Description

5 Days / 4 Nights Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan

 Day 1 Arrival and embarkation / Thebes-East

For your 5 days Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, you will be warmly welcomed by our tour guide after arrival at Luxor Airport and transferred to your 5 star Nile cruise ship and embarkation.

Note: Your travel in Egypt Tour guide, a qualified English-speaking Egyptologist, will accompany you on board the ship during the entire Nile cruise and will also conduct the sightseeing.

After lunch on board, you will visit the massive Giant Mountains with your guide.

Karnak Temple
It is the largest temple complex ever built. It was here that the ancient Egyptians immortalized the Holy Family of Thebes, Amun-Re, his wife Mut and son Chonsu. The complete construction time of the temple took over 2000 years. One of the most important areas of the temple is the large hall of columns with 134 papyrus columns, built by Seti and completed by Ramses II.

You will then visit

The Luxor Temple
In the heart of the city of Luxor, you will find the Luxor Temple, built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Alexander the Great also built a chapel for the ancient Egyptian gods. At that time, the ancient Egyptians celebrated the most important festival in Thebes, the Opetfest, here. In 1989, archaeologists accidentally found an underground chamber with very well-preserved statues, which are now on display at the Luxor Museum. At the Luxor Temple you can see a part of the Sphinx Avenue, which connected the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple at that time.

After sightseeing, the first day in Luxor ends and you will be transferred back to your 5 star Nile cruise ship.

Enjoy your dinner and the first-class service on board the ship and look forward to the rest of the program of the next few days.

Tip of the day: In the evening, you will have the opportunity to experience the fascinating sound and light show at Karnak Temple. ( optional )

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 Day 2 Thebes-West

After a leisurely breakfast on board, you will drive to Thebes West with your guide. The first highlight of the day awaits you

The Valley of the Kings
Let yourself be enchanted by the over 3000-year-old, wonderful murals in the tombs of the pharaohs. So far, 64 tombs have been found in the Valley of the Kings, three of which you can visit. In the Valley of the Kings are the tombs of the kings of the New Kingdom (ca. 1550 to 1069 BC, 18th to 20th dynasty). In 1922, the Englishman Howard Carter discovered the tomb of TutAnkhAmun with the golden treasures.

We leave this unique valley and the magical atmosphere and go to another magical place –

The Hatshepsut Temple
The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut dates back to the 18th dynasty, 1470 BC. She had her impressive terrace temple built by the architect Senenmut. She was always depicted as a man, which can be clearly seen in the very well-preserved statues in the temple. In Christian times, a monastery was built on the temple, which was used until the 11th century. In the 19th century, the monastery ruins were demolished.

Enjoy the view of Luxor and the Nile Valley from the temple’s terraces, then continue with the drive and a stop. You will visit

The Colossi
of Memnon The Colossiof Memnon are two ancient Egyptian colossal statues sitting next to each other, about 18 m. high from the 14th century BC. Both statues represent Amenhotep III and were located at the entrance to his temple.

You will then be escorted back to your ship.

After lunch on board, the ship will depart for Edfu via the lock in the town of Esna.

( In the afternoon there is no program, just enjoy the boat ride from Luxor to Edfu. You’ll have plenty of time to relax on the sundeck. Find your favorite spot on the ship and let the typical Egyptian Nile landscape work its magic on you 🙂

Tip of the day:Today you have the opportunity to enjoy the unique view of the ancient treasures of Luxor during a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over Thebes-West. ( optional )

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 Day 3 Edfu / Kom Ombo

Today you will have a hearty breakfast on board, then a visit to one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt is on the agenda. You will visit

The Edfu Temple
It was built by the Ptolemies for the falcon god Horus Behdeti from 237 to 57 BC. Until 1860 AD, the temple was hidden under the sand and Nile mud, only then was it uncovered by the Frenchman Marriette. The wedding of Horus of Edfu with Hathor of Dendara was celebrated here every year, as well as the feast of Horus’ victory over Seth.

After the Edfu Temple, your dreamlike journey continues and the ship departs for Kom Ombo. In the afternoon you will visit the

The Kom Ombo Temple
It is the only double temple in Egypt where the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus were consecrated. For a long time, more than half of the ruins of the temple were buried by sand. They were not uncovered and restored until 1893. The temple was built in the Greek period from 304 to 31 BC and hundreds of mummified crocodiles have been found around the temple.

Afterwards you will continue with the ship upstream of the Nian until it docks in Aswan.

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 Day 4 Aswan Program

After your breakfast on board, during which you can enjoy the view of the beauty and atmosphere of the city of Aswan with its green islands and red granite rocks, you will take a trip to the surroundings of the city. The first item on the program is a boat trip to the Nile island of Agilika. There you will find the last great sanctuary of the ancient Egyptian religion, the enchanting

Philae Temple
The Philae or Isis Temple stood on Philae Island south of Aswan and after the construction of the high dam, the temple was under water for several months of the year. For this reason, the temple was moved to the neighboring island of Agilika from 1977 to 1980. In 553 AD, the temple served as a church, so large parts of the relief in the temple were destroyed.

Afterwards you will visit the imposing dam, which dams the Nile to Lake Nasser, and whose construction had many positive but also negative effects.

The construction of the high dam
was initiated by President Nasser and lasted from 1960 to 1971, creating one of the largest reservoirs in the world, 500 km long and 32 km wide, at its widest point. The dam is more than 3800 meters long and 111 meters high, 980 meters wide at the bottom and about 40 meters wide at the crown.

Tip of the day:This afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit the beautiful botanical garden on Kitchener Island and a Nubian village and get to know the hospitality of the locals. (optional)

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 Day 5 Disembarkation / Optional excursion to Abu Simbel / Return flight

On this day, your Nile cruise ends and you disembark. Today you will have the unique opportunity to take an unforgettable private excursion to Abu Simbel.

The two temples of Abu Simbel were built by Ramses II in 1260 BC and were under the sand until 1817, when the Italian Belzoni freed the two temples from the sand. The Ramses Temple reaches 60 m directly into the rock and has a height of 30 m. The temple of Nefertari is 21 m deep and 12 m high. After the construction of the dam, both temples were moved about 62 m higher between 1964 and 1968 to protect them from flooding by the reservoir.

The excursion to Abu Simbel starts early in the morning. You will travel through the desert in a private vehicle and your private English-speaking guide and experience the sunrise during the outward journey – on the way back from Abu Simbel you will be able to admire the mirage.

You will then be transferred to Aswan Airport.

Route Summary

Luxor → Esna → Edfu → Kom Ombo → Aswan → (Optional Abu Simbel)