5-Day Cairo and Luxor Heritage Tour with Pyramids and Valley of Kings

• Meet your tour guide upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, where a representative will assist you with the arrival procedures and take you to the 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 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 the three small pyramids. You will continue to explore 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 funeral temple, the pyramid of Mankawra (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.
• Visit 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 opportunity of the three pyramids rising from the sands, with the Cairo skyline in the background. Have your lunch at a local restaurant.
• See the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt. 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 largest and most 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, and 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, which houses a vast store of priceless objects from earlier times to the Greco-Roman period, is worth seeing.
• Return to the hotel.

Overnight in Cairo.
(Meal: breakfast)

• Have your 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 is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometres north of Luxor, Egypt, situated on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is actually 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 in 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 first 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, the temple of Luxor has always been a sacred site. After Egypt's pagan period, a Christian church and monastery were located here, and after that, a mosque, the 13th-century Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, was built and continues to be used today.
• Return to the hotel.

Overnight in Luxor.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast and head to see the magnificent Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at El Deir El Bahary. Hatshepsut was a female Pharaoh and 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. This temple was built on three surfaces taking 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 made the discovery of 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.
• Proceed to the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III. The Colossi of Memnon are the two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For 3,400 years, they have sat 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.
• Move to Luxor Airport for the flight back to Cairo, where you will be met and assisted at the airport and taken to your hotel.

Overnight in Cairo.
(Meals: breakfast, lunch)

• Have breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport for your onward destination.
• Go to enjoy the sound and light show at the Giza Pyramids. (Optional)

(Meal: breakfast)