2-Day Dendera and Luxor Trip from Marsa Alam

Pick up from your hotel in Marsa Alam (approximately 6 a.m.) and head to Luxor (approximately a 6-hour drive). This drive on a well-marked, paved road in the middle of the desert allows you to discover the fabulous scenery of Egypt's Eastern Desert.

As you approach the Nile Valley at Quena, the gradual change in scenery allows you to gradually soak up the green colors of the Nile Valley. A vast expanse of arable land and urban centers and we continue to the village of Dendera where the temple of the goddess Hathor is located . Once there, we cross an esplanade which opens onto a magnificent hypostyle hall supported by twenty-four Hathoric columns whose capitals are in the aspect of this sacred goddess. At the back of the temple, from the right room, we descend into a crypt where magnificent scenes reproducing the different liturgical objects are engraved.

Lunch break in a typical restaurant.

Continue on the road to Luxor, approximately 60 km south.
In Luxor, check into your hotel.

Late afternoon, departure to visit the Luxor Temple  : It is one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Egypt and it also bears the mark of other civilizations. Built between the 14th and 10th centuries BC by the pharaohs Amenhotep III, Ramses II and many other pharaohs. The Greeks, Romans, Christians and Muslims also passed through here, each leaving the architectural mark of their respective beliefs. All this makes the Luxor Temple a unique jewel bearing the marks of 3500 years of diverse religious cults.

Overnight at hotel in Luxor.

Breakfast at the hotel then we will join the left bank of the Nile to discover the Theban necropolis (optional hot air balloon flight over the thousand-year-old historical sites of Luxor):

Valley of the Kings: Situated in a location surrounded by towering cliffs and resembling the entrance to the afterlife, the Valley of the Kings held profound religious significance, aligning the pharaohs with the cycle of death and rebirth associated with the sun god Ra. This ancient necropolis contains the burials of over 60 pharaohs during the New Kingdom era from the 16th to 11th centuries BC. The tombs of the Valley of the Kings offer profound insight into ancient Egyptian beliefs, culture, and craftsmanship.

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut  : Located on the left bank of the Nile in Luxor. Carved into the limestone cliffs overlooking the desert at Deir el-Bahari. The architecture of this temple was innovative at the time, with one part carved into the rock and the other part in the outer sector. Consisting of three superimposed terraces. The second terrace is the most impressive, with a chapel on the right dedicated to the god Anubis decorated with a large number of paintings depicting offerings to the gods, which retain their original colors, and another chapel on the left dedicated to the goddess Hathor with elegant Hathoric columns

The Colossi of Memnon  : On the road leading to the historical sites on the left bank of Luxor, stand two monumental statues representing Pharaoh Amenhotep III, dating from the 14th century BC. A photo stop to admire these imposing figures, which are the remains of a once grandiose mortuary temple and testify to the architectural and artistic prowess of Pharaonic Egypt. Sculpted from sandstone, they are each 17m high!

Lunch in a typical restaurant and cross the Nile by motorboat to reach the east bank of the Nile to visit  the religious complex of Karnak . It is
one of the most impressive historical sites in the world. Initially founded as a small sanctuary in the 20th century BC to worship the god Amun, the patron of Thebes (Luxor).
The site has evolved over the millennia into a vast religious complex comprising different structures, obelisks, chapels, pylons and many others. This majestic site offers a fascinating tour through the history of ancient Egypt

At the end of the day, take the road back to Marsa Alam