10 Things to See in Luxor, Egypt

Luxor – so many ancient attractions in this small city. I could have stayed here for some more days and still feel like I haven’t seen everything. The capital of the most powerful New kingdom – the time of the most powerful pharaohs. The living east bank with its temples looking over the tombs on the west bank from across the Nile. I could imagine the pharaohs moving here and there, every time I was on the Nile, crossing it. Luxor was my favorite part of the trip.

We took a day train from Aswan to Luxor. (More info on trains and other general info and tips in the general guide –Egypt Travel Blog and Guide)

Stay – Villa Diletta. We wanted to stay on the west bank of the Nile, away from the crowd and commotion of the east bank. Such a cute, beautiful and tastefully decorated house! We had the whole of the 1^st floor with a terrace to ourselves for such a cheap price.

Guide – The owner, Mohammed of Villa Diletta booked all our tours for us which included pickup, drop and guide. Our guide was a great guy.

Transportation in Luxor – Other than sites, if you want to go out for food or shopping, get a taxi or horse cart. Bargain well! To move between banks, take the public ferry (the huge one) from the National Ferry Boat for just 1 Egyptian Pound per person. They ply 24 hours. Avoid the private ferry unless you want to take a long relaxing sail on the Nile.

Let’s begin!

1) Valley of the Kings

Pyramids as tombs gave way to digging deep tunnels into limestone cliffs in the New Kingdom because Pharaohs didn’t want to advertise the tombs thereby attracting tomb robbers. The Meretseger’s hill overlooking the Valley of the Kings has a pyramidal shape when viewed from the entrance to the Valley of the Kings and therefore some Egyptologists believe it may have been the reason for choosing the location as a royal necropolis. Even though eventually most of these tombs were robbed too, they remained intact for more time than the pyramids. Out of the 63 tombs that have been discovered so far, around 8-10 remain opened at a time to visitors and with 1 ticket, you can visit any 3 of these tombs. You can also buy a photography ticket for these 3 tombs. Most visitors confine themselves to these tombs. We visited the tombs of Ramesses IV, Merenptah and Ramesses IX.

Tomb of Ramesses IV

Tomb of Merenptah

Tomb of Ramesses IX

Tutankhamun’s tomb

Some go 1 step ahead and visit Tutankhamun’s tomb too because of the popularity (there’s a separate ticket for Tutankhamun’s tomb). We visited it too just because it is the only tomb in the valley that’s open to the public with the mummy still inside (because it’s too fragile to be transported to the museum).

Tomb of Seti I – The costliest and best tomb in the Valley

But my heart was won at the costliest (1000 Egyptian Pounds), finest and least visited tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of Seti I. Yes, the other tombs are pretty, but nothing can compare to the extensive detailed high relief inscriptions (carving out the entire background thus leaving the subject behind as opposed to low relief in which only the subject is carved out) and art on the walls on this tomb. My mind was just blown away and for days to come, I could only think of this tomb. No pictures on the internet can do justice to the intricate and difficult carving in this tomb. Everything was so crisp and clear. I was in tears. Since photography is prohibited in this tomb, I wanted to visit it one more time and I did, paying the hefty price again, on our last day in Luxor. The first time there was another couple inside the tomb with us. This time, it was just me. In fact, the guards had closed the tomb because it was almost end of the day and they gave me the key to open the tomb with my own hands. It is not always open to public, so if you get a chance, do not miss it!

2) Valley of the Queens

This has the tombs of the queens (who weren’t rulers. For e.g., Hatshepsut’s tomb is in the Valley of the Kings, not here) and princes and princesses after Ramesses I. You can visit 3 tombs with the main ticket but the attraction here is Nefertari’s tomb (favorite wife of Ramesses II) for which you have to pay 1000 Egyptian Pounds.

Oh My God, the colors looked like they had been painted on yesterday!! Such a well preserved tomb (No, restoration work does not mean adding new paint on top of the old ones. It just means making a suitable environment for the art to show and last for years to come). If Seti I won my heart for the details, Nefertari’s tomb won my heart for the rich colours and beautiful paintings of the queen with different gods. Just like the tomb of Seti I, photography is prohibited and it is not always open to public, so if you get a chance, do not miss it because no pictures on the internet can do justice to the vibrant colours and art!

3) Medinat Habu

It is the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. The deep engravings (supposedly to prevent erasure like in the case of Hatshepsut) and the remaining colours of the past took me back to the age of the pharaohs. I could imagine how colorful the temple would have looked like during its glory days.

4) Karnak Temple

A huge temple complex with precincts dedicated to the Gods Amun-Ra, Mut and Montu. It was built in the middle kingdom and has been added on to by many Pharaohs like Thutmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Seti I and Ramesses II.

The dress is from Roving Mode. You can buy it here.

5) Luxor Temple

Luxor temple is neither dedicated to a cult god nor is it a mortuary temple. It is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship and it may have been where many of the pharaohs were crowned in reality or conceptually. It has been added on to by Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II.

6) Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh who ruled Egypt because the rightful ruler Thutmosis III was too young when his father died. And it was not common for a female to rule Egypt. As his step mother, she took the charge and took Egypt to great prosperity. Due to this, it is believed that Thutmosis III was not happy with her taking away the throne and defaced many of her reliefs in this temple.

Hatshepsut’s name and images have been chipped off throughout the temple

7) Ramesseum

It is the Mortuary temple of Ramesses II and is in ruins due to its location on the very edge of the Nile floodplain. But a beautiful temple nevertheless. The huge colossal statue of Ramesses II can be seen on the ground. The size and proportions blew my mind.

The fallen statue of Ramesses

Nefertari, Ramesses’ wife – Drawn by my mother 🙂

8) Tombs of the Nobles

This has the tombs of important people during the pharaoh’s rule like the high priests, mayors, viziers and governors. We visited the tombs of Sennefer (grapes on the ceiling), Rekhmire, Userhat, Khaemhat and Ramose. The tomb of Ramose was amazing because it showed how the artists used to create the reliefs on the wall. There were half finished pieces showing the details before paint was applied.

9) Deir el-Medina

It is the remains of the village of the homes to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It is the only area where people lived on the “mortuary” west bank so as to preserve secrecy of the work carried out in the tombs. It was great to imagine how life would have been inside those enclosures. There were also the tombs of the workers themselves nearby. Much smaller and almost crammed, it just shows that everyone wanted a good after life and did whatever they could within their limits to ensure it. It was also in this village that we have the mention of the first strike in recorded history.

10) Luxor museum

Has beautiful sculptures that were found in Luxor. Also has the mummy of Ahmose I, the founder of the powerful New Kingdom.

11) Mummification Museum – Can be skipped

There was nothing extraordinary to see here. I was at least hoping for a video session but that room was closed.

We also did a day trip to Abydos and Dendara from Luxor. You can read about it here. We stayed in Luxor for 4 days before returning to Cairo for our flight back home.