Itinerary

1. Day 1: Luxor - Dendera - Abydos - El Minya

   • Get picked up from your Luxor accommodation and transfer to Dendera for our first stop. Your driver will wait while you explore the Hathor Temple of Dendera. The Dendera Temple was built in the 1st century BC by Ptolemy VIII and Queen Cleopatra II and is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. The temple is dedicated to Hathor, Goddess and mother of the Pharaohs, representing maternity, love, music and the celestial. You can visit the crypt and the roof, where you will find a (copy of) the famous Dendera Zodiac. 
   • The transfer continues from Dendera to Abydos for our second stop. Abydos is home to the Great Temple of Seti I, the Pharaoh who reestablished order and reconquered territories lost during the reign of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton. This unique L-shaped limestone mortuary temple was not finished when Seti I died. His son and co-regent, Ramses II, finalized the construction and decoration. The colourful murals and the famous Kings List make this temple one of the most beautiful in Egypt, as the entire structure survived the test of time, unlike the Seti Temple in Luxor.
   • After you visit Abydos, you continue the journey north to El Minya, where you will be dropped off at a 3-star or 4-star hotel to spend the night.

2. Day 2: El Minya - Tell el-Amarna - Beni Hassan - Cairo

   • After breakfast, you drive from El Minya to Tell el-Amarna. Shortly after Akhenaten became Pharaoh, he denounced the old Gods and left the capital Thebes (Luxor). He decreed for a new capital to be built in honour of the Sun God Aten. You will visit the remains of Tell el-Amarna, the hastily constructed capital, only occupied for the remainder of the 14 years that Akhenaten reigned with his beautiful Queen Nefertiti.
   • From Tell el-Amarna, you continue to Beni Hassan to visit the ancient cemetery of the Nobles. The ancient burial site of the Middle Egypt province was used from 2100 BCE to 1700 BCE. The rock-cut tombs are famous for the high quality of decoration of daily life, trade culture and warfare. 
   • After visiting this off-the-beaten-track site, we continue the last leg of the journey to Cairo, where you will be dropped off at your hotel or airport.