Luxor

The largest temple complex ever built. For about 2,000 years, some 30 pharaohs added gates, halls and obelisks to honour the god Amun.

• The Great Hypostyle Hall has 134 giant columns, the tallest about 21 m
• The obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the tallest still standing in Egypt
• A sacred lake where priests purified themselves
• A sound and light show runs in the evening

Built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II in the heart of today’s city. It is most beautiful at dusk, when the lights come on.

• The twin of its obelisk stands on the Place de la Concorde in Paris
• A mosque, Abu el-Haggag, still sits on top of the ancient columns
• The Avenue of Sphinxes links it to Karnak

A 2.7 km processional road lined with sphinxes that linked Karnak and Luxor Temple. It reopened in 2021 after decades of excavation.

• Priests carried the statues of the gods along it during the Opet festival

After the pyramid age, New Kingdom pharaohs were buried in hidden tombs cut deep into this desert valley on the West Bank.

• More than 60 tombs have been found
• Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamun here in 1922
• Tutankhamun’s mummy is still in his tomb
• The general ticket includes 3 tombs; Tutankhamun and Seti I cost extra
• No photos in some tombs – ask your guide

The terraced temple of Hatshepsut, one of the few women who ruled Egypt as pharaoh, built against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.

• She ruled for about 20 years
• Reliefs show her trading expedition to the land of Punt
• Three terraces rising to the cliff face

Two giant seated statues of Amenhotep III, about 18 m high, the last guards of his vanished temple.

• After an earthquake in 27 BC one statue "sang" at dawn, and Greek and Roman tourists came to hear it
• Free to visit, a short photo stop

The temple of Ramses III, with some of the best-preserved colours and reliefs in Egypt.

• Reliefs show battles against the "Sea Peoples"
• Quieter than the big sites

Burial place of queens and princes. The tomb of Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, is often called the most beautiful in Egypt.

• The tomb of Nefertari needs a separate, expensive ticket

Balloons take off before sunrise and float over the temples, the villages and the green fields of the West Bank.

• Flights last about 30–45 minutes
• Flights depend on the weather and can be cancelled at short notice
• You see the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and the Nile from above