Temples & Tombs
Luxor in ancient times was known as Thebes and it certainly will not dissapoint. We start our adventures by exploring enormous Karnak Temple, travelling there by calesh (a horse-drawn carriage). Huge columns and dramatic wall paintings tell the stories of countless pharaohs whose exploits are dramatically described in hieroglyphic inscriptions. Later we mount donkeys and ride to the amazing temple of Queen Hatshepsut, then visit the Valley of the Kings, where we explore underground tombs covered in colourful wall paintings.

Beautiful Aswan
Travelling south into ancient Nubia we arrive in Aswan, the most southerly city in Egypt and one that revels in its laid back atmosphere. It's a city of colourful bazaars, camels, desert sands and the ever-moving yet limpid waters of the Nile. Here we can take an optional trip to see Ramses II's amazing temple at Abu Simbel, before visiting a local Nubian family for a traditional meal. Next we take a camel ride into the desert to the abandoned and hauntingly atmospheric St. Simeon's Monastery before free time when you could choose to take a boat ride to the island-temple of Philae.

Magical Cairo
Cairo - a city of towering minarets and narrow streets, the famous Giza Pyramids and Sphinx stand to the west of the city on a plateau at the very edge of the desert. We arrive by overnight train from Aswan and head straight out to explore, including of course the Pyramids. Standing seemingly unchanged, for millennia, these mind-blowing testaments to power are the most dramatic display of the engineering prowess of the ancient Egyptians. Finally we head downtown to the Egyptian Museum - home to antiquities too numerous to display. The highlight of our visit is Tutankhamen's famous gold mask and funerary ware - what a way to finish!