Wonders of the Nile: Aswan to Cairo

Please note, depending on flight schedules – arrival time at the ship may be very late at night or early morning on day 2. 

After a morning at leisure to rest after your late arrival, enjoy breakfast and lunch on board.

This afternoon, we visit one of modern Egypt’s greatest achievements – the Aswan High Dam. We continue to the Temple of Philae, which had to be rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before a relaxing morning cruising.  

Maybe make your way to one of the three open decks and relax under one on one of the many comfortable shaded sun loungers or Balinese-style canopied day-beds as the unchanged landscape of the Nile slips by.

If you prefer to keep cool in air-conditioned comfort, then there’s plenty of armchairs by the full-length windows of the bar. 

This afternoon, join your guide for a visit to the Temple at Kom Ombo - unusual in that it’s dedicated to two gods, Horus (the falcon-headed god) and Sobek (the crocodile god). The Temple once had a lake with sacred crocodiles and many mummies of them have been found nearby.

We sail to Edfu and moor overnight. 

This morning will be an early start to avoid the crowds and heat as we visit one of the best-preserved temples from the Ptolemaic era: the Temple of Edfu. The temple is dedicated to Horus, the patron deity of Edfu. This enormous structure provides a unique glimpse into ancient Egypt's religious and cultural practices with towering columns and intricate hieroglyphics.

After time to explore, we'll rejoin the ship and enjoy the rest of the day sailing on the Nile enjoying lunch and dinner on board as we head towards Luxor via Esna Lock. 

Today will be a full but compelling day as we cross the Nile to the West Bank for the ‘main event’ – the Valley of the Kings! It is simply remarkable that so much artistic beauty is hidden below the barren earth of this hot, dry, rock-strewn valley. The incredible state of preservation and the vividness of the paintings and hieroglyphics is simply astounding. It is tantalising to imagine what treasures all these tombs once held, lost to incredibly efficient grave robbers thousands of years ago. We will also visit the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh, with its stunning three-tiered colonnaded terraces reflecting the outline of the cliffs above.

After lunch back on the ship, we visit the Temple of Karnak. The astounding Hypostyle Hall is the most awe-inspiring part of this vast complex, said to be the largest religious centre of the ancient world. Its 134 gigantic columns stretch up to 80ft high and are covered in hieroglyphics – look carefully and you’ll spot traces of the original colours still visible. One of the many interesting features is the first documented peace treaty in history, between Ramses II and the Hittites. Another highlight is the great Obelisk of Hatshepsut, carved from one 97-foot high block of polished red granite and weighing in at over 300 tons, it has stood here for over 3,450 years, a testament to the amazing abilities and ingenuity of its creators.

To complete your day, we visit the smaller, but equally remarkable Temple of Luxor, which was originally connected to Karnak via the 2-mile long Avenue of the Sphinxes. The temple is famous for its statues, unique artwork and wall carvings. 

Enjoy a morning’s sailing towards Qena and savour lunch on board before your afternoon visit to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. The Temple of Hathor is one of the most complete and best-preserved in all of Egypt. Hathor was the Egyptian goddess of love, beauty, joy and healing, and her temple, although only completed in Roman times, nevertheless follows the architecture and style of much older temples. Intriguingly, one of the outside walls has a famous relief of Cleopatra and Caesarion, her son, by Julius Caesar, so the famous queen may well have visited the temple.

We sail on to Naga Hammadi, where we moor overnight. 

Abydos remains one of ancient Egypt’s most mysterious sites, with the Great Temple of Seti I as its centrepiece. Dedicated to the cult of Osiris, god of the dead, Abydos was a pilgrimage centre for thousands of years. The temple is known for its Gallery of the Kings, which lists all the pharaohs, as well as some hieroglyphs which look like modern machines!

This afternoon, maybe enjoy a spot of afternoon tea or a refreshing drink on the pool deck. After another delicious dinner on board, you might have a chance to adorn a traditional costume for an on board Galabiya party! 

Today we continue our journey northwards, with a full day’s cruising. You’ll cruise through a lock towards Tel El Amarna,pausing in front of Prince Tawdrous Monastery for a view from the ship and for your Tour Manager to explain the importance of this Coptic monastery.

This morning, we arrive in Amarna, site of the short-lived capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti. Akhenaten took a brave, and possibly foolhardy, decision to replace the existing ancient, complex and powerful theology (and its priesthood!) with a monotheistic cult of the sun-god, the Aten. In order to cement the break from the past he built this brand-new city, with its temples and altars open to the sky, unlike the