Luxor East Bank Tour: Karnak & Luxor Temple

About this trip

Karnak and Luxor Temple, the two great temples on the city side of the Nile, in one unhurried day with your own Egyptologist. You start at Karnak in the morning, stop for lunch in town and finish at Luxor Temple in the afternoon. Pickup from your Luxor hotel, entrance fees, lunch and water are included.

The day

1. Morning

   Pickup from your hotel in Luxor

   Your private Egyptologist guide meets you at your hotel in the morning, and an air-conditioned car takes you the short distance to Karnak, on the northern side of town. Starting in the morning gives you the cooler hours for the largest and most open of the two temples.

2. Morning

   Karnak Temple

   Karnak was the great religious center of Thebes, dedicated to Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. Your guide takes you through its pylons, courts and obelisks, the sacred lake and the Great Hypostyle Hall, explaining which pharaoh added what across roughly two thousand years of building.

3. Midday

   Lunch at a restaurant in Luxor

   Lunch at a restaurant in Luxor is included. It is a welcome pause between the two temples, out of the midday sun, and a chance to sit down, drink something cold and ask your guide about everything you saw at Karnak before moving on.

4. Afternoon

   Luxor Temple

   Luxor Temple was the stage for the Opet festival, when the statues of the Theban gods were carried here from Karnak and the king's divine role was renewed. You see the colossal statues of Ramses II at the entrance, the single obelisk still standing there and the elegant colonnade of Amenhotep III.

5. Afternoon

   Return to your hotel or Nile cruise

   After Luxor Temple, your driver takes you back to your hotel or cruise boat. Your guide, car, lunch, bottled water and entrance fees are already paid, so you can head straight back to rest or explore the town on your own.

Questions about this trip