Luxor
Ramses II called his massive memorial ‘the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra’; classical visitors called it the tomb of Ozymandias; and Jean…
Must-see attractions in Egypt
Southern Nile Valley
At Gebel Silsila, the Nile narrows considerably to pass between steep sandstone cliffs, cluttered with ancient rock stelae and graffiti. The good quality…
Southern Nile Valley
Construction of the Temple of Khnum, the ram-headed creator god who fashioned humankind on his potter’s wheel, was begun by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–45…
Luxor
One of the most popular tombs in the valley, KV 11 is also one of the most interesting and best preserved. Originally started by Sethnakht (1186–1184 BC),…
Bahariya Oasis
The change in the desert floor from beige to black, 50km south of Bawiti, signals the beginning of the Black Desert. Formed by the erosion of the…
Southern Nile Valley
Kalabsha Temple is an impressive Ptolemaic and Roman structure, not unlike nearby Philae in its layout. The early 19th-century Swiss traveller Burckhardt …
Luxor
This site takes its name from a Ptolemaic temple, later converted to a Coptic monastery – the Monastery of the Town – but the real attraction is the…
Luxor
Nefertari's tomb is hailed as one of the finest in the Theban necropolis – and all of Egypt for that matter. Nefertari was one of five wives of Ramses II,…
Giza
Khafre, the second pyramid, seems larger than that of Khafre's father, Khufu. At just 136m high, it’s not, but it stands on higher ground and its peak is…
Western Desert
The Gilf Kebir is a spectacular sandstone plateau 150km north of Gebel Uweinat, rising 300m above the desert floor. The setting feels as remote as a place…
Giza
At 62m (originally 66.5m), this pyramid is the smallest of the trio, only about one-tenth the bulk of the Great Pyramid. The pharaoh Menkaure died before…
Northern Nile Valley
Directly behind the Temple of Seti I, the Osireion is a weird and wonderful structure, unique in Egypt and still baffling for Egyptologists. The entire…
Western Desert
One of the world’s largest dune fields, the Great Sand Sea straddles Egypt and Libya, stretching more than 800km from its northern edge near the…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
About 10km south of Saqqara lies this impressive 3.5km-long field of 4th- and 12th-dynasty pyramids. Although there were originally 11 pyramids here, only…
Luxor
At the southern end of the Theban hillside, the Valley of the Queens contains at least 75 tombs that belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties as…
Mediterranean Coast
Possibly the most beautiful piece of coastline in the area, Cleopatra’s Beach sits about a 14km drive north-west of Marsa Matruh around the bay’s thin…
Ras Mohammed National Park
This two-for-one special off the southern tip of Ras Mohammed is among the most famous dives in the Red Sea and rated one of the top five dives in the…
Marsa Alam
North of Marsa Alam, Elphinstone has steep reef walls covered with soft corals and is washed by strong currents that make it ideal for spotting sharks –…
Luxor
Hidden in the hills between high limestone cliffs, and reached only via a steep staircase that crosses an even steeper ravine, this tomb demonstrates the…
Sinai
The alternative path to Mt Sinai's summit comprises the taxing 3750 Steps of Repentance, which begin outside the southeastern corner of St Catherine's…
Siwa Oasis
A favourite Siwa excursion is the freshwater lake at Bir Wahed, 15km away on the edge of the Great Sand Sea. Once over the top of a dune, you come to a…
Western Desert
The mountain Gebel Uweinat sits on the border of Egypt, Sudan and Libya. At 1934m, it is the highest point in Egypt. As it name in Arabic implies, there…
Siwa Oasis
Sixty kilometres west of Siwa Town, this stunning salt lake on the edge of the Great Sand Sea is ringed by palm trees. It’s a popular stopover for…
Sinai
Above the Well of Moses in St Catherine's Monastery is the superb Monastery Museum, which has been magnificently restored. It has displays (labelled in…
Aswan
The high cliffs opposite Aswan, just north of Kitchener’s Island, are honeycombed with the tombs of the governors, the Keepers of the Gate of the South,…
Aswan
Elephantine Island's southern end comprises the site of ancient Abu. Its name meant both 'elephant' and 'ivory' in ancient Egyptian, a reminder of the…
Northern Nile Valley
Deir Al Muharraq, an hour’s drive northwest of Asyut, is a place of pilgrimage, refuge and vows, where the strength of Coptic traditions can be…
Alexandria
Discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground, these catacombs make up the largest-known Roman burial site in Egypt and one…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
To the southwest of Zoser’s funerary complex is the Pyramid of Unas, last pharaoh of the 5th dynasty (2375–2345 BC). Built only 300 years after the…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
Just outside the village of San Al Hagar, 70km northeast of Zagazig, are the partly excavated ruins of Tanis, a city known as Djanet to the ancient…
Carter’s House & the Replica Tomb of Tutankhamun
Luxor
The domed mud-brick house where Howard Carter lived during his search for Tutankhamun’s tomb is surrounded by a garden on what is otherwise a barren slope…
Cairo
Sprawling over a limestone spur on the city's eastern edge, the Citadel, started by Saladin in 1176 as a fortification against the Crusaders, was home to…
Cairo
The Northern Cemetery is the more interesting half of a vast necropolis known popularly as the City of the Dead. The titillating name refers to the fact…
Pompey’s Pillar & the Temple of Serapeum
Alexandria
A massive 30m column looms over the debris of the glorious ancient settlement of Rhakotis, the original township from which Alexandria grew. Known as…
Cairo
With its fully restored paving stones and elaborate mashrabiyya (wooden lattice screens), Darb Al Asfar alley conjures up the Middle Ages – if the Middle…
Cairo Outskirts & the Nile Delta
South Saqqara is home to several Old Kingdom tombs, pyramids and mounds of rubble, interesting to the more dedicated pyramid fans.
Cairo
The rounded Bab Al Futah with its delicate carved stone arch and the square-towered Bab An Nasr were built in 1087 as the two main northern entrances to…
Cairo
Baron Empain lived in a fantastical and highly eccentric Hindu temple–inspired mansion, with the facade bedecked with elephants and serpents…
Cairo
One of the most sacred Islamic sites in Egypt, this mosque is the reputed burial place of the head of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Most of…
Sinai
The starkly beautiful Ras Abu Gallum Protectorate covers 400 sq km of coastline between Dahab and Nuweiba, mixing coastal mountains, narrow valleys, sand…
