Tour to Abu Simbel Temple From Aswan
2 stopsPick-up from your stayLunch includedEvery day
From / person$100
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HomeDestination: <span>Abu Simbel</span>
Destination: Abu Simbel
Two temples cut into a cliff by Ramses II, moved block by block in the 1960s to escape the rising Nile.
10 Days Cairo, Luxor, Aswan & Abu Simbel (Archaeology Tour)
Cairo → Luxor → Aswan → Abu Simbel
From / person$2,050
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15 Days Cairo, Alexandria and Nile Cruise with Abu Simbel
Cairo → Alexandria → Nile → Abu Simbel
From / person$2,550
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Why people travel this far south
Abu Simbel sits 280 kilometres south of Aswan, close to the Sudanese border. Ramses II had two temples cut directly into the sandstone cliff in the thirteenth century BC: the Great Temple, fronted by four seated colossi of himself over twenty metres high, and a smaller one beside it for his queen Nefertari.
In the 1960s the reservoir behind the new Aswan High Dam was going to drown both. Between 1964 and 1968 a UNESCO project cut the temples into more than a thousand numbered blocks and rebuilt them 65 metres higher, inside an artificial hill shaped to replicate the original cliff. The reconstruction is accurate enough that the alignment still works: twice a year, in February and October, sunrise reaches down the main axis and lights the statues in the inner sanctuary.
Visits start early. The road convoy from Aswan leaves around 4am and arrives not long after sunrise, which is both the coolest and the emptiest part of the day. The flight takes 45 minutes each way and leaves far more of the day intact.
Good to know
Abu Simbel, explained
Abu Simbel is the furthest south most travellers go in Egypt and the most demanding day in a normal itinerary — but it is also the one people describe first when they get home. The two rock-cut temples of Ramses II are the best surviving example of Egyptian monumental propaganda, and the story of how they were moved is nearly as striking as the temples themselves.
The site is reached from Aswan, by road in about three and a half hours each way or by a 45-minute flight. Road convoys leave before dawn; flights leave early and return by midday. Either way you spend roughly two hours at the site, which is enough for both temples at a reasonable pace.
The sun alignment on 22 February and 22 October draws large crowds and fills accommodation in Aswan well in advance. On every other day of the year the temples are considerably quieter, and arriving with the first convoy still means beating most of it.
FAQ
Your questions
From Aswan, either by road — about three and a half hours each way, leaving in a convoy before dawn — or by a 45-minute flight. The flight costs more but turns a fourteen-hour day into a half-day, which matters if you are short on time or travelling with children.
The Aswan High Dam, completed in 1970, created Lake Nasser, which would have submerged them. A UNESCO campaign between 1964 and 1968 cut both temples into more than a thousand numbered blocks and reassembled them 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the water.
On 22 February and 22 October, sunrise reaches down the main axis of the Great Temple and lights three of the four statues in the sanctuary. The dates shifted by a day when the temple was relocated. Both mornings are crowded and need booking well ahead.
About two hours on site covers both temples without rushing. The travel is the long part, not the visit.
Yes, and it usually is. The cruise ends at Aswan and Abu Simbel is added the following morning, by road or by air, before you fly home or back to Cairo.
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