Abu Simbel & Aswan: Temples of the Nile
A curated tour of Egypt's most awe-inspiring ancient monuments — from the colossal rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel on the shores of Lake Nasser to the island temples and UNESCO-rescued wonders of Aswan, spanning over 3,000 years of Pharaonic, Nubian, and Ptolemaic history in Upper Egypt.
Trip Stops
- 1
The ideal starting point — built as part of the UNESCO Nubia campaign, tracing 5,000 years of Nubian civilization with a scale model showing all 22 rescued temple sites. Visiting here first brings the whole Abu Simbel story to life.
📍 Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 2
Completed in 1970, this 3.6-km gravity dam created Lake Nasser, controls the Nile's flood, and generates 2.1 gigawatts of power. It also triggered the greatest archaeological rescue in history — saving 22 Nubian temple complexes — while displacing over 100,000 Nubian people from their ancestral homeland.
📍 Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 3
A stunning Ptolemaic temple on Agilkia Island — reached by motorboat — dedicated to Isis and called the 'Pearl of the Nile'. Dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone on higher ground after 1970. It holds the last known hieroglyphic inscription ever carved in the ancient world, dated 394 AD.
📍 Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 4
One of the world's largest man-made lakes, stretching 550 km from the Aswan Dam into Sudan. Its shores hold over a dozen rescued Nubian temples — but the ancient fortress of Buhen and other sites that couldn't be saved still lie permanently submerged on the lake bed.
📍 Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 5
Four colossal 20-metre statues of Ramesses II guard a rock-cut temple carved 63 metres into a cliff around 1264 BC. Twice a year (Feb 22 & Oct 22) sunrise illuminates the inner sanctuary — a solar alignment the engineers preserved exactly when they cut the entire temple into 1,036 blocks and moved it 65 metres uphill in 1968.
📍 Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 6
The only temple in ancient Egypt where a queen is depicted at the same scale as the pharaoh — a unique honour Ramesses II bestowed on his favourite wife Nefertari, whose name means 'Beautiful Companion'. More intimate than the Great Temple, its colourful interior reliefs are among the finest surviving examples of ancient Egyptian art.
📍 Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 7
An after-sunset spectacle where coloured lights illuminate the colossal Ramesses statues while narration recounts his reign, the Battle of Kadesh, and the temple rescue. Held three times nightly in rotating languages — most magical on the solar alignment dates (Feb 22 & Oct 22).
📍 Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
- 8
A living Nubian community of ~2,600 people, relocated here when Lake Nasser flooded their ancestral lands — both the ancient stones and the living village were uprooted and rebuilt on higher ground. Brightly painted houses, colourful murals, and a local market with handmade crafts make it a warm contrast to the grandeur of the temples.
📍 Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
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