Karnak Sound and Light Show

About this trip

Karnak after dark. The evening sound and light show leads you on foot through the temple and ends beside the Sacred Lake. We pick you up from where you stay in Luxor and bring you back afterwards, with water and soft drinks.

The day

1. Evening

   Pickup from where you stay in Luxor

   Your driver collects you from your hotel, Nile cruise or other accommodation in Luxor and drives you to Karnak on the East Bank, at the northern edge of the city. Water and soft drinks are in the car. Tell us where you are staying, and we will arrange the pickup to fit the show you are booked on.

2. Evening

   Arrival at Karnak Temple

   You arrive at the temple entrance, where the Avenue of Ram-headed Sphinxes leads up to the first pylon. In the dark the scale of the place is hard to judge until the lights come on, and the first sight of the gateway lit against the night sky gives you a good idea of what the builders intended.

3. Evening

   The walking part of the show

   The show moves through the temple. As the narration tells the story of Thebes and its rulers, lights pick out the courts, statues and gateways in turn. You walk with the rest of the audience through the great halls, including the forest of columns in the Hypostyle Hall, stopping as each scene is told.

4. Evening

   The finale by the Sacred Lake

   The last part of the show is watched from seats beside the Sacred Lake, where priests once purified themselves before rituals. From here the lights sweep across the whole temple, the obelisks and the pylons, while the narration brings the history of Karnak to its close.

5. Late evening

   Return to your hotel or cruise

   After the show your driver is waiting outside to take you back to where you are staying. Pickup, drop-off, water, soft drinks and service charges are all covered; you only need money for tips and anything extra you decide to buy at the temple.

Questions about this trip