- Duration
- 12 hours
- Starts from
- Aswan
- Group size
- Up to 12 guests
- Difficulty
- Easy
Overview
A night-time start from Aswan to Abu Simbel for the sun alignment around 22 February and 22 October, when dawn light reaches the statues deep inside the Great Temple. Guide, entry and lunch included.
Twice a year, around 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun shines straight through the entrance of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel and along some 60 metres of halls to the sanctuary, lighting up the seated statues of Ra-Horakhty, Amun-Ra and Ramses II himself. The fourth figure, Ptah, a god linked with the underworld, stays in shadow. The light lasts around 20 minutes, and thousands of people come to see it.
To be there in time, we pick you up from your hotel in Aswan in the middle of the night and drive about three and a half hours south across the desert, arriving in the dark to join the queue at the temple. Inside it's crowded and warm, and you may only get a short look at the sanctuary, but the atmosphere outside, with music, dancing and a cheer as the sun clears the horizon, is part of the occasion.
Afterwards your Egyptologist guide shows you the rest of the Great Temple and the Small Temple of Nefertari and Hathor, and explains how both were moved in the 1960s to escape the waters of Lake Nasser. After lunch you drive back to Aswan, around 12 hours after pickup.
Highlights
- Dawn light reaching the sanctuary of the Great Temple
- The four seated statues, with Ptah left in shadow
- The festival atmosphere outside the temple
- The Small Temple of Nefertari and Hathor
- Lunch before the drive back to Aswan
Itinerary
- 1
Day 1
Aswan → Abu Simbel at dawn → Aswan
Night-time pickup and about three and a half hours' drive south to Abu Simbel to queue before sunrise. You watch the sun alignment inside the Great Temple, then have a guided visit to both temples. Lunch and the drive back to Aswan follow, around 12 hours in total.
What's included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Aswan
- Shared small-group tour in an air-conditioned vehicle with driver
- Licensed Egyptologist guide
- Entry tickets to the Abu Simbel temples
- Lunch
Not included
- Drinks with lunch
- Tips for guide and driver
- Personal expenses
What to bring
- A warm layer, as desert nights in February and October are cold
- A neck pillow for the drive
- Comfortable shoes for standing in the queue
- Hat and sunscreen for later in the morning
- Snacks and water
Pickup & meeting point
Pickup from your hotel in Aswan in the middle of the night; the exact time is confirmed the day before.
Children up to 11 pay the child rate
Photos
Reviews
Be the first to review this journey.
