Luxor West Bank Day Tour

This Luxor West Bank day tour takes you across the Nile to the city of the dead — the valleys and temples where Egypt’s New Kingdom pharaohs prepared for the afterlife. In a single morning you walk into painted royal tombs, stand beneath Hatshepsut’s great terraced temple, and pass the Colossi of Memnon, all with a private Egyptologist to bring the stories to life.

A morning among the pharaohs

For five hundred years, Egypt’s kings and queens chose the barren hills opposite Thebes as their burial ground, far from the temples of the east bank. What they left behind — deep rock-cut tombs covered in vivid painted scenes, and mortuary temples built to keep their memory alive — is one of the richest archaeological landscapes anywhere in the world. This tour covers its highlights at a comfortable pace.

What you will visit

• The Valley of the Kings — the royal necropolis where more than sixty tombs were cut into the rock, including those of Tutankhamun, Ramesses VI and Seti I. Your ticket includes entry to three tombs, chosen with your guide from those open on the day.
• The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari — the mortuary temple of Egypt’s most powerful female pharaoh, its three colonnaded terraces rising dramatically against the cliff.
• The Colossi of Memnon — two 18-metre statues of Amenhotep III that once guarded a vanished temple, now standing alone at the edge of the fields.

Depending on your interests and the time available, your guide can also point you toward the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu, or the tomb-workers’ village at Deir el-Medina.

How the day works

You are collected from your Luxor hotel or Nile cruise boat in an air-conditioned vehicle and driven across to the West Bank. A licensed Egyptologist guides you through each site, explaining the tombs’ decoration, the gods and symbols on the walls, and the lives of the people who built them. This is a private tour, so the pace is yours — there is time to look properly, ask questions, and take photographs where permitted.

Good to know

Mornings are cooler and far more comfortable for walking the valley, so an early start is well worth it. Wear a hat and comfortable shoes, bring water and sun protection, and carry some cash for the optional tombs that sit outside the standard ticket — Tutankhamun’s tomb, Seti I’s, and Nefertari’s each require a separate entrance fee. Photography inside most tombs is allowed with a photo ticket; your guide will explain where it applies.