Discover Luxor

One of the must-see places on a trip to Egypt is Luxor, the ancient Thebes, the heart of temples and fascinating monuments.

The city is cut in the middle of the Nile river: the West Bank, less urbanized and chaotic, houses the beautiful Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles; on the East Bank is the hub of the city with the vast and imposing Temple of Karnak.

Our basic center has been the East Bank. Why did we choose the eastern shore as a starting point for our travels? Well, for several reasons:

– in this side of the city there are the airport, the bus offices and the crowded railway station, for travel to the nearest Aswan or to the more distant Cairo;

– the choice of accommodations is wider than in the West Bank, with the possibility of opting for cheap hostels;

– on this side you can taste the local life, with the small markets and kiosks where you can eat good and cheap typical food.

We have dedicated a full day to Luxor: it is ideal for people with limited time and that decide to take the journey to the southernmost Aswan (⇒ travel itinerary in Egypt). In this case, therefore, the organization of the travelstops of the day and the optimization of visiting times are essential elements!

Follow our one-day itinerary to discover Luxor

Discover Luxor

• The West Bank

Spend the first part of the day visiting the farthest West Bank.

To get to the West Bank, use public ferries that leave near the Luxor Temple (just behind) and work from shore to shore all day (5 £E per person). In about 10 minutes you arrive at your destination: the boat-trips are very frequent and start already at dawn that is an ideal time to leave if you want to avoid the crush of tourists on organized trips that usually arrive in the temples around 8.30-9am in the morning.

Once you arrive at the West Bank, you will find many taxi drivers waiting to take tourists to the sites of interest: remember to bargain and try to share the rides with other travelers. We managed to pull a good price to take us to the Valley of the Kings.

If we could go back in the past, we would have had to opt for a different solution: either negotiate the taxi ride for all the stops planned on the west bank or rent a bike to visit the temples in full autonomy and with considerable price savings (⇒ how to visit Luxor West Bank?).

These are the steps we followed for the visit of the West Bank

1. Colossi of Memnon

Along the main road that leads to the Valley of the Kings, there is this pair of gigantic monoliths corroded by the time that was guarding the threshold of the necropolis of Thebes. Legend says that once the statues emitted a strange sound, probably caused by the expansion of the stone re-heated by the rays of the sun.

Colossi of Memnon

2. The temple of Hatshepsut (prices in February: 100 £E and adults; open from 6 to 18)

From the giants of Memno we immediately headed to the majestic funerary temple of Hatshepsut, dedicated to the most important woman who reigned in Egypt as a pharaoh for almost half a century (the pronunciation seems to be a tongue-twister: Atshitsut).

Good choice: the site had recently opened and there was no shadow of a tourist, only the local workers intent on carrying sandbags and shovels. The temple deserves more for the outside than for the inside: its three-level facade in perfect harmony enchants and leaves you breathless.

The temple of Hatshepsut

3.The Kings Valley (prices in February: normal ticket £E 350)

Continue for the third stage: the Kings Valley, which hosts a myriad.

The normal ticket allows you to visit three tombs: carefully choose those of your greatest interest, bearing in mind that the tombs open to the public (normally 10) vary from day to day based on what is indicated on the main ticket box.

The visit of the most famous and richest tombs requires extra tickets: these are the tombs of Tutankhamun (250 £E per person), Ramses VI and Teti I. We left the tomb of Teti I (we didn’t have enough cash!) And we preferred to pay the extra ticket for the tombs of Tutankhamun and Ramses VI: the first, very small and bare, houses the pharaoh’s mummified corpse and the sarcophagus; that of Ramses VI is spectacular, a triumph of hieroglyphs … in short, it is worth the extra ticket!

Remeber that it’s not allowed to take pictures inside the tomb: you need to pay one more additional ticket or leaving a tip to the guardians. In any case it’ s possible take to escape to the watchful eyes of the guardians by “stealing” some images with the smartphone.

Inside the tomb of Ramses VI

4. The Queens Valley (prices in February: 100 £E per person)

The Queens Valley is the home of the tombs of royal consorts and their daughters.

They are less majestic than those of kings, but still fascinating. The rip-off is the ticket price: the normal one allows you to see the three less interesting tombs; instead an extra price is due (really high: 1200 £ E) for the tomb of Nefertari, recently opened to the public. We reluctantly gave up.

5. Medinat Habu (prices in February: 80 £ E per person)

About 15-20 minutes walk from the Valley of the Queens is the beautiful complex of Medinat Habu, the funerary time of Ramsesse III.

The ticket office is about 10 minutes away from the site and if you try to reach it walking there is no indication to get there: ask the guards at the temple entrance to point you in the direction.

Medinat Habu

Directions for ticket office Medinet Habu

• The East Bank

1. The Karnak Temple (prices in February: £E 300 and per person)

The Karnak temple is one of the greatest religious themes ever built. It’s located north of the city, about 5 km away. It’s possible to reach it by stopping one of the many tok tok drivers or walking, as we did, to explore other areas of the city.

The heart of the site is represented by the Great Court: a succession of pillars which create an unreal and timeless atmosphere.

The Great Court in Karnak temple

2. The city of Luxor

Return back to the Luxor train station and end the day in the heart of the city: on the central square stands the temple of Luxor, illuminated by the yellow of the lights, and nearby is the souk of the city full of patrons waiting to sell their goods to tourists. Stop at a few kiosks to eat excellent falafel with hummus home made.

Luxor