Highlights
- A private day tour to the most important temples in Luxor
- Luxor offers an unforgettable cultural impression that sends you home with new knowledge
- Visit the magnificent terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut
- The tremendous temple of Karnak is a huge complex of different temples
- A visit to the Valley of the Kings is one of the highlights for cultural lovers
Description
Go on a private day trip to Luxor while on vacation in Sahl Hasheesh. Experience famous sights and temples in Luxor as well as hidden alleys - there is a lot to discover! Admire the hypostyle halls, chapels, the most famous temples, and the sacred lake. Visit the Karnak Temples, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon, and the Valley of the Kings. Accompanied by your personal guide, see the following highlights on your tour:
● The valley of the kings
The Valley of the Kings is home to the most impressive and mysterious cemetery in the world. In this dry river valley, Egyptian workers worked under the scorching desert sun in the second millennium BC. Tombs of fascinating beauty and awe-inspiring size are carved into the rock. In this valley, the mortal shell of all rulers of the New Kingdom - since Thutmose I - was laid to rest forever. As the cemetery of the pharaohs, the Valley of the Kings was one of the most sacred places in ancient Egypt.
● Hatshepsut temple
Deir el-Bahari is one of the large necropolises that are not far from the western bank of the Nile in Thebes and it is in this basin that Hatshepsut built her mortuary temple around 1470 BC. Despite its impressive age, the temple of Hatshepsut has been preserved in excellent condition. The three-tier terraced temple blends in perfectly with the rocky landscape with a 300-meter high mountain range. The landscape in which the temple is located is more than impressive. The temple consists of three floors with huge terraces in front, which can be reached via wide, flat stairs and ramps. Mighty columns support the corridors, on the walls of which majestic paintings show the greatness of this period. The temple was adorned with a series of colossal statues depicting Hatshepsut as the living Osiris wearing the white crown of southern Egypt.
● The Karnak Temple is the largest temple complex in Egypt
This is about 3 kilometers north of Luxor and directly on the Nile. It takes its name from the village of Karnak, which borders directly on the temple complex. The oldest components of the temple complex that can be seen today, which was expanded into the time of the Roman emperors, go back to Pharaoh Sesostris I (12th dynasty), who lived between 1975 and 1930 BC. Numerous pharaohs built the temple of Karnak for more than one and a half millennia - and almost everyone left a sign of their existence on the 800,000 square meter site: sometimes just a column or an inscription, sometimes an entire temple. Various other temples are grouped around the center, which in one way or another are "fused" with the complex. Time and again the system was rebuilt and expanded by pharaohs.
● The Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon, like the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, have been symbols of ancient Egypt for thousands of years. Over the centuries the Colossi of Memnon was badly damaged, but they still provide information about the highly developed architecture of antiquity. The two statues each about 20 m high represent Amenhotep III. and are the remains of his former mortuary temple. Numerous inscriptions in Greek and Latin now adorn this ancient attraction and testify to the popularity of this declaration.
Annotation:
- Not all graves are open to the public. Some of the graves are permanently closed, while others may be closed for restoration purposes. In the Valley of the Kings, you can visit 2 to 3 graves
- If you want to see the resting place of Tut Ench Amuns, you have to pay an additional entrance ticket.
- There is now a complete ban on photos for the entire Valley of the Kings. Cameras have to be handed in when entering and are only given again when leaving.
- With the purchase of a video ticket for EGP 300, you can take photos/videography in one grave per ticket. An exception is the grave of Seti I. Tickets are only available at the ticket booth near the Colossi of Memnon, not on site. All graves now have an explanation at the grave entrance on a modern and informative board about the history, architecture, and decoration.
- Basic plans and important detailed recordings are presented. These tables were created with the support of the Theban Mapping Project by the Egyptian Antiquities Authority.
Inclusions
- English-speaking guide
- Personal guidance
- Entrance fee to the above-mentioned attractions
- Felucca Ride on the Nile
- Lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor
- Roundtrip transportation from and to your hotel in Sahl Hasheesh in a private car or minivan
Exclusions
- Any Extras not mentioned in the itinerary
Additional Info
- Tour type: private guided tour
- Pick-up time: at around 05.30 am
- Arrival in Luxor: at around 09.00 am
- Return to Sahl Hasheesh: at around 08.00 pm
- Meeting / Ending point: your hotel
Good to know
- The private day tour to Luxor consists only of participants who book the trip together.
- The private tour is based on a minimum number of 2 Participants. Should the minimum number of participants not be reached, we will offer to operate the trip with a cost supplement.
- Children's price: Age 5 - 10