Abu Simbel from Aswan

What this is

Abu Simbel is 280 kilometres south of Aswan, close to the Sudanese border, and the drive is three hours each way across empty desert. The temples were sawn into blocks and lifted sixty metres up the cliff in the 1960s to escape Lake Nasser, and the joins are visible if you look. Nothing prepares you for the scale of the four seated colossi.

Highlights

• The four colossi of Ramesses II on the Great Temple facade
• The Small Temple of Nefertari and Hathor
• The hypostyle hall with its Osiride pillars
• The relocation joins, visible in the rock
• Lake Nasser from the temple terrace

What is included

Your itinerary

Good to know

• Wear closed-toe shoes; most sites are sand, gravel and uneven stone.
• Summer temperatures in Upper Egypt regularly exceed 40C. We start early for a reason.
• Bring your passport - several sites check ID at the gate.
• Photography is free at most sites; interior tomb photography sometimes carries a separate ticket.
• Photography inside both temples requires a permit, which we include.
• The twice-yearly solar alignment on 22 February and 22 October fills the site. Book months ahead or avoid those dates.

Questions

How do I book?

Send us the dates and how many people are travelling, by WhatsApp or the form on this page. We reply with a written itinerary and a fixed price, usually within a few hours. Confirming is a message, not a payment.

Do you take a deposit?

No. We ask for no deposit and take no payment to hold a date. Nothing is charged when you book and nothing is payable in advance - you settle with us in Egypt once the trip is running.

What if I need to change or cancel?

Tell us and we will change it, or cancel it, at no cost. There is no cancellation fee and no deadline to worry about, because nothing has been paid up front. If plans shift while you are already here, we will rearrange what we can on the day.

Is Egypt safe for solo and female travellers?

The tourist regions are heavily policed and we work in them daily. Your guide stays with you at every site. If you are travelling alone, tell us - we will match you with a guide accordingly.