East Bank Tour

Description

Visit the age-old Temples of Karnak and Luxor Temple on this full day private tour from Luxor. With your own Egyptologist guide, travel by minivan to Karnak, an awesome collection of temples and halls dating back over 3,000 years. Ogle the giant columns of the Hypostyle Hall, walk the Avenue of the Sphinxes, and see other highlights as you learn their history. Then, head for Luxor Temple to admire its columns, courts and statues; and discover how it was embellished by Tutankamon and Alexander the Great. End your tour with visiting Luxor Museum.

Highlights

Karnak Temple

Walk along the Avenue of Sphinx at Karnak

Luxor Temple

Luxor Museum

Get inside tips from a local

Family friendly

Ideal choice for families

Enjoy privileged, personalized attention from your expert Egyptologist guide

What You Can Expect

Depart your central Luxor hotel or Luxor river port by minivan and drive to the Temples of Karnak on the Nile’s East Bank.

As you travel, hear how Luxor stands on the 4,000-year-old site of Thebes, Egypt’s ancient royal capital, and how Karnak is the largest of its temple complexes. Discover how this vast collection of buildings was developed by more than 30 pharaohs, including Amenhotep IV and Ramses II.

On arrival, walk along the Avenue of the Sphinxes to the gateway, and then explore inside with your Egyptologist guide. Hear how the huge pylons at the entrance were constructed, and marvel at the courtyards and sanctuaries beyond. The deeper you go into the complex, the further back you step, with the oldest ruins dating back more than 3,000 years. Gaze in awe at the showpiece Hypostyle Hall, crowded with 134 massive columns that tower above you like an ancient forest. Crane your neck upwards and learn about the ingenious methods used to raise them by the long-ago Egyptians. See the sacred lake where pharaonic offerings were purified, and then enjoy free time to stroll around the site at leisure.

Continue to Luxor Temple, an ancient temple in the center of Luxor laid parallel to the Nile. Hear how it was built in around 1,400 BC, and added to by Tutankamon, Ramses II and even Alexander the Great. Admire the two colossal statues of Ramses II at the entrance, and the granite gateway obelisk whose original counterpart now stands in Paris’ Place de la Concorde. Then, head inside to gawk at the richly carved inner sanctuaries, papyrus columns and courts. Peep inside the atmospheric anterooms, including the chapel dedicated to Alexander the Great, who rebuilt the room in his name.

Finally you will visit Luxor Museum, inaugurated in 1975. The wonderful museum has a well-chosen collection of antiquities dating from the Middle Kingdom (2055 BC – c. 1650 BC) and continued through to the Mamluk period in Egypt (1250–1517 ad), mostly gathered from the Theban temples and necropolis. There is a new extension to Luxor museum “the Glory of Thebes” inaugurated in 2004, there are two royal mummies of Ahmose I and Ramses I of the New Kingdom (1570 – 1050 BC), some fantastic collection dating back to the time of the New Kingdom.

After finishing, you will be transferred to your Nile Cruise / Hotel in Luxor.

Entrance fees are not included in the price of any tours: We do not charge in advance for site entrance fees to add flexibility to your program as you may choose to skip one or more sites depending upon your interests.