Luxor & The Nile
Top Tips
The Valley of the Kings, absolutely unmissable. 63 royal tombs that were hacked out of the red rock over a period of 500 years (the first 3,500 years ago). Walk over the hill and drop down to magnificent Hatshepsut, or fly over it in a hot-air balloon.
The Temple of Karnak, the largest religious building on the planet. The Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 vast pillars soar implausibly into the sky, is one of the most staggering things you will see in Egypt. Building here started 3,200 years ago.
The Temple of Horus at Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. It took 180 years to build and was hidden under sand for centuries.
The Temple of Isis at Philae - this island temple was saved by UNESCO when under threat of flooding with the building of the first Aswan dam. UNESCO moved it from one island to another, brick for brick. You take a boat across.
Abu Simbel - fly down and check out the Great Temple of Ramses II. Again, the scale is outrageous and this one is carved out of a mountain which overlooks the Nile. It was built 3,500 years ago and was lost under sand for hundreds of years.