Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu & Ramesseum

About this trip

A second day on the West Bank, for anyone who has already seen the Valley of the Kings: the Valley of the Queens, the temple of Medinet Habu, Deir el-Medina, the village of the tomb builders, and the Ramesseum, with lunch at a local restaurant. Private car and Egyptologist, entrance fees included.

The day

1. Morning

   Pickup from your hotel or Nile cruise

   Your private Egyptologist guide and driver meet you at your hotel or cruise boat in Luxor and take you across to the West Bank. This time you head to the southern part of the Theban hills, away from the busier sites you may already have seen.

2. Morning

   Valley of the Queens

   Royal wives, princes and princesses of the 18th to the 20th Dynasty were buried here, in more than 70 tombs cut into a quiet side valley. Like the royal tombs, they were given plain entrances to avoid tomb robbers. Inside, the best of them keep bright paintings of the dead being led before the gods.

3. Late morning

   Medinet Habu

   The great memorial temple of Ramses III stands inside high mud-brick walls, entered through a gateway modeled on a Syrian fortress. Its outer walls show his wars against the Sea Peoples, and the inner courts still hold much of their original color. Next to it is an older temple begun by Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.

4. Midday

   Lunch at a local restaurant

   Lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor is included in the price. It splits the day neatly in two and gives you a proper rest in the shade before the afternoon's two sites, which are close to each other on the West Bank.

5. Afternoon

   Deir el-Medina

   This was the village of the workmen who built and decorated the royal tombs, and they were buried on the hillside above their homes. Their family tombs are small but beautifully painted. Your guide explains what the written records found here reveal about their wages, families and daily lives.

6. Afternoon

   The Ramesseum

   Ramses II built this memorial temple for himself and dedicated it to Amun. The pieces of his fallen colossus still lie in the first court, and the walls show the Battle of Kadesh and the Festival of Min. Your guide also points out the mud-brick storerooms that once surrounded the temple.

7. Afternoon

   Return to your hotel or Nile cruise

   After the Ramesseum, your driver takes you back to your hotel or cruise boat. The guide, car, lunch and entrance fees for the sites in the program are already paid, so tips and any optional extra tickets are the only costs to plan for.

Questions about this trip