5-Day Aswan and Luxor Tour with Abu Simbel and Ancient Temples

• Meet your tour guide after arriving at Aswan International Airport, where a representative will assist you with the arrival procedures and take 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 establish and confirm the pick-up times for each tour.

Overnight in Aswan.

(Welcome drinks)

• Have breakfast and visit the world-famous High Dam, an engineering miracle constructed between 1960 and 1970. It was built to increase economic production by regulating the annual river flooding, providing water storage for agriculture, and later generating hydroelectricity. The dam had a significant impact on the economy and culture of Egypt.
• Continue to the Unfinished Obelisk. This obelisk is believed to belong to Queen Hatshepsut, one of the rulers of the 18th Dynasty and the royal wife of King Tuthmosis II. Located in the northern region of the stone quarries of ancient Egypt in Aswan, it is the largest known ancient obelisk. It is unknown which pharaoh created this structure. It is nearly one-third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected, and if finished, it would have measured around 42 m and weighed nearly 1,200 tons.
• You can book an evening trip to the fabulous sound and light show at Philae Temple. (Optional)

Overnight in Aswan.
(Meal: lunch)

• Have breakfast at your hotel in Aswan and meet your guide to head for the train to Luxor.
• Visit the Valley of the Kings. It was created and used from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC and contains around 60 tombs, beginning 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, and it was the first royal tomb to be found still largely intact.
• Continue to visit the Temple of Hatshepsut at El Deir El Bahary. This impressive temple was dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. It rises out of the desert in a series of terraces and merges with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it.
• 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. Their original function was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep's memorial or mortuary temple.
• 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 shown 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 is actually made up of three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometres north of Luxor 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."
• Move to Luxor Temple. Amenhotep III built it in the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom, and Ramesses II completed it during the 19th Dynasty. King Ramses II was the most famous king of the 19th Dynasty and ruled Egypt for about 67 years. The temple was dedicated to the great god Amun-Ra, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu, representing the Theban triad. Enjoy visiting the Obelisk of Ramses II in front of the 1st Pylon. It was called "Ipet resyt," the Southern Opet or the Place of the Seclusion of Amun-Re. It was directly connected to the Temple of Karnak, the main cult center of Amun-Re or Amun-Min, the sky god or the ithyphallic fertility god. Since its inception, Luxor Temple has always been a sacred site. After Egypt's pagan period, a Christian church and monastery were located here, and later a mosque, the 13th-century Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, was built and continues to be used today.
• Head back to the hotel in Aswan.

Overnight in Aswan.
(Meal: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast and start your trip to Abu Simbel Temples. It takes about 3 hours and a half to drive one way from Aswan to Abu Simbel by private air-conditioned vehicle. Upon arrival, enjoy the impressive Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, dedicated to the four universal gods - Ptah, Re-Harakhte, Amun-Re, and Ramesses II. Then enjoy your lunch box while driving back to Aswan. These temples are considered masterpieces of ancient Egypt and reflect the glory and grandeur of the New Kingdom. The Egyptian government and UNESCO decided to cooperate in order to save these temples from the flood. (You will be provided with a lunch box at the hotel.)
• Continue to explore the Temple of Queen Nefertari, also called the Temple of Hathor, who was the wife of the Sun God. Symbolically, the two Temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari bring Ramesses II, Nefertari, Hathor, and the Sun God together as one. Have lunch at a local restaurant in Aswan and enjoy some free time.
• Travel back to Aswan for the night.

(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

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

(Meal: breakfast)