Valley of the Kings & Hatshepsut Temple — Luxor West Bank

Overview

This half-day tour crosses to Luxor's West Bank, the ancient city of the dead, for its three essential sites in the cooler part of the day. The centrepiece is the Valley of the Kings, the desert valley where pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in tombs cut deep into the rock. You go down into three of them, walking corridors and chambers whose walls still carry crisp painted hieroglyphs, star-covered ceilings and scenes guiding the king through the underworld. From there you visit the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, its three colonnaded terraces built straight against a curtain of golden cliffs and reached by long ramps, a striking design unlike anything else in Egypt. On the plain below stand the Colossi of Memnon, two vast seated statues of Amenhotep III that once fronted a temple now almost entirely gone. Throughout, a licensed Egyptologist reads the tombs and reliefs for you and sets the West Bank in its history, and travel is by air-conditioned vehicle with entrance tickets arranged in advance. It is an efficient, well-shaped morning that captures the most famous monuments on this side of the river without a full day out.

Highlights

• ✦Three painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings
• ✦Hatshepsut's terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari
• ✦The towering Colossi of Memnon
• ✦Star-covered ceilings and afterlife reliefs underground
• ✦Licensed Egyptologist guide
• ✦Air-conditioned West Bank transfers

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1
   Hotel pickup

   Meet your guide and driver at your Luxor hotel and cross to the West Bank while the morning is still cool.

2. 2
   Colossi of Memnon

   Stop at the two giant seated statues of Amenhotep III standing on the plain where his mortuary temple once rose.

3. 3
   Valley of the Kings

   Descend into three royal tombs cut into the hillside, their walls bright with painted hieroglyphs and journeys through the underworld.

4. 4
   Temple of Hatshepsut

   Walk the ramps of the terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari, set dramatically against the cliffs and built for Egypt's famous female pharaoh.

5. 5
   Drop-off

   Return by air-conditioned vehicle to your Luxor hotel around midday.

Meeting point

📍 Hotel pickup included, or meet at the operator's downtown office.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this experience?

5 hours

Can I cancel my booking?

Yes — you can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before it starts.

Where does it start?

Hotel pickup included, or meet at the operator's downtown office.

What's included?

Air-conditioned transfers with hotel pickup and drop-off · Licensed Egyptologist guide · Valley of the Kings ticket (3 tombs) · Hatshepsut Temple entrance ticket · Bottled water

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