Desert Land


 * Desert Hill redirects here. For the similarly-named racetrack in Mario Kart DS, see Desert Hills.

Desert Land (more commonly known as Desert Hill) is the second world of Super Mario Bros. 3. It contains five levels, two Boomerang Bros., a fortress, three Toad Houses, and special Desert and Pyramid stages. Most of the levels have quick sand or Fire Snakes. The last Warp Whistle can be acquired by defeating the hidden Fire Bros. level (to access the level, you must take a hammer and smash the rock in the far upper-right corner of the screen, which will give access to a hidden part of the map where the Fire Bros. are located).

The Desert Land is home to some of the rarest enemies in the game, including the Fire Bros., the Angry Sun, and Tweester (an obstacle that is exclusive to the desert level). Morton Koopa Jr. guards this area and is the boss of Desert Land.

2-1
Mario begins his desert adventure among the ruins of a long-lost Mushroom civilization. The first level of Desert Land introduces Fire Snakes (they can be defeated with a tail swipe from Raccoon Mario) and Piledriver Microgoombas. A secret pipe can be accessed by Raccoon Mario, too. On the first purple pipe building, he must race back and forth to build up speed, then take off to fly up to a pipe protected by blocks. If he smashes the blocks on either side by flying under them, the pipe will be accessible, which leads to a room with a P-Switch that triggers some Silver Coins!

2-2
A lake of water is a welcome sight in the parched desert, but Mario should watch out for quicksand and the Venus Fire Traps that live in it! Grab every coin (including the blocks turned to Coins by the P-Switch) to get a White Toad House with an Anchor!

Fortress
Conquer a desert Fortress defended by Thwomps, Boos, and the mid-boss Boom Boom. At the beginning, Raccoon Mario can practice defeating Dry Bones without touching the ground and can get 1-Ups.

2-3
Loyal Fire Snakes guard the gold pyramids of the harsh desert. From the third and last pyramid, Raccoon-powered Mario can take off to fly to five blocks, one containing a P-Switch that will turn the blocks below into Coins!

Desert
Sun-baked sand stretches as far as the eye can see. The Angry Sun is also here, when he starts diving, defeat him with a Koopa Shell. A Tweester roams about sucking up any and all in its path. To get past it, Mario must run as fast as he can and jump into it (he will fly up into the air and end up on the other side of it).

2-4
Finally, a desert oasis! Unfortunately, Mario won't have time to relax in paradise. Only Raccoon Mario can access the secret part of this level. After grabbing a Super Leaf, Mario must go to the very beginning, race back and forth, then fly to the very left, smashing bricks as he goes to gain access to a secret coin bonanza!

2-5
Mario must be dodgy here to get away from the Chomps! When he's near the huge formation of wooden blocks, the first solitary Koopa he sees should be booted to the left, activating a Magic Vine leading up to the clouds. Hop along them to reach a pipe to a bonus room!

Pyramid
The great Pyramid is a labyrinth of Buzzy Beetle infested tunnels. The routes taken inside are as follows: First, middle tunnel, then hop on the pipe and take the top route. Each tunnel is blocked, so Mario must use either a Super Leaf or a Buzzy Beetle to clear the way! Once out of the maze, a pipe guarded by wooden blocks is seen. By its side is an invisible ? Block that grants access to the exit pipe.

Airship
In an Airship floating high above the desert dunes, Morton Koopa Jr. awaits. The airship features Bullet Bills and a new kind of enemy called Rocky Wrenches. To defeat Morton Jr., you either stomp on him three times or shoot him with a few fire balls.

Trivia

 * Desert Hills (a course in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii) is based on this world.
 * It also appears in the Super Mario Bros. movie, as the Koopahari Desert.
 * In fandom, Koopahari Desert is yet another name for this area, although it is not official.