Overview
You’ll explore both contemporary and rural Egypt, as well as Pharaonic Egypt, while cruising the Nile. A journey through time and beyond, in its original version…
From Aswan to Luxor, the thousand-year-old historical sites will be with you throughout the walks and on the deck of your boat. These slow journeys guarantee an authentic approach. During your stops, you will set off on foot to discover fields, villages, and lively markets… the current life of farmers, and you will not be short of encounters!
Itinerary
Welcome at Aswan airport (or train station).
Transfer and check-in at your hotel.
In the early afternoon, departure to discover the joys of Aswan's history and its charming landscape:
The Temple of Philae : Located on the beautiful island of Agilika, upstream from the old Aswan Dam, it is dedicated to the goddess Isis. It is a spectacular site, characterized primarily by its romantic setting, exquisite frescoes, and remarkable architecture.
The Unfinished Obelisk is the site of an ancient granite quarry operated in the time of the pharaohs, in which hard granite stone was cut to make colossal statues and giant obelisks. It was planned to extract a large obelisk weighing 1,200 tons of granite and measuring 42m high, but during the work, a crack forced its abandonment. Left lying in the quarry, this unfinished obelisk allowed us to learn more about how the Egyptians of the time cut hard stones.
Night at the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel.
Free morning in Aswan and possibility of visiting the exceptional historical site of Abu Simbel, located 260 km south of Aswan (optional...!)
In the early afternoon, we board our felucca.
Lunch on board and start sailing to the rhythm of the gentle north wind, enjoying a more than fascinating landscape on the banks of the Nile. Let yourself drift along the water and open your eyes wide; you are privileged witnesses of the daily life, more than a thousand years old, of the inhabitants of the villages.
Docking at Koubanya
Dinner and overnight stay on board
Breakfast on board and departure for a walk / stroll in Koubanya : a typical village of Upper Egypt and its Wadi which touches the desert, a panoramic view from a height of Wadi Koubanya.
Resumption of navigation and lunch on board.
Landing at the island of Herdiab , which has a beautiful sandy beach and the opportunity to swim in the sacred river. A stroll among the fruit trees: mango, orange, fig, and lemon trees.
Navigation enjoying the picturesque landscape so charming until Daraw
Dinner and overnight on board
Its exotic landscape and friendly inhabitants invite you to immerse yourself in it. You will wander through the clutter of the popular Daraw market, where the colors and scents of the Orient and Africa compose a true symphony for the eyes and nostrils!
It will be worth visiting the famous dromedary market (held every Saturday and Sunday) or the animal market (held every Tuesday).
Return to the boat and resume sailing towards Kom Ombo . Lunch on board.
Stopover in Kom Ombo where we then visit the magnificent Greco-Roman temple of Kom Ombo, built in honor of two gods - Sobek (crocodile-headed) and Horus (falcon-headed). Dominating the Nile by about twenty meters, it overlooks a majestic bend in the river.
Short sail to Meniha Island, where we will dock to spend the night.
Dinner and overnight stay on board.
Navigation to the village of Farès : walk in the village of Farès, one of the opportunities to meet the farmers and discover their way of life.
Lunch and return to Silssila .
Short walk to reach the pharaonic quarries of Silssila . Visit the quarries which supplied the sandstone to the main pharaonic temples as well as the superbly sculpted chapels and steles on the site and especially the temple (speos) of King Horemheb, dug into the rock.
Dinner and overnight stay on board
On the way to Luxor (110 km) - Arrival and check-in at the hotel in Luxor.
Late afternoon departure for the visit of the temple of Luxor : built during the New Phraonic Empire by the pharaohs Amenhotep III, Ramses II and many others. It best represents the schematic plan of an Egyptian temple with its elegant path of the Sphinxes, its gigantic facade. The colossi of Ramses II at its entrance and the majestic colonnade of Amenhotep III are simply dazzling. It is also from this temple that the obelisk of Ramses II comes which today adorns the Place de la Concorde in Paris, installed there since 1834
Night at the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the west bank of Luxor to discover the wonders of the Theban necropolis, visiting:
The Valley of the Kings; the flagship site of Pharaonic heritage, a spectacular cemetery of the great pharaohs of Egyptian history. The Valley of the Kings is a deep valley two kilometers from the edge of the plain. It contains about sixty tombs dating from the New Kingdom of the Pharaohs. The Valley of the Kings is one of the main complexes of the great necropolis of ancient Thebes on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor.
The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut : a temple that stands out from the architectural scheme of the time with three terraces superimposed on each other against the mountain, creating a balanced harmony that delights the eye. Erected by the famous queen who was the only one at her time to be able to defy the rules of the transmission of the crown, a monopoly of men until then, to the point of calling her the first feminist in human history.
Photo stop in front of the two gigantic Colossi of Memnon ; two giants, each 17m high, stand at the entrance to a large temple (now in ruins) erected by the pharaoh Amenhotep3, during the 15th century BC.
Return to the hotel at the end of the afternoon
In the mid-afternoon, departure for the visit of the temple of Karnak : a historic, immense religious complex, built on approximately 60 hectares. Covering a historical period going from the 20th century BC to the 4th century BC. Karnak is a splendid historical site with its gigantic facade, its colossal statues, its elegant obelisks, its majestic hall of columns, its sacred lake and many other architectural and artistic wonders.
Night at the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport (or Luxor train station) for departure.
Cost
The Cost Includes
- All transfers and travel during visits by private vehicle.
- Entrances to the sites mentioned.
- Private Egyptologist guide to ensure logistics and the visits mentioned.
- Full board felucca cruise for 4 nights / 5 days.
- All service charges
The Cost Excludes
- Any supplement not mentioned
- Tips
