Jabba plotted to have the Jedi killed by his second-favorite form of execution -- by feeding him to the Sarlacc. Jabba, aboard his stately sail barge, led an execution party into the desert. Skywalker achieved his objective of bringing all his friends outside the palace. In the heart of Dune Sea, Skywalker triggered his escape plan, which culminated in the death of Jabba the Hutt, and the collapse of the gangster's criminal empire.