Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
6
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
10
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
9
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Africa / Middle East
country
Egypt
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$190 ($120-$600 in 2025 prices)
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Ancient ruins Desert Temple complex
All Tags
Boat trip Caves Cliffs Graveyards Mountains Palaces River Experience Sailing Sunsets Train journey UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Crocodiles
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

 

Luxor was the highlight of my Egypt trip, and it’s criminally underplayed compared to the pyramids. The sheer scale of Karnak is genuinely awe-inducing, the Valley of the Kings feels like a proper mini-adventure despite the crowds, and the Temple of Hatshepsut is one of the most striking and underrated ancient sites I’ve ever seen. Add in a sunset felucca on the Nile and the ability to move between world-class sights with relative ease, and Luxor delivers a concentration of history, beauty and atmosphere that few places can match.  A wonderful few days and smashes the Wow factor with the maximum score.

 

Sphinx in Kuxor, Karnak with palm trees in the background

My 4 Highlights of Luxor

Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut - #1 Wandering through the exotic stone columns of the enormous and inspiring Karnak

#1 Wandering through the exotic stone columns of the enormous and inspiring Karnak

Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut - #2 Exploring the resting spot of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings

#2 Exploring the resting spot of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings - heaps of long, winding tunnels below and towering mountains above

Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut - #3 Looking down from above at the Temple of Hatshepsut carved into the bottom of a 300m tall cliff

#3 Looking down from above at the sensational Temple of Hatshepsut carved into the bottom of a 300m tall cliff

Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut - #4 Taking a Felucca for a mini Nile cruise for sunset and relaxing after a day of seeing the sights

#4 Taking a Felucca for a mini Nile cruise for sunset and relaxing after a day of seeing the sights

Travel Tips

 

Karnak

It is a must . . . and vast.  Rather than go the usual way that all the tourists do, trying to see everything, my suggestion is just to wander off and get a little lost – let the wonder and majesty of it all grip you for that wonderful ancient feeling of adventure.  You can always look at the map and make sure you see some of the things you want to later.

 

Luxor - One of the entrance ways into the vast temple complex of Karnak

One of the entrance ways into the vast temple complex of Karnak

 

The Valley of the Kings

It’s a fun mini adventure.  Just be prepared for it to be quite crowded in some of the small tombs and the need to pay at quite a few different entrances.  Some of the spots can also be a little underwhelming based on what there is actually to see, plus the heat can sap the energy.

 

Luxor - The wonderful colours you see in the hieroglyphics found throughout Karnak and the Valley of the kings 

The wonderful colours you see in the hieroglyphics found throughout Karnak and the Valley of the kings 

 

Temple of Hatshepsut

I cannot believe that more is not made of this place as it is wow-factor stunning.  Before I visited, I saw a photo of the wide column-faced temple that is carved into the foot of a 300m tall cliff, and knew I had to check it out.

Biggest tip – the best way to see the Temple and to get a feel of its location among the surroundings is by walking to the top of the ridge from the Valley of the Kings (the ridge splits the two sites).  Only takes around 30mins to reach the top for the views and way quieter up there.

 

Luxor - The view down onto Hatshepsut from the top of the ridge that separates it from the Valley of the Kings 

The view down onto Hatshepsut from the top of the ridge that separates it from the Valley of the Kings 

 

Taking a Felucca for a mini Nile cruise

Super touristy, especially for sunset, but it’s fun and a gorgeous way to end to one of the days.

 

Typical felucca you'll jump on for a short cruise of the Nile by Luxor

Typical felucca you’ll jump on for a short cruise of the Nile by Luxor

 

Getting there by train from Cairo

We traveled down to Luxor from Cairo on the overnight train.  Left at around 8pm and arrived just before 6am, and you can also take the train which is around 8am – 7pm.  I say “around” because this is Egypt and things rarely leave bang on time.  Although, the Express trains tend to be a bit better.  I found this site particularly helpful – https://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm – for detailed info on the trains.  Just make sure you pay for the VIP express.  We tried to save a bit of money – which was an error on a sleeper train!!

 

Be prepared for the touts and scams

Its Egypt, so it can be pretty intense sometimes and sort of comes with the territory.  Take a deep breath, be polite – they’ll leave you alone . . . eventually.

 

Hassle free zone . . . as long as you buy

 

Try to learn a little bit about the history of the Pharaohs and Ancient Egypt before you arrive

As with many such sights, they are of course very impressive on their own, but having the context adds so much to the overall experience. Its worth visiting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo before heading to Luxor if you get the chance, or even just a 30min read on Wikipedia.

 

Visiting in January was really pleasant temperature.

I’d imagine the summer heat would be energy sapping.

 

Luxor - bright blue ski days without the heat and haze of the summer

January – bright blue sky days without the heat and haze of the summer

 

What else?

Not exactly close as its another 3 hours south, but I wish we’d continued down to Aswan to see Abu Simbel and the Aswan Dam.

 

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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