Must-see attractions in Luxor

  • Decorated columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Amun Temple enclosure in Karnak, Egypt; Shutterstock ID 2287618019; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Amun Temple Enclosure

    Luxor

    Amun-Ra was the local god of Karnak (Luxor) and during the New Kingdom, when the princes of Thebes ruled Egypt, he became the preeminent state god, with a…

  • LUXOR, EGYPT - FEBRUARY 5 2016 - Unique shot of the Ramesses VI tomb in Valley of the Kings. Obtaining permission for taking images there is painstaking but worth it.; Shutterstock ID 467883095; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Southern Egypt temples article
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    Valley of the Kings

    Luxor

    The west bank of Luxor had been the site of royal burials since around 2100 BC, but it was the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC) who chose…

  • Ram-headed sphinxes ,Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt.
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    Karnak

    Luxor

    Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban triad but also to the greater glory of pharaohs…

  • Tomb of Seti I (KV 17)

    Luxor

    One of the great achievements of Egyptian art, this cathedral-like tomb is the finest in the Valley of the Kings. Long closed to visitors, it is now…

  • Medinet Habu temple.

    Medinat Habu

    Luxor

    Ramses III’s magnificent memorial temple of Medinat Habu, fronted by sleepy Kom Lolah village and backed by the Theban mountains, is one of the west bank…

  • The Luxor Museum.

    Luxor Museum

    Luxor

    This wonderful museum has a well-chosen and brilliantly displayed and explained collection of antiquities dating from the end of the Old Kingdom right…

  • Ramesses VI tomb in Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt.

    Tomb of Ramses VI (KV 9)

    Luxor

    With some of the broadest corridors, longest shafts (117m) and greatest variety of decoration, KV 9 is one of the most spectacular tombs in the valley…

  • Statues of Amenemopet, the Chief Steward of Amun, and his wife in his tomb, Valley of Nobles in Thebes, Luxor, Egypt.

    Tombs of the Nobles

    Luxor

    These tombs are some of the best least-visited attractions on the west bank. Nestled in the foothills opposite the Ramesseum are more than 400 tombs…

  • Reliefs showing the mistress of the house and the chantress of Amun at the tomb of Sennefer in Luxor, Egypt.

    Tombs of Sennofer & Rekhmire

    Luxor

    The most interesting parts of the tomb of Sennofer, overseer of the Garden of Amun under Amenhotep II, are to be found deep underground, in the main…

  • Luxor Temple.

    Luxor Temple

    Luxor

    Largely built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), this temple is a strikingly graceful monument in the…

  • Hatshepsut Temple in Luxor.

    Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut

    Luxor

    At Deir Al Bahri, the eyes first focus on the dramatic rugged limestone cliffs that rise nearly 300m above the desert plain, only to realise that at the…

  • Tomb of Tutankhamun, Luxor, Egypt.

    Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV 62)

    Luxor

    The story of the celebrated discovery of the famous tomb and all the fabulous treasures it contained far outshines the reality of the small tomb of a…

  • Colossi of Memnon, Valley of Kings, Luxor, Egypt.

    Colossi of Memnon

    Luxor

    The two faceless Colossi of Memnon, originally representing Pharaoh Amenhotep III, rising majestically about 18m from the plain, are the first monuments…

  • Ramesseum in Luxor.

    Ramesseum

    Luxor

    Ramses II called his massive memorial ‘the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra’; classical visitors called it the tomb of Ozymandias; and Jean…

  • Tomb KV11, the tomb of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III.

    Tomb of Ramses III (KV 11)

    Luxor

    One of the most popular tombs in the valley, KV 11 is also one of the most interesting and best preserved. Originally started by Sethnakht (1186–1184 BC),…

  • Deir el-Medina Village in Luxor, Egypt.

    Deir Al Medina

    Luxor

    This site takes its name from a Ptolemaic temple, later converted to a Coptic monastery – the Monastery of the Town – but the real attraction is the…

  • Interior view of the lower Chambers of Tomb QV66 Queen Nefertari, with Gods Hathor, Sekhmet, and Ra Horakhty visible, in the Valley of the Queens, Luxor, Egypt.

    Tomb of Nefertari

    Luxor

    Nefertari's tomb is hailed as one of the finest in the Theban necropolis – and all of Egypt for that matter. Nefertari was one of five wives of Ramses II,…

  • Tombs in the Valley of the Queens, Luxor, Egypt.

