4-Day Cairo and Luxor Heritage Tour with Pyramids and Karnak

• Meet your tour guide upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, where a representative will assist you with arrival procedures and transfer you to your hotel. At the hotel, the tour manager will help with a smooth check-in and review your holiday itinerary with you to confirm the pick-up times for each tour.

Overnight in Cairo.

(Welcome drinks)

• Have breakfast and head to the Giza Plateau to visit one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) and its three small pyramids. Continue exploring the rest of the Giza Plateau, including the sight of Khafre's (Kaphren) pyramid, Khufu's son and the second-largest pyramid on the Giza site, the remains of the funerary temple, the pyramid of Menkaure (Mykerinus), and three small pyramids.
• Proceed to visit the Great Sphinx, the head of a pharaoh with a lion's body, which dates from the time of Chephren.
• Head to the Valley Temple, which belongs to the pyramids of Chephren. This temple definitely served two functions: first, it was used for the purification of the mummy of the king before burial; second, it was used for carrying out the mummification process of the king. After visiting the pyramids, continue across the plateau for a photo of the three pyramids rising from the sands, with the Cairo skyline in the background. Have lunch at a local restaurant.
• Visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. It is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities dating back about 5,000 years of art and is considered the world's most extensive and valuable collection of Egyptian art. More than 250,000 original artifacts are presented, with a representative amount on display while the rest are kept in storage. The Egyptian Museum is filled with thousands of pharaonic artifacts, including the golden treasures of King Tutankhamun. Fascinating objects such as jewels, headdresses, alabaster vases, and toys from ancient Egypt are all on display. Many priceless statues and other artifacts that were kept in his tomb for more than 3,500 years before their discovery in 1922, when the tomb was excavated, can also be seen in the Egyptian Museum. It is one of the first stops on most people's itineraries when travelling to Egypt. This distinctive museum houses a vast store of priceless objects from earlier times to the Greco-Roman period and is well worth seeing.

Overnight in Cairo.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast and head to explore Karnak Temple, the largest place of worship ever built. In ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two-thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, as evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak consists of three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometres north of Luxor, Egypt, on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is the site's modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places."
• Continue the tour to visit the Hatshepsut Temple at El Deir El Bahary. This impressive temple was dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. Queen Hatshepsut was the first great woman in recorded history, the forerunner of such figures as Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, and Elizabeth I. The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is the focal point of the Deir el-Bahri complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor. It rises out of the desert in a series of terraces and merges with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it. This temple was built on three levels in the form of balconies, devoted primarily to the worship of the god Amun and to performing funeral rites for the queen known as El Deir El Bahary.
• Visit the Valley of the Kings. It was created and used from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC. It contains some 60 tombs, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramses X or XI. The site's official name was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in the West of Thebes, or the Great Field. The most famous tomb is KV62, the Tomb of King Tutankhamun. Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in 1922. Tutankhamun's tomb was the first royal tomb to be discovered that was still largely intact. Here, you will visit three tombs and then head for lunch.
• Proceed to the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III. The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For 3,400 years, they have stood in the Theban necropolis across the River Nile from the city of Luxor. The original function of the Colossi was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep's memorial or mortuary temple.
• Drive back to Luxor Airport to return to Cairo.

Overnight in Cairo.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Cairo Airport for your onward destination.

(Meal: breakfast)