Our Experience in Luxor
Present-day Luxor was the site of the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom. It later grew into a flourishing city that was the heart for wisdom, art, religion and politics
Today, Luxor is a must see, awe-inspiring open-air museum known famously for its oldest and most ancient tombs and temples that dot the east and west bank of the Nile River. The hieroglyph-lined Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings tombs and Luxor Temples, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut are just a few.
The Nile River divides Luxor into two parts: the East Bank and the West Bank.
The East Bank is the location of Luxor town where most Egyptians live and work and many of the hotels and restaurants are located. There are however several notable sites to visit on this side of the river, namely the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, two of the most spectacular and must-see sites to visit in Egypt.
East Bank
Karnak Temple
No trip to Egypt is complete without a visit to The Karnak Temple; the largest temple in the world covering sixty-one acres. It was built as a cult temple and was dedicated to the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.
When you first enter, you pass through a wide passageway, the first pylon, which serves as the main entrance and is lined with the heads of 20 rams on each side and sphinxes meant to protect the temple.
Then, you pass into the Great Court, famous for its massive, polished columns. The court measures 100 metres by 80 metres in size with ten columns that reach up 21 metres.
Proceed to the Great Hypostyle Hall which is truly amazing and one of our favorites. Measuring some 103 metres by 52 metres it features 134 enormous stone columns. Twelve of the columns stand 22.4 metres high and measure 3.5 metres in diameter.
The Sacred Lake, the largest of its kind is 122 metres by 77 metres and used by priests for purification and other rituals.
There remains just one obelisk at Karnak which stands at the front of the Fourth Pylon. The obelisk is a truly sensational sight reaching up to the sky some 21.7 meters (71 feet) and weighs approximately 143 tons.
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple differs from Karnak Temple, whose construction occurred over the life span of about 30 pharaohs, and its purpose was that of a principal religious center of the god Amun-Re. Luxor Temple was where many of the kings of ancient Egypt were crowned.
Avenue of Sphinxes
The Avenue of Sphinxes is a 3,400-year-old walkway that connects Karnak and Luxor temple complex and is lined with some 1,350 human-headed sphinxes with the bodies of lions. You can walk The Avenue of Sphinxes entire 2.7 km stretch although the best-preserved sphinxes are at the Karnak end of the walkway. Some of the sphinxes have been lost to time or damaged, but almost every pedestal remains.
West Bank
The West Bank is where the ancient Egyptians buried the dead, so it is filled with tombs and mortuary temples, including the famous Valley of the Kings.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Located 27 kms from Luxor nestled at the foot of the cliffs on the west bank is the most famous site attributed to Hatshepsut, her funerary temple. The Hatshepsut Temple, which was built on such a grand scale makes it truly stunning and a masterpiece of ancient architecture. The temple’s walls are covered with magnificently painted reliefs. It’s unique design stands out from other ancient Egyptian temples, making it one of the most impressive monuments of ancient Egypt and a must see while in the Luxor area.
Interestingly Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh who took on traditional male roles, and who had herself represented pictorially as a male.
The entrance fee at the time of writing (Sept 2023) was EGP140 so it’s negligible for such an impressive site. Its open daily from 6 am to 5 pm.
Valley of the Kings
The valley of the Kings sits on the west bank of the River Nile approximately a 45 minute drive from Luxor and it contains at least 63 tombs, (so far discovered), with archeologists are still unearthing more.
We were told that the ancient Egyptians selected this site as it sits beneath the peak, a natural pyramid mountain dominating the landscape.
High priests buried the pharaohs with all their greatest treasures, sadly, little remained for today’s archeologists to discover. Unfortunately, this is the result of grave robbers who cleared out most of the Valley of the Kings’ tombs since ancient times.
Please Note:
Your entrance ticket to the Valley of Kings 260 EGP per person will allow you to visit three out of the eight tombs open to the public. If you want to see more than three tombs, you’ll need to purchase additional tickets as there are guards stationed at the entrance to all of the tombs who will punch your ticket.
The list of open tombs at the time of writing is below:
KV1 – Ramesses VII
KV6 – Ramesses IX
KV8 – Merenptah
KV11 – Ramesses III
KV14 – Tausert-Setnakht
KV15 – Seti II
KV16 – Ramesses I
KV47 – Siptah
The following are the tombs not included on the standard ticket and an extra ticket is required. The price for them is as follows:
KV9 – Ramesses V & VI – 100 EGP
KV17 – Seti I – 1,000 EGP
KV62 – Tutankhamun – 300 EGP
If you’re interested in visiting these special tombs, of the three, we have heard positive reviews and recommendations for Seti I and Tutankhamun. Our schedule didn’t allow for an extended stay at the Valley of Kings to accommodate these, and when we visited in early September the temperature reached over 45°C, so after the three original tombs, we decided we needed to get into an air-conditioned location!
Of the choices that are part of the general ticket, here are our three recommendations:
First Choice:
Ramesses IX, designated as archeological site KV6. Ramesses IX is one of the most popular tombs to visit in the Valley of the Kings, primarily due to the magnificently decorated burial chamber at the end of the tunnel. To get there you descend down a long, elaborately decorated passageway to the tomb.
Second Choice:
The second tomb worth visiting is that of Ramesses III, designated as KV11. It’s extremely massive, and features a steep staircase covered in detailed reliefs. Of special note are the ceilings which are marvellous and so well preserved. Many consider the tomb to be one of the best-preserved tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Third Choice:
The final tomb you should consider on the general ticket is that of Merenphtah, with the designation KV8. His burial site is remarkably immense and is the second largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Merenptah’s tomb features a steep staircase and a long, 160-meter passageway.
Travel Tip: The list of tombs above was accurate as of September 2023. However, site officials periodically swap out one popular tomb for another so please check before visiting there.
The opening hours of the Valley of the Kings are 6 am to 4 pm in the winter, and 6 am to 5 pm in summer. If you are going to visit in the summer, we highly recommend getting there early. Yes, 6 am is early but due to the extreme heat later in the morning, it’s definitely worth getting up early.
Is it Safe to Visit Luxor?
Many people are curious if Luxor is safe to visit and we can say that we felt very safe, however, we do always take the necessary precautions when travelling to new locations. For more information on safety in Egypt please read our posting in Cairo about safety.
Best Time to Visit Luxor?
Luxor gets fairly hot and from May to September the temperatures reach over 40° C. However, the best time to visit is between October to April to experience smaller crowds and more affordable hotel rates along with kinder weather.
How many days do you need to visit Luxor?
The length of time you spend in Luxor is dependent of how many temples and sites you want to explore and the pace you want to set. Furthermore, its dependent on your interests, you could easily spend 3 to 5 days.
Breaking it down by some of the major sites you’ll need about 3 – 4 hours to explore Karnak Temple as it’s a massive site. For Luxor Temple you’ll need about a 1 to 1 1/2 hours (again depending on what you want to see). With Temple of Queen Hatshepsut you’ll need approx. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
At the Valley of the Kings, plan for two hours, with a visit to three tombs. If you add on the three additional tombs (totally six tombs), you should plan to double the time you plan on spending there. Again, all of this depends on what you want to see, how much you want to read and absorb and what type of photography and videoing you’re interested in. The other factor is the travel time you need between these various sites.
Getting to and Around Luxor
Luxor is not the type of place you can navigate on foot. You’ll need a car rental, or a car/driver or at least a taxi to get to some of the sites. One thing to keep in mind is that taxis in Luxor are not metered, so you should agree on a price before the taxi starts moving to avoid uncomfortable situations.
Another avenue for many people is to sign up for a tour and let the tour company navigate how to get you around to the sites.