Abu Simbel Day Trip from Aswan by Road with a Private Guide

Your guide meets you at your Aswan hotel at 4:30 AM, and you set off in a private air-conditioned vehicle for the three-hour drive to Abu Simbel. The early hour is the whole point. Arriving in the cool of the morning, before the heat and the bulk of the crowds, is a good way to see a site of this scale.

The road leaves the Nile valley behind almost immediately and runs south across the open Western Desert, with Lake Nasser somewhere out of sight to the east. For the first part of the drive it is dark, and on a clear night the stars over the desert are remarkable. Then the light comes up over a flat, empty landscape of gravel plains and low dark hills, and you understand how isolated Abu Simbel has always been.

Many travelers sleep for part of the way, so bring a light jacket or scarf, since desert mornings and car air-conditioning can both feel cool. Ask your hotel for an early packed breakfast the night before, and carry water, snacks, a hat and sunscreen for later. Bring cash for the site entry, which is not included, and for tips.

Ramesses II ordered this temple cut into the cliff in the 13th century BC, at the southern edge of his empire, and it was designed to impress anyone traveling up the Nile from Nubia. Four colossal seated statues of the king, each around 20 meters tall, flank the entrance. One has lost its upper half to an ancient earthquake, and its head and torso still lie on the ground at its feet. Between the giant legs stand smaller figures of the queen, the king's mother, and his children.

Inside, the temple runs deep into the rock. The first hall is lined with towering statues of Ramesses in the form of Osiris, and the walls carry carved scenes of battle, religious ritual, and royal life, including his campaign against the Hittites at Kadesh. Smaller chambers lead off the main axis, once used to store offerings and temple equipment.

At the far end lies the sanctuary, where statues of Ramesses II sit beside three gods. The temple was aligned so that twice a year the rising sun shines straight down the length of the building onto these figures, on dates believed to correspond to the king's birthday and coronation. Your Egyptologist will show you how precisely the builders worked this out.

The temples you are standing in are not where Ramesses built them. In the 1960s, the waters rising behind the new Aswan High Dam threatened to drown them, and the Egyptian government and UNESCO launched one of the best-known rescues in the history of archaeology. Both temples were cut into thousands of carefully numbered blocks, lifted to higher ground above the lake and reassembled inside artificial hills built to recreate the original cliff. Your guide will explain how the engineers kept the solar alignment intact, and where to spot the joins if you look closely.

A short walk along the lakeshore brings you to the smaller Temple of Hathor, which Ramesses dedicated to the goddess and to his queen Nefertari. Its facade carries six standing statues, four of the king and two of the queen, and Nefertari is shown at the same height as her husband. It is often cited as one of only two temples in ancient Egypt where a queen was given that honor, a mark of how highly Ramesses regarded her.

The interior is smaller and more intimate than its neighbor, with graceful reliefs of the queen making offerings to the gods. Allow yourself a few minutes afterward simply to look out over Lake Nasser.

After approximately two hours at the temples, you meet your driver and head back north across the desert. The return journey takes about three hours, and you arrive at your Aswan hotel around 12:30 PM.

The drive back is a good time to talk through what you have seen. Ask your guide about Ramesses II himself, one of the longest-reigning pharaohs in Egyptian history, or about the other Nubian temples that were rescued and relocated during the same campaign. If you would rather sleep, nobody will mind; it has been a long morning since 4:30 AM.

In daylight, the desert looks very different from how it looked on the way down. Watch for mirages shimmering on the road ahead as the ground heats up, and for the moment the green of the Nile valley reappears near Aswan.

Arriving around midday leaves your afternoon open. Many travelers rest through the hottest hours, then head out in the late afternoon for a felucca sail, a visit to a Nubian village or a quiet drink overlooking the river. Drink plenty of water once you are back, since the early start and the desert heat add up.