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Luxor Attractions

Experiencing and exploring thousands of years of civilization is bound to be a breathtaking adventure for all ages. The monuments and temples of ancient Egypt will surpass your imagination and exceed all expectations. There are so many splendid temples and monuments to visit .You will have to be picky if you don't want to get "templed out". Luxor is actually two separate areas each with their own highlights. The East Bank of the Nile river and the west bank .

East Bank

Luxor Temple

This 3,300-year-old temple is downtown Luxor's greatest reminder that this sleepy town was once a mighty metropolis called Thebes. What's more, the fact that a 13th-century mosque is plopped right down in the middle of the temple grounds offers a perfect example of how Thebes' eventual successor, the Arab village called Al-Uqsur, grew up literally among the ruins of the ancient city. The temple is at its most atmospheric at night, when the crowds have gone home and shadows gather between the papyrus-clad columns in the Hypostyle Hall.

TEMPLE OF KARNAK

This vast complex of temples, obelisks, sphinxes, and very hefty Pharaonic paraphernalia took more than 1,300 years to build, reaching its greatest heights during the 19th Dynasty (13th century BC). It sits one and a half miles north of downtown Luxor, and with 62 acres open to the public, it will require a full afternoon of your time just to cover the highlights, including the Hypostyle Hall's forest of 76-foot-tall columns, the Colossus of Ramses II, and the Great Festival Hall of Thutmose III. The Sound and Light show each evening is widely hailed as being the finest of its kind in the world. Go if you must, but try Karnak during the day as well.

The Open Air Museum

It has a collection of monuments that was discovered during an excavation inside the third pylon. You can see blocks from the beautiful Red Chapel of Hatshepsut, which have only recently been reconstructed into an actual structure. That Chapel served as a shrine for the baroque of Amun and whose site is today occupied by the chapel of Philip Arhidaeus. Here you can also observe the remains of the splendid White Chapel of Senwosret I. The scenes carved on the stones show the kings' offering to his mighty god Amun-Re and Amun in his ithyphallic form. The ancient administrative areas of Egypt are listed in the form of columns on the parapet. The entire region of Egypt is represented on the chapel of the Pharaoh who is the guarantor of the order established by Amun. Located across from the Great Court, opposite to the entrance of Ramesses III Temple at Karnak.

Luxor Museum

Inaugurated in 1975, the museum is housed in a small, purpose-built building. The range of artefacts on display is far more restricted than the country's main collections in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo; this was, however, deliberate, since the museum prides itself on the quality of the pieces it has, the uncluttered way in which they are displayed, and the clear multilingual labelling used. Among the most striking items on show are grave goods from the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) and a collection of 26 exceptionally well preserved New Kingdom statues that were found buried in a cache in nearby Luxor Temple in 1989. The royal mummies of two pharaohs - Ahmose I and Ramesses I - were also put on display in the Luxor Museum in March 2004, as part of the new extension to the museum, which includes a small visitor centre. A major exhibit is a reconstruction of one of the walls of Akhenaten's temple at Karnak.

The Mummification Museum

The museum's features displays of both human and animal mummies. There are also displays of tools used in the mummification process, as well as artefacts of items buried along with the mummies for use in the afterlife. Almost anything one ever wanted to know about mummification can be learned here, including the mummification process itself. There is a statue of Anubis, the jackal-god who presided over the dead, at the entrance to the museum. Located of the Nile river near Luxor Temple. Museum hours are from 9am to 1pm year round, with winter evening hours of 4pm until 9pm and summer evening hours of 5pm until 10pm.

Sound & Light Show

Enjoy an evening in the beautiful Karnak Temple for the educational Sound and Light Show.The show starts with a historical introduction covering the birth of the great city of Thebes and erection of the karnak temple , one of the most famous temples in the world. The show also narrates the glorious achievements of some great Pharaohs. The Spectators listen to a magnificent and poetic description of the artistic treasures and great legacy which the Karnak temple encloses.

West Bank

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

These tombs tucked into the canyons of the west bank open at 6 a.m., which is a fine time to arrive, as the crowds and the oppressive heat (even in winter) only grows as the morning wears on. Be prepared to stand in long lines (and pay extra) to visit the most popular tombs, those of Tutankhamen and Ramses VI. If you can't stand the wait or the crowds there, it's best to head to the far end of the valley, where the tombs such as the unusual tomb of Thutmose attract fewer people, even though they are no less interesting. Note: Not all the tombs are open, some close for restoration purposes.You can check this at thicket office before you go.

Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari

Featured on every guided tour, this huge temple rows of colonnades climbing steplike up the base of a towering cliff was heavily restored in the 1950s. The 18th-Dynasty (15th-century-BC) Hatshepsut was one of those rare female Pharaohs, and her temple is remarkable not only for its sheer size and dramatic location but also for its fine relief carvings on the walls, many of which retain their original colours.

RAMESSEUM

Most tourists tend to leave the Ramesseum built by Ramses II as his mortuary temple near the shores of the west bank till last, and often they have to drop it from their itineraries altogether. As a result, it's a lot less crowded, and better for it. The fallen Colossus of Ramses II was immortalized in Shelley's poem Ozymandias.

Tombes of the Artisans (Deir el-Medina):

Deir el-Medina lies in a small valley between the western slope of the Theban mountain and the small hill of Qurnet Murai. It was the workers village where craftsman and other lived who actually constructed and decorated the tombs on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). The artisans who lived in this community built their tombs only a few dozen meters from their town on the heights that overlook the village.

Tombes of the Nobles:

The Tombs of the Nobles actually comprises a number of distinct areas on the West Bank at modern Luxor (Ancient Thebes). These areas mostly lie in five different regions.

Temple of Medinat Habu

The entire Temple of Ramesses III, palace and town is enclosed within a defensive wall. Entry is through the Highgate, or Migdol, which, in appearance resembles an Asiatic fort. Just inside the Highgate, to the south, are the chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenwepet II and Nitoket, wives of the god Amun. To the north side is the chapel of Amun. These chapels were a later addition dating to the 18th Dynasties, by Hatsepsut and Tutmose II. Later renovations were done by the Ptolemaic kings of the XXV Dynasty.

Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meter (75 ft) high, one thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive. Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus they were equated by the early Greek travelers with the figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the goddess of dawn. To be granted a song meant that you were very much in favor of the gods. Visitors came from miles around to hear the music, including Emperor Hadrian, in 130 A.D. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus, seeking to repair the statues in 199 AD, inadvertently silenced them forever.

Things to Do in Luxor

Hot Air Balloon Rides

Wanna get high ?! to enjoy the fascinating scenes of the greatest Open Air Museum, at sun rise!! You can have the chance to fly high in the skies of Luxor by riding Hot Air Balloon over the West Bank.

Sailing- Sporting Activity

On the river in a felucca is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon, while a sunset cruise is the perfect way to end the day.The favoured destination is Banana Island (Gezira el-Mouz), a lush peninsula 4km upriver, whose owner charges visitors ?£E 5 each to land. It's enjoyable to wander through the cool, shady groves of mature banana trees, with their vaulting fronds and pendant flowers; the trail ends at a souvenir shop where you can get a drink. The round trip takes between two and three hours depending on the wind, or about half-an-hour each way by motorboat . ask for help to get you the best felucca and motor boat captains and avode less skilled ones who offer you very cheap price to go arround.

Camel, hourse and Donkey Riding

A guide from the village takes you in a ride around the most important attractions in the West bank villages. Round up a morning donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings with a delicious lunch at a local resutrant .