Luxor Day Tour of the West and East Banks with Lunch

After breakfast at your hotel, your representative collects you and takes you across the river to the West Bank. Your first stop is the Valley of the Kings, a dry limestone wadi beneath the pyramid-shaped peak of el-Qurn, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried for roughly five centuries.

More than sixty tombs have been found here. Kings including Thutmose I, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, Merneptah, Ramesses VI, and Tutankhamun were laid to rest in long corridors cut deep into the rock, their walls painted with texts guiding the king through the underworld: the sun's nightly journey, the judgment of the dead, and the gods who would protect him. The colors, especially the blues, yellows, and reds, are startlingly fresh.

Your general entry ticket covers a set number of tombs, which rotate to limit wear, and a few, such as Tutankhamun's, need a separate ticket. Your representative will help you choose the best ones open on the day. Inside, the air can be warm and still, and some corridors slope steeply, so take your time. Toward the visitor center you can see a model of the valley that helps explain the layout.

From the valley, the road winds around the hills to Deir el-Bahari, where the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut rises in three broad terraces against a sheer amphitheater of cliffs. Its ancient name, Djeser-Djeseru, means Holy of Holies, and its clean horizontal lines look almost modern.

Hatshepsut ruled for about twenty years in the Eighteenth Dynasty, first as regent for the young Thutmose III and then as king in her own right, often shown in the reliefs wearing the false beard of a pharaoh. After her death many of her images were chiseled away, and you can still see the damage. Look on the middle terrace for the famous reliefs of her trading expedition to the land of Punt, with ships, incense trees, and exotic animals, and for the scenes claiming her divine birth from the god Amun. Chapels to Hathor and Anubis flank the terraces, with columns topped by the cow-eared face of Hathor.

There is little shade on the long approach ramp, so this is the stop for a hat and water. A small electric train usually runs from the parking area to the temple forecourt.

A short drive across the fields brings you to the Colossi of Memnon, two seated statues of Amenhotep III that rise about 18 meters above the farmland. They once flanked the entrance to his mortuary temple, which was among the largest on the West Bank before floods, earthquakes, and stone robbers reduced it to foundations.

The statues are carved from quartzite, and the smaller figures beside the king's legs represent his wife, Queen Tiye, and his mother. Their name comes from the Greeks, who linked them with Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War. After an earthquake cracked one statue in antiquity, it began to emit a sound at dawn, probably as the stone warmed and dried, and Roman tourists traveled here to hear it sing. Later repairs ended the phenomenon.

Behind the colossi, archaeologists have spent years excavating the temple site and re-erecting fallen statues, and you can often see their work from the roadside. This is a quick stop, ideal for photographs, and your representative will share the legends that grew around the statues over the centuries.

With the West Bank complete, you stop for a sit-down lunch at a local restaurant before crossing to the East Bank. It is a well-earned break after a morning of tombs, ramps, and sun, and a chance to cool off before the second half of the day.

Expect a classic Egyptian table: fresh bread, tahini, baba ghanoush, salads, and pickles to start, followed by dishes such as grilled chicken or kofta, stewed vegetables, and rice. Vegetarian travelers usually eat well in Egypt, where many staples, from lentil soup to okra stew, are naturally meat-free. Tell us about dietary needs or allergies when you book so the restaurant can be informed.

Use the time to drink plenty of water and reapply sunscreen. Extra drinks beyond what comes with the meal are not included, so carry a little cash. Your representative can answer questions about what you saw in the morning and explain how the East Bank temples connect to the West Bank tombs, since the same kings often built on both sides of the river.

In the afternoon you cross to the East Bank for Karnak, one of the largest religious complexes ever built in the ancient world. Pharaohs added to it for well over a thousand years, so it reads less like a single temple than a city of sanctuaries, pylons, obelisks, and chapels, dedicated chiefly to Amun, his consort Mut, and their son Khonsu.

You enter along an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes and pass through the massive first pylon. The high point is the Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 sandstone columns covering an area larger than many cathedrals; the twelve central columns stand more than 20 meters tall. Look up to see traces of original paint on the capitals and the carved scenes of Seti I and Ramesses II, the kings who decorated the hall.

Further in, the standing obelisk of Hatshepsut is the tallest still upright in Egypt. Near the sacred lake stands a large granite scarab; local tradition says walking around it brings good luck. Karnak is huge and the paving is uneven, so wear comfortable shoes and stay close to your representative, who will help you make sense of its layers of history.

The day closes at Luxor Temple, in the heart of the modern city. Built mainly by Amenhotep III in the Eighteenth Dynasty and later expanded by Ramesses II, it was linked to Karnak by an avenue of sphinxes nearly three kilometers long, now excavated and reopened. Once a year, during the Opet festival, the statues of the Theban gods were carried along this route in great procession.

At the entrance, the pylon of Ramesses II is fronted by colossal statues of the king and a single obelisk; its twin has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since the 1830s. Inside, the Court of Ramesses II leads to the elegant processional colonnade of Amenhotep III and his sun court, fine New Kingdom architecture. Look up above the first court to see the Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, built on top of the ancient remains and still in use. Deeper inside are a shrine dedicated in the name of Alexander the Great and a chamber with restored Roman wall paintings.

The late-afternoon light warms the sandstone beautifully. Afterward your representative returns you to your hotel at the close of the day.