Most visitors give Abu Simbel two hours on a day trip from Aswan, arriving with the morning convoy of coaches. Stay one night instead: you get the sound and light show after dark and the temples at the 6am opening, before the coaches arrive. Come between November and February, or on 22 February or 22 October for the Sun Festival, and book a bed months ahead for those dates.
Abu Simbel is two temples, a lake and a small Nubian town close to the Sudan border. Ramesses II cut the temples into a sandstone cliff, and in the 1960s engineers sawed them into blocks and rebuilt them 65 metres higher, clear of the rising Lake Nasser.
Four seated colossi of Ramesses II, each about 20 metres tall, guard a temple that runs some 56 metres into the rock. Walk straight through to the sanctuary first, then work back through the halls before the tour groups fill them.
Six standing colossi, four of the king and two of his queen Nefertari, all at the same height of about 10 metres, which is rare for a royal wife. Inside, the hall of Hathor pillars is smaller, brighter and calmer than the Great Temple.
Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun runs the length of the temple into the sanctuary and lights three of the four seated gods. Ptah, the god of the underworld, stays in shadow.
The facades become the screen for a narrated history of Ramesses, Nefertari and the 1960s rescue, projected after dark. It is the reason to stay the night rather than coach back to Aswan.
Between the 6am opening and the arrival of the Aswan convoy, the forecourt and the lake below it are close to empty. This is the hour to stand back and see the two facades together.
Three or four nights between Aswan and Abu Simbel, stopping at temples no road reaches and arriving at Abu Simbel by water. The lake carries a fraction of the traffic of the Nile cruises.
A fortified hilltop, occupied for more than two thousand years until 1812, that is now an island and one of the very few Nubian sites the lake did not wholly drown. Its cathedral is the largest surviving building.
A small temple begun under Thutmose III whose painted reliefs were too fragile to cut, so the whole building was moved on rails. The colour inside is the best on the lake.
The “valley of the lions” is named for the avenue of sphinxes in front of a temple of Ramesses II. Christians later used it as a church, and saints painted over pharaonic reliefs still look out from the sanctuary.
A small lodge built of mud brick in the Nubian style, about ten minutes from the temples, with its own restaurant cooking Nubian dishes. The best reason to stay overnight in town.
Eight pillars fronted by standing figures of Ramesses as Osiris line the first hall. Vultures fly across the ceiling.
A wall-length account of Ramesses’s campaign against the Hittites, chariots and all, presented as a victory.
Four seated gods: Ptah, Amun-Ra, Ramesses himself and Ra-Horakhty. The Sun Festival light falls here.
Storerooms off the halls, carved with offering scenes. Quieter than the axis while the crowds hold the centre.
Queen and king stand at the same height, about 10 metres, with their children at their knees.
Six pillars with Hathor’s face on the capitals, and the queen playing the sistrum before the gods.
A narrow vestibule leads to the small sanctuary of Hathor at the back of the rock.
One of the four seated kings lost his head and torso in antiquity. The rebuilders left the pieces at his feet, as found.
Soldiers serving Egypt in the 6th century BC scratched their names into the southern colossi, an early record of the Greek alphabet.
Records Ramesses’s marriage to a Hittite princess, framed as the Hittite king’s submission.
A small open-air chapel at the north end of the terrace, buried under sand until 1910.
A paddle-steamer-style ship with 65 cabins, sailing three and four nights each way.
Run by Belle Epoque of Cairo and on the lake since 1994, the boat that opened the lake temples to cruising.
On the lakeshore, with pools and an à la carte restaurant, about ten minutes from the temples.
A family-run Nubian guesthouse with a garden and terrace, about 2 km from the temples.
About three and a half hours north by road, or under an hour by air. Granite islands, feluccas and the Nubian villages.
A public holiday across Egypt. Offices and some banks close, and the temples stay open.
Dawn light reaches the sanctuary of the Great Temple. Thousands gather on the terrace before first light.
The month of daytime fasting. Sites keep hours, restaurants serve late, and the town wakes after sunset.
The holiday that ends Ramadan. Domestic travel peaks, so book flights and beds early.
A spring holiday kept by Egyptians of every faith, with picnics and salted fish.
The feast of the sacrifice and a long public holiday. Expect Egyptian visitors and full buses.
Afternoon highs regularly pass 40°C. Arrive at opening and be off the terrace by late morning.
The second alignment of the year, in milder weather than February. Book months ahead.
A few kilometres from the temples, with EgyptAir flights from Aswan and Cairo.
A desert highway of 280 to 300 km. Tour coaches leave Aswan in the small hours to arrive mid-morning; check the current rules for independent cars locally.
Cruise ships sail between the High Dam at Aswan and moorings below the temples, the only way to see the lake temples on the way.
Hotels, the town and the temples sit within a few kilometres. Walk, or take a local taxi and fix the fare first.
Nile perch or tilapia from the lake, grilled or fried, and the local catch.
Rice and toasted bread under lamb, with a garlic and vinegar sauce. Feast-day food.
Meat or vegetables baked in a clay pot with tomato and onion.
Fava beans stewed with cumin, lemon and oil. Breakfast across Egypt.
Egyptian falafel, made with fava beans rather than chickpeas.
A green soup of jute leaves with garlic, poured over rice or bread.
Hibiscus tea, deep red, served hot or iced. The south grows the flowers.
Aswan Governorate dates, sold dried by the kilo and served with tea.
Subscribe to the Wimup newsletter for new guides, travel news and more.
Egypt
