Luxor East & West Banks Full-Day Tour: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Karnak & Luxor Temples

The Valley of the Kings

Hidden in a dry valley beneath the pyramid-shaped peak of al-Qurn, the Valley of the Kings served as the burial ground of Egypt's New Kingdom pharaohs for about 500 years. More than 60 tombs have been found here, cut deep into the rock and decorated with vivid scenes from the books of the afterlife.

The standard ticket gives access to three open tombs, which rotate to protect the paintings; our guide advises you which ones are most impressive on the day. Special tombs such as Tutankhamun's or Seti I's need an extra ticket. A Valley of the Kings tour usually takes around two hours, and it is cooler in the early morning, which is why we start here.

The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari

Queen Hatshepsut, one of the few women to rule Egypt as pharaoh, built her mortuary temple in the 15th century BC against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Designed by her architect Senenmut, its three broad terraces with colonnades rise toward the mountain in perfect harmony with the landscape.

On the walls you find reliefs of her famous trading expedition to the land of Punt, with incense trees and exotic animals, plus chapels to Hathor and Anubis with preserved colours. The Hatshepsut Temple visit lasts about 45 minutes. There is little shade on the ramps, so bring a hat and water.

The Colossi of Memnon

On the road back toward the Nile stand two seated stone giants about 18 metres tall. They represent Amenhotep III and once guarded the entrance to his mortuary temple, the largest on the West Bank, of which little else remains above ground today.

After an earthquake in 27 BC one statue was said to sing at dawn, and Greek and Roman travellers came to hear it, naming it after the hero Memnon; the sound stopped after later repairs. It is a short photo stop of about 15 minutes, but seeing the Colossi of Memnon up close gives a real sense of the scale of ancient Thebes.

Karnak Temple

After lunch on the East Bank you enter Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, extended by pharaohs for some 2,000 years. It was dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun-Ra, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. The highlight is the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 massive columns carved with hieroglyphs form a stone forest.

You also see the obelisk of Hatshepsut, the tallest ancient obelisk still standing in Egypt, and the sacred lake where priests purified themselves. A Karnak Temple tour with an Egyptologist takes about 1.5 hours. It is one of the reasons many travellers call Luxor the world's greatest open-air museum.

Luxor Temple

The day ends at Luxor Temple in the heart of the modern city. Built mainly by Amenhotep III and enlarged by Ramesses II, it was the stage of the yearly Opet festival, when the god's statue was carried from Karnak. Colossal statues of Ramesses II and a single obelisk guard the entrance; its twin has stood in Paris since the 1830s.

From the temple the restored Avenue of Sphinxes stretches about 2.7 kilometres toward Karnak, and a mosque built on top of the ancient court shows how history is layered here. The best time to visit Luxor Temple is late afternoon, when the sandstone glows and the lights begin to come on.