1^st Day:

We will pick you up directly from the entrance door of your hotel in Hurghada; you will recognize our driver by a sign with your name in his hand.

During our way to our first stop, Luxor, we will drive along the River Nile and pass by various Upper-Egyptian towns and villages so, you can already gain some impressions about the Egyptian landscape and way of life; of course we will make stops whenever you need.

When we reach the Luxor West Bank we will first of all make a short stop en route to have a look at the 3,400 years old Colossi of Memnon, the gigantic statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III who were once standing guard in front of his no longer existing memorial temple complex that had been even larger than the Temple of Karnak.

After this stop we will show you the Valley of the Kings where during a period of 500 years the ancient Egyptians buried their kings and powerful nobles and where the mummies of some of the most famous and glamorous persons of the Pharaonic time were found. You can descend to the tombs of great Egyptian rulers and discover the well preserved colorful paintings and hieroglyphic stories on the walls.

Now we are ready for another highlight – the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut who was one of the most fascinating rulers of ancient Egypt, a female Pharaoh who proved her ability to successfully reign over an empire and finally created for herself an architectonically extraordinary mortuary temple with colonnaded terraces, a hypostyle hall, and lots of statues, paintings, and reliefs.

After this you will have lunch in a local restaurant before we will take you to Aswan. In Aswan you will have free time for the rest of the day. You can spend the time in your hotel and relax or discover the city on your own or book one of our additional trips:

1. Visit of the famous Temple of Philae

or

2. Felucca Sail to the beautiful Botanical Gardens on Kitchener’s Island:

or

3. Visit of Elephantine Island with several antique remains, among them the famous Nilometer

or

4. Visit of the Aswan High Dam, a masterpiece of modern engineering and architecture

or

5. Visit of the ancient granite quarries where you can see the famous Unfinished Obelisk

You will have dinner in your hotel.

2^nd Day:

In the early morning you will leave your hotel in Aswan and we will take you to the Twin Temples of Abu Simbel. Actually you are very lucky that you can still see this amazing monument! When in the 1960s the Aswan High Dam project threatened its existence, an international team took five years to cut it into pieces, move it away from its original location and rebuild it on a higher position in order to save it from the floods of the newly created Lake Nasser reservoir. Nowadays the temples are located directly on the western bank of the lake which creates an even nicer flair.

The area of Abu Simbel, by the way a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains two massive rock temples: the Great Temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II, maybe the greatest of all ancient Egyptian kings, and the Small Temple, dedicated to Ramesses’ queen, Nefertari, and the goddess Hathor. The twin temples date back to Ramesses’ reign in the 13^th century BC and were originally carved out of the mountainside. The huge and impressive temple area, built up in the border region between Egypt and the tributary nation of Nubia, was not only created for religious reasons or as an architectonic challenge, but also as a reminder to the smaller neighbor that it should never forget Egypt’s and its king’s strength and greatness. And by the way it demonstrates clearly the pharaoh’s conviction to be godlike.

The Great Temple truly deserves its name: It was built up to a height of 30 meters, and its gate is guarded by four enthroned colossal statues of Ramesses II carved out of the rock – they are more than 20 meters high, and even their lips are one meter long…  In an early earthquake one of the giants unfortunately lost its head and a part of its torso, but it is nevertheless a more than impressive sight. Discover the great façade, but also the wonderful inner part of the temple, which was dug into the rock on a length of more than sixty meters – you will find beautifully decorated halls with pillars, colored reliefs, and rock cut figures.

On the back wall of the sanctuary you can see a group of four sculptures: the deified Ramesses II consorted by the ancient deities Ra-Horakhty, Amun Ra, and Ptah. This corner features a very special phenomenon: only twice per year the rays of the sun can penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate these sculptures – except for the god Ptah, who according to the mythology was connected with the underworld and therefore has to eternally remain in the darkness.

The plan of Queen Nefertari’s Hathor Temple is a simplified version of that of the Great Temple. Around the portal you can see sculptures of the royal family: four statues showing Ramesses II and two showing his wife Nefertari, accompanied by small images of their children. Please be aware that you see something unique in ancient Egyptian art – the statues of the king and the queen are both ten meters high, whereas normally the ‘Great Royal Wife’ will never reach up higher than to her husband’s knees. This reflects the great role Nefertari played in the heart and the life of her king. Visit this beautiful sanctuary with its gorgeous pillars, images, and reliefs.

After this visit we will bring you back to Luxor where you will interrupt the long journey for a visit; you will have lunch in a local restaurant en route.

In the afternoon you will visit the Temple of Karnak on Luxor’s East Bank, for sure one of the most extraordinary temples all over the world as after thousands of years it is still in an amazingly good state – so with a bit of imagination you will find yourself easily back in the past of this impressive sacral monument. You will have a lot of time to stroll around, explore the entrance area where you get an impression of how the immense pylon was built, walk through the avenue of ram-headed criosphinges, discover the hypostyle hall with its more than one hundred huge well preserved pillars, admire the hieroglyphs and paintings, see the holy lake and have a look at the various chapels, temples and statues. And if you like, approach the holy scarab close to the lake and surround it three times clockwise – according to the legend, offspring will follow soon…!

In the evening we will bring you back to your hotel in Hurghada.

We offer this trip daily.

Included:

• Transfers from/to your hotel and between the sights in high-class vehicles with A/C
• Guided tours in your language
• Entrance fees for the above mentioned sights
• Lunch in different local restaurants on both days
• One night hotel accommodation in Aswan (3, 4 or 5* stars according to your wish!)
• Dinner on the 1^st day and breakfast on the 2^nd day in your hotel
• Mineral water and soft drinks

Not included:

• Gratuity (tips) for drivers and tour guides
• Personal items, meals, drinks or services not mentioned
• International and domestic flights
• Visa

Additional activities we offer you upon request against supplement:

• Felucca Sail to the beautiful Botanical Gardens on Kitchener’s Island
• Visit of Philae Temple in Aswan
• Visit of Elephantine Island in Aswan
• Visit of the Aswan High Dam
• Visit of the ancient granite quarries and the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan