The location of the white dwarf cooling sequence in the colour–magnitude diagram of simple stellar populations, the magnitude of the red clump and the magnitude of the asymptotic giant branch clump are three stellar distance indicators based on advanced evolutionary phases of low-mass stars. With the present observational capabilities, they can be applied to reach distances ranging from the Galactic disk and halo populations, to galaxies within the Local Group. Techniques devised to exploit these distance indicators are presented, together with a discussion of their calibration and the main sources of systematic errors. A first semi-empirical calibration of the asymptotic giant branch absolute magnitude in both the I and K bands is also derived.
