Luxury Nile Cruise, Aswan to Luxor

Our representative meets you on arrival in Aswan, at the airport or the railway station, and takes you by private, air-conditioned vehicle to your Nile cruise. Your sightseeing starts straight away, with the Aswan High Dam. Next is the Temple of Philae, devoted to the goddess Isis, which was moved to Agilika Island to save it from the floodwaters after the dam was built. Take time for its slender columns and fine reliefs. You then check in on board for a welcome lunch, and dinner is served as the sun goes down over the river.

Breakfast is served as the ship leaves Aswan and heads toward Luxor. Your first stop is Kom Ombo, where a rare double temple is shared by two gods: Horus, the falcon god, and Sobek, the crocodile god. Its two matching halves each have their own entrance, halls and sanctuaries, and the walls carry carvings of daily life and religion. Lunch is served on board as you sail on to Edfu past green riverbanks. In the afternoon you visit the Temple of Horus, built for the falcon god and known for its detailed reliefs. Dinner follows on the ship, which stays docked at Edfu overnight.

After breakfast on board, you set out for the West Bank of Luxor. In the Valley of the Kings, generations of pharaohs were buried in tombs cut deep into the mountains, their walls painted with the afterlife, the gods and royal power. Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's female rulers, is honored at the mortuary temple of Deir el-Bahari, built into the cliffs, where carvings show her divine birth and her reign. The tour ends at the Colossi of Memnon, a pair of giant statues that once guarded a temple entrance. Lunch is on board, the afternoon is free on the sundeck, and the night is spent docked in Luxor.

After breakfast on board, your guide takes you to Luxor's East Bank. Karnak Temple comes first, the vast religious complex at the heart of ancient Thebes. Dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu, it is a place of towering columns, sacred lakes and fine carvings. Luxor Temple, just south of Karnak, is joined to it by the Avenue of Sphinxes. Festivals and ceremonies were once held here, and you walk past its large statues and through its open courtyards, with a clear picture of spiritual life in ancient Egypt.

Your cruise ends this morning. After a last breakfast on board, you disembark with your luggage. Our representative meets you at the ship and arranges your transfer to the airport or the railway station, in good time for the next part of your travels. We hope the Nile stays with you long after you leave.