To doubters and detractors it's just Nevada Highway 375 - the 160km blacktop connecting Alamo and Rachel, flanked by desert and notable for nothing. To believers, it's the Extraterrestrial Highway, as the state governor renamed the stretch in 1996, magnifying interest whipped up by the sci-fi film Independence Day.

The ET Highway, which sports a sign posting its speed limit as "warp 7", takes you within range of a top-secret attraction recreated in the movie: Dreamland (also known as Area 51). Officially, the hi-tech military base doesn't exist. But its existence is as plain as a Jericho tree.

Dreamland first captured the public imagination in 1989 when a man named Bob Lazar went on TV claiming he'd worked near Dreamland on nine crashed flying saucers to resolve how they used so-called element 115 - a super-heavy substance not found on Earth - in their propulsion system.

Today,there's still debate about whether Lazar really worked at Dreamland, but the fascination he fostered looks unlikely to fade.

If you venture out along the highway, remember to take about five litres of water, a map of the area, sunscreen and sunglasses. But avoid driving too close to Dreamland because of the day and night security patrols in the form of white Cherokee jeeps.

Binoculars may not be necessary because the night sky is so clear that you can see your shadow from the light of the Milky Way.

But what are the chances of seeing a spacecraft shimmer into view? About as high as hitting the jackpot at Las Vegas or seeing the ghost of John Wayne (who died from cancer linked to an atomic bomb test in Nevada).

But you may glimpse one of the advanced aircraft said to be based at Dreamland - perhaps powered by technology from the UFOs. The base was, some say, responsible for the Stealth bomber. It may also have created its even more sophisticated successor: the Aurora.

If you encounter only buzzards, you can always head for Rachel. This blip of a town, which consists largely of shacks and trailers, claims to be the UFO capital of the world, with a population of 100 humans.

The resort has one motel, the seven-room Little A-le-Inn, pronounced "little alien", which milks the region's reputation for all it's worth. Its guests include the curious, conspiracy theorists, self-described abductees - and a Californian regular claiming to be an extraterrestrial in human form.

Little A-le-Inn, Box 45, Rachel, Nevada 89001, tel: (1 775) 729 2515, or go to www.aleinn.com