24 hours in Luxor, Egypt

A city split in half by the majestic River Nile, Luxor holds a fascination and almost legendary intrigue for many. Several famous historical sites sit within and just outside the city, such as Luxor and Karnak Temples, the tombs of several pharaohs – including that most famous of Tutankhamun – and is well worth a visit to soak up the history.

Geographically, Luxor is located in Southern Egypt, however, this region is known as Upper Egypt because it sits on the upper part of the River Nile. A long way from Cairo but only a sleeper train away, the city is easily accessible even on a short trip to Egypt. We only had a week in Egypt but managed to squeeze in a day in Luxor, which was my highlight of our whole week and well worth the time and money spent.

When to go: We visited in November which was the perfect time as it was almost the start of the busy season – which meant it was actually not too busy, there were plenty of guides and tours available and the weather was hot but bearable.

Essentials to pack: Trainers are best for all the walking you’ll be doing whilst here! A thin layer is essential as it’s respectful to cover up but it can get very hot. Lots of suncream and a hat are required for your sightseeing here.

Currency: 63 EGP = £1 (November 2024)

Must see: The Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, The River Nile, Tutankhamun’s tomb, Ramses I and III tombs (there are many more though!)

Where to stay: The Spring Hotel in Luxor. It’s located on the West Bank of the river which is quieter and more rustic. The hotel has rooms which have balconies with views of the Nile and the most incredible rooftop terrace. One night here cost us around £45 including the pickup from the train station.

Our experience – 24 hours in Luxor:

We arrived into Luxor at 6am on a sleeper train service from Cairo which we’d recommend as it was a great experience, cheaper than flying and better for the environment, as well as getting us to Luxor with enough time for a full day of sightseeing. If you do fly, ensure you get an early morning flight to maximise your time.

Once we’d got out of the train station and located our driver who was 20 minutes late, we were on our way to our pre-booked hotel, The Spring Hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 7am, and had pre-booked a tour online which was due to start at 9am. We were exhausted but excited and wanted to freshen up and change before we went on the tour. The hotel were great and allowed us to check in early so we were actually able to wash and change and leave our luggage in our room. The hotel staff told us to come to the roof top once ready and we’d get a welcome drink.

We walked up to the terrace and we were astounded by the incredible views down across the city, the River Nile, and even some temples. They gave us breakfast and coffee free of charge to revive us before our tour guide arrived bang on 9am.

*Breakfast on the terrace of The Spring Hotel, Luxor*

We’d recommend pre-booking a tour if you’re going to be short on time in Luxor like we were. We’d done lots of research before arriving and knew what sites we wanted to visit. The full-day tour was private and we had our own driver and guide, both of which were great. If you like the sound of what we got up to below, you can book the same tour through Get Your Guide. The option we went for included all entry tickets and lunch so that we knew we’d paid for everything in advance rather than facing annoying extra charges on the day. It was £90 per person which sounds expensive but around £40 of that is the cost of the entry tickets. All in all for the experience we got it was great value for money.

The guide was a woman, and I really appreciated the fact that the company were employing female guides. She was professional and friendly and her English was incredible. Our driver was friendly too and the car was modern and comfortable with good air conditioning.

We started our tour with a drive to the Valley of the Kings where we’d be seeing some of the tombs that have been uncovered in the area. This was only about 15 minutes’ drive from our hotel on the West Bank. The guide explained lots of information in the car and on arrival at the site, before allowing us to go into the tombs on our own. To minimise the amount of people and noise inside it’s usual that guides wait outside for you. This actually suited us well as we felt we could take our time inside.

The first tomb we visited was that of Ramses III. An incredible and eye-opening place to see, the tomb is one of the largest and best preserved in the valley. It takes you deep into the heart of the mountain, at 125m long, where the walls are covered in an incredible array of hieroglyphics and drawings, and ends in a magnificent burial chamber. It was discovered in 1903 by archaeologist Edward R. Ayrton.

Next we visited the tomb of Ramses I. Due to his reign being very short at just two years before he died in 1294 BC, the tomb is small and unfinished but still incredible to see. The short corridor leads to a single square burial chamber which still holds the pink-granite sarcophagus. The tomb was discovered in 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni. Although a very small tomb, this one is very steep down into the earth – take it slow on your descent and ascent!

Now, onto the main attraction in the Valley of the Kings; Tutankhamun’s tomb. Ruling briefly from 1336-1327 BC and dying unexpectedly at the age of 19, there was little time to build a tomb. Tutankhamun had no great battles or buildings to his credit, and has become more well-known since the discovery of his tomb than ever before.

Why has he become so well known? The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon is still considered the greatest archaeological find in history. The tomb was sealed and fully intact – a rarity in Egypt as tomb robberies were rife over the thousands of years since the pharaohs were laid to rest.

*Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus & burial chamber*

The tomb held the sarcophagus of the young King as well as hundreds of offerings that had been left for him – four of the chambers were full of jewellery, furniture, statues, chariots, instruments, weapons, boxes, and food. No tomb had ever been found with such a rich display of ancient antiquities. The tomb itself isn’t as well preserved as some of the others, or as full of incredible art, but it is worth visiting such a historic site. Whilst there you can see Tutankhamun’s mummified corpse and sarcophagus, which is also interesting.

Once we’d seen several tombs in the Valley of the Kings we got back in the car with our guide and were driven to The Valley of the Queens, also located on the West Bank. I was already feeling overawed by the impossibility of seeing tombs, hieroglyphs and mummies that are over 3,000 years old, but nothing could prepare me for our arrival at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut.

*Hatshepsut’s Temple / Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut*

Carved into the rock like an Egyptian version of Petra, this temple is something that has to be seen to be believed. Rugged limestone mountains span the horizon but the eye is drawn down towards this most dazzling of temples. Spanning three floors or terraces, this shrine was designed by Senenmut, an architect in Hatshepsut’s court and rumoured to be her lover.

*Jess wandering the Upper Terrace at Hatshepsut’s Temple*

Most of what you see today has been meticulously restored to resemble a slither of the grandeur it must have possessed in ancient times. Constructed around 1478/72–1458 BCE on the orders of Queen Hatshepsut to tell the story of her life and reign, the temple is considered one of the most impressive monuments from ancient Egypt.

After spending around an hour exploring this impressive open-air temple in all it’s beauty, we drove to the Colossi of Memnon. We’d spotted them earlier on our drive around the West bank – you can’t really miss them! Rising impossibly around 20m into the air, these colossal statues originally represented Pharoah Amenhotep III and sat at the eastern entrance to the temple and tomb of Amenophis III. Carved from single blocks of stone and weighing over 1000 tonnes, the sheer size of these figures is astounding and incredible to see up close. There are more excavations underway on this site as the temple is meticulously uncovered by archaeologists.

It was around 12.30pm, very hot, and we were quite tired. The guide suggested we go for lunch next so we could rest and refresh ourselves. We drove a short distance to Restaurant Paris which had a great upstairs terrace with lovely views and served tasty, fresh food. We enjoyed an hour of rest here and sat talking with our guide who was kind and interesting.

Note - We had lunch included in our pre-paid tour but drinks were not included – we weren’t told this until after we’d had a few drinks so make sure you check with the guide.

After lunch we headed across the River Nile via the bridge at the north of the city and across to East Bank. Our first stop here was Karnak Temple.

Karnak Temple is the largest religious complex ever built. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. It spans across 247 acres – yes, you read that correctly. The construction of this huge labyrinth of temples took place over two millennia, with each pharaoh adding to it and leaving their mark. The main axis of the temple runs from the entrance in the East to the sacred area in the West, purposefully built this way to reflect the journey of the sun god Ra.

The Karnak temple complex has ten pylons built by different Pharaohs. They rise up in various parts of the site, some resembling obelisks, and are dedicated to different God’s and reflect the pharaohs reigns.

The most impressive part of the site is the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 colossal columns rise up to the sky. The columns are arranged in 16 rows and cover 5000 sq. metres, creating a feel of wonder and awe in all who visit. The light hits them differently throughout the day, casting shadows and reflecting hieroglyphics. These incredible towers were built by Seti I and completed by his son Ramesses II.

The site boasts several more grand halls and temples, such as the Temple of Khonsu. There is also the Sacred Lake, an oasis amidst the bustling complex. The lake was fed by the Nile and held great religious importance, symbolizing the waters of conception and providing a source of cleansing for rituals.

Take your time on this gigantic site – we spent around 1.5 hours there all in all and it was worth it to take it slow and soak up the incredible history of the ancient Egyptians who built this astounding place.

After Karnak Temple it was time for our last site of the day, which was good as we were flagging by now! Luxor Temple is considered a “small” temple, which we laughed at when we arrived at the site. It is in fact a large temple, constructed in approximately 1400 BCE. The temple started construction under Pharaoh Amenhotep III and continued by Tutankhamun, Horemheb and finished by Rameses II.

Luxor Temple differs from other temples in the city, as it was not built in adoration to a god of the kings or pharaohs. It was actually built in dedication of Kingship and it is said many kings were crowned here. The main function of the temple was during the annual Opet festivals when masses descended on the site to celebrate and the statues of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu were moved from Karnak Temple. They were brought along the Avenue of the Sphinxes which linked both sites, and were reunited at Luxor Temple for the festivities.

Our favourite part of the site was the Avenue of Sphinxes, a 2.7km road that runs between Karnak and Luxor temples, linking the important sites. The avenue is lined with over 1000 statues of sphinxes, some of which are fully formed and incredibly impressive. Walking along this avenue allows you to imagine what it would have been like to walk between the two sites in ancient times with the sun beating down and incredible man-made statues and temples in front, behind and at your sides.

Note: It is still possible to walk between the sites of Karnak and Luxor temples as long as you have entry tickets for both sites. We’d recommend doing this early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day.

After our amazing tour had ended we drove to the Nice Tours office – the tour company that Get Your Guide had booked us with – and were treated to a complimentary drink in their air conditioned lounge area with comfy seats. We tipped our driver and guide as is the custom and were told that instead of being driven back to our hotel we would be put on a boat to cross the Nile and return to our hotel, free of charge.

This was a great end to our day. Our driver took us to the water front and saw us on board a small boat where we said goodbye. Once on board, we soaked up the experience of being on the River Nile and all the other small, colourful boats which were flooding the water. It was around 4pm so the sun was low in the sky and it made for some great pictures.

Once back at our hotel we had a short nap before heading to the rooftop to enjoy the sunset over Luxor city and it’s ancient sites. We then freshened up and headed out for dinner on the West Bank side of the river, close to the hotel. There were lots of options and we ate delicious food on the edge of the river, and continued on to another bar to have more drinks.

We knew that sunrise would be spectacular as we’d seen a snippet of it on our arrival into Luxor from the sleeper train. So we set our alarms for early the following day and headed up to the roof terrace of the hotel again. The sun rose slowly, peeling back layer after layer of glorious colour in the sky, and as it did so, hundreds of hot air balloons rose up on the West Bank.

Note: Hot air ballooning is popular in Luxor and can be done through a variety of sources – your hotel can book this for you or you can book online in advance through sites such as Get Your Guide. It’s not too expensive here either at around £60pp.

Dark at first but getting brighter and more colourful as the sun began to peek it’s head over the horizon, the balloons become a kaleidoscope of colours, shapes and sizes. They rose majestically and spread out across the sky, giving us the most wonderful end to our time in Luxor that we could have imagined.

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