Upper Egypt is where the story of ancient Egypt becomes most vivid. Stretching along the Nile from Aswan to Luxor, this region contains some of the most remarkable temples and tombs ever built, including Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, Abu Simbel, and the royal tombs of the West Bank.
Featured Upper Egypt & Nile Travel Guides:
These guides focus on the realities of traveling this region independently, including transportation between cities, temple logistics, and how to experience the Nile at a pace that allows its history to unfold. For many travelers, Upper Egypt becomes the highlight of the entire journey.
We flew into Aswan after dark, navigated an airport with no Uber, and checked into a modest hotel that worked perfectly for one night. By 8 a.m. the next morning we were on a Nile cruise boat meeting a tour group from four continents. By 4:30 a.m. the morning after that we were on a … Read more
We didn’t want to do a Nile cruise. We were self-guided travelers who had deliberately avoided group tours for the entire trip, and the idea of a fixed itinerary with a guide and a schedule felt like everything we’d been trying to escape. Then we did the arithmetic on going Aswan to Luxor by road … Read more
We arrived in Luxor fresh off the Nile Cruise and immediately understood why every Egypt itinerary eventually bends toward this city. Luxor sits on the bones of ancient Thebes — Egypt’s greatest capital — and three days here, entirely self-guided and mostly off the tour group timetable, took us from the most colossal columns on … Read more
I broke away from my Nile cruise tour group in Luxor because this city deserves more than a hurried afternoon. After being mesmerized by the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut, I knew I had to return to the West Bank for a second day. What I found — on the advice … Read more