    Valley of the Queens

    Luxor

    At the southern end of the Theban hillside, the Valley of the Queens contains at least 75 tombs that belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties as…

  • Tomb of Tuthmosis III (KV 34)

    Luxor

    Hidden in the hills between high limestone cliffs, and reached only via a steep staircase that crosses an even steeper ravine, this tomb demonstrates the…

  • Tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35)

    Luxor

    This 91m-long tomb was built for Amenhotep II (sometimes also called Amenophis II), who succeeded his father, the great king Tuthmosis III. Amenophis died…

  • Tomb of Horemheb (KV 57)

    Luxor

    Horemheb was Tutankhamun's general, who succeeded Ay, Tutankhamun's briefly reigning tutor. His tomb has beautiful decoration that shows the first use of…

  • Tomb of Ay

    Luxor

    Although only the burial chamber is decorated, this tomb, tucked away in the West Valley, is noted for its scenes of Ay hunting hippopotamus and fishing…

  • Tomb of Tuthmosis IV (KV 43)

    Luxor

    The tomb of Tuthmosis IV (1400–1390 BC) is one of the largest and deepest tombs constructed during the 18th dynasty. It is also the first in which paint…

  • Tomb of Tawosret/Sethnakht (KV 14)

    Luxor

    Tawosret was the wife of Seti II and after his successor Siptah died, she took power herself (1188–1186 BC). Egyptologists think she began the tomb for…

  • Tomb of Merenptah (KV 8)

    Luxor

    The second-largest tomb in the valley, Merenptah’s tomb has been open since antiquity and has its share of Greek and Coptic graffiti. Floods have damaged…

  • Tombs of Menna, Nakht & Amenemope

    Luxor

    The beautiful and highly colourful wall paintings in the tomb of Menna and the tomb of Nakht emphasise rural life in 18th-dynasty Egypt. Menna was an…

  • Tomb of Ramses IV (KV 2)

    Luxor

    Originally intended to be much larger, KV 2 was cut short at 89m on the early death of the pharaoh (1147 BC) and a pillared hall was converted to be the…

  • Tombs of Ramose, Userhet & Khaemhet

    Luxor

    The tomb of Ramose, a governor of Thebes under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, is fascinating because it is one of the few monuments dating from a period of…

  • Tomb of Mentuherkhepeshef (KV 19)

    Luxor

    The only tomb of a prince that you can visit in the Valley of the Kings (others are closed), this was decorated for Prince Rameses Mentuherkhepeshef (c…

  • Tomb of Ramses IX (KV 6)

    Luxor

    Only half decorated at the time of the king's death and open since antiquity, this is not the most interesting tomb in the valley, but it is one the most…

  • Tomb of Amunherkhepshef

    Luxor

    If you can't afford entry to the Tomb of Nefertari, the valley’s showpiece is the tomb of Amunherkhepshef, with beautiful, well-preserved reliefs…

  • Tomb of Titi

    Luxor

    The tomb of Queen Titi has a corridor leading to a square chapel, off which is the burial chamber and two smaller rooms. The paintings are faded, but you…

  • Theban Community Library

    Luxor

    The latest project from Professor Kent Weeks and the Theban Mapping Project is the first open library in Luxor, a free service with general books in…

  • Tomb of Seti II (KV 15)

    Luxor

    Adjacent to the tomb of Tawosret/Sethnakht is a smaller tomb where it seems Sethnakht buried Seti II (1200–1194 BC) after turfing him out of KV 14. Open…

  • Tomb of Sennedjem

    Luxor

    The tomb of Sennedjem is stunningly decorated and contains two small chambers with some exquisite paintings. Sennedjem was a 19th-dynasty artist who lived…

  • Tomb of Inherka

    Luxor

    Inherka was a 19th-dynasty servant who worked in the Place of Truth in the Valley of the Kings. His beautifully adorned one-room tomb has magnificent wall…

  • Tomb of Peshedu

    Luxor

    Peshedu was another 19th-dynasty servant in the Place of Truth and had himself portrayed praying under a palm tree beside a lake, an image that has become…

  • View of the facade of the ancient Egyptian Temple of Seti I on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor, Egypt.; Shutterstock ID 105754178; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Luxor Guides app update

    Temple of Seti I

    Luxor

    Seti I, who built the superbly decorated temple at Abydos, his beautiful tomb in the Valley of the Kings and Karnak’s magnificent hypostyle hall, died…

  • New Gurna

    Luxor

    Hassan Fathy’s mud-brick village lies just past the railway track on the road from the ferry to the Antiquities Inspectorate ticket office. Although built…

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