Map of Ancient Egypt: Every Great Temple, Tomb & Pyramid

Quick answer: Ancient Egypt was a river civilisation, so its monuments read like beads on a string down the Nile. Follow them north to south and you travel roughly forward through three thousand years of history.

Around Cairo — where it began

The Giza Plateau holds the three great pyramids and the Sphinx; just south, Saqqara has Djoser's Step Pyramid, the oldest stone monument of its kind, and the older capital of Memphis nearby. This cluster is the natural first stop. See Cairo and Giza.

Middle Egypt — Abydos & Dendera

Between Cairo and Luxor, two of the best-preserved temples in the country reward the detour: Abydos, sacred to Osiris and home to the famous king-list, and the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, with its astonishing painted ceiling.

Luxor — the open-air museum

On the east bank, Karnak and Luxor Temple; on the west, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Nowhere else concentrates so much in one place. Browse Luxor.

The southern temples — Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae

South of Luxor the river passes Edfu (the best-preserved temple in Egypt), the riverside double temple of Kom Ombo, and, at Aswan, the island temple of Philae. See Aswan.

Abu Simbel — the grand finale

Near the Sudanese border, Ramesses II's rock-cut temples were famously moved stone by stone to escape the rising lake. Their scale is hard to believe until you stand beneath them.

Seeing them in order — and understanding how far apart they really are — is far easier on a map than a list.

🗺️ Map the ancient sites: Open the interactive map of Egypt to see every temple and tomb in its real place.