Great Pit of Carkoon
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In the Star Wars universe, the Great Pit of Carkoon is located within the Dune Sea on the planet Tatooine. The large depression in the sand is the home for the rapacious, if slow-eating, creature called the Sarlacc.
Its proximity to Jabba's Palace makes it an ideal killing spot, which Jabba used for executing enemies.
In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian hatched a plan to steal the carbonite-frozen Han Solo back from the clutches of Jabba. The plan began with Lando becoming a guard at the palace, placing him in a position to spy on Jabba. Luke then turned C-3P0 and R2-D2 over to Jabba as "gifts", turning them into spies, too. Then Leia, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, brought Chewbacca in as a bounty, which placed both her and Chewbacca in positions inside Jabba's palace.
Unfortunately, Leia was captured when she tried to free Han. Luke, too, was captured when attempting to rescue his friends, and subsquently was thrown into Jabba's rancor pit. Luke managed to avoid death by the rancor, but was easily recaptured by Jabba's henchmen. Jabba then decreed that all of the Rebel infiltrators should be executed immediately.
Jabba attempted to kill Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca by throwing them into the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, he was foiled when Luke Skywalker acquired his lightsaber (hidden inside R2-D2) and broke free. In the ensuing skirmish, Han Solo inadvertently knocked the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett into the Sarlacc's mouth. Meanwhile, Luke's companions caused enough of a distraction to allow them all to escape from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt.
After barely escaping Tatooine with their lives, they rendezvoused with the Rebel Fleet to discuss the Battle of Endor.
In the Expanded Universe, Boba Fett managed to escape from the pit. He set off explosives from the inside, killing much of the Sarlacc. Fett was then found by a fellow bounty hunter, Dengar, after crawling out from the Sarlacc. Later, at least a section of the Sarlacc was found to be alive underground, but was ultimately vaporized by Dengar and an injured Boba Fett.
The events depicted here occurred before the Battle of Endor and after the Battle of Fondor.