Best Luxor Full Day Private Tour: East & West Bank with Egypt Joy Travel

Our Egyptologist tour guide will pick you up from the Nile cruise or from your hotel in Luxor by an air-conditioned van with Wi-Fi on board to visit the majestic monuments of Luxor on both sides of the Nile River. You will start your tour by visiting Karnak Temples and Luxor Temple on the East Bank, then you will have lunch in one of the best local restaurants. After that, you will cross the Nile River to visit the West Bank of Luxor to have a good time exploring the tombs of the ancient kings in the Valley of the Kings, and finally, you will visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

Karnak Complex of Temples

It's one of the biggest religious buildings all over the world; it consists of three temples dedicated to the Triad of Thebes (an old name for Luxor). The main temple was built for the Master God of Egypt, Amon-Ra, and the others for his wife, Goddess Mut, and their son, God Khonsou.

Karnak temple started as a little shrine for the local god Amon during the Middle Kingdom times when Luxor was just an ordinary city, but when it was changed to be the capital of Egypt at the beginning of the New Kingdom, its local god Amon was upgraded to be the Master God of Egypt, and thus his Karnak temple was expanded and enlarged over 1500 years to be the largest in Egypt.

In Karnak temples you are going to see the Hypostyle Hall, which is considered the biggest hall of pillars in the world; it was founded by King Ramesses II and his father, Seti I. Then you will see the Obelisks of Queen Hatshepsut and her father, Tutmosis I, and also you are going to see the beautiful sacred lake and the great beetle scarab statue, which was the symbol of the sun cult.

Luxor Temple

Around three km to the south of Karnak, Luxor Temple is located. Both were connected to each other by a road flanked by a double line of human-headed sphinxes known as Sphinx Avenue, and recently the Egyptian Department of Antiquities is trying to revive this road, which is expected to make Luxor the biggest open museum in the world. Luxor Temple was built by the ancient Egyptian king Amenhotep III, and it was completed by the pharaoh Ramesses II.

This temple is a witness to different eras of Egyptian history, that the temple was founded during ancient Egyptian times. Alexander the Great, at the beginning of the Greco-Roman times in Egypt, built inside it a sanctuary in the honor of God Amon-Ra to please the Egyptians. Later during the early Christianity period, a Christian church was founded. Finally a mosque was built on the ruins of the ancient temple. This temple is supposed to be fronted by two obelisks built by King Ramesses II, one of them still standing there, and the other one was taken to adorn Concorde Square in Paris at the beginning of the 19^th century.

Then you will have lunch at one of the best local restaurants in Luxor.

Valley of the Kings

In the Valley of the Kings there are more than 70 tombs cut in the bottom of the mountain belonging to the famous kings of Ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom period, such as Ramesses II, King Menemhotep, King Tutmosis I, King Tutmosis III, and King Tut Ankh Amon. Here in the Valley of the Kings you will be amazed by the stunning colored paintings, which are still remaining up to the moment. The workers used some primitive tools to achieve great tombs for their kings, which still stand as witness to the ancient Egyptian civilization.

In the Valley of the Kings you will be able to visit three tombs (will be recommended by the tour guide), and an extra ticket is required to visit the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amon.

Temple of the Queen Hatshepsut

Queen Hatshepsut was the most popular lady who ruled Egypt during the ancient Egyptian periods, and in order to commemorate her memory forever, she decided to build her mortuary temple with a unique style in three terraces, each one over the other, and she called it the Holy of the Holy. The temple is partially cut into the mountain and faces the valley of the River Nile.

Colossi of Memnon

In the midst of the green lands, you are going to see a huge couple of statues remaining from the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep III. Each one of the statues represents the Egyptian pharaoh sitting on the throne of Egypt. The two colossi were flanking the entrance gate of his temple, which was completely ruined, and the excavations were still going on to discover some other things thought to be under the ground.

Your visit to the Colossi of Memnon ends your tour, and you will be taken back to your hotel or anywhere else in Luxor as you like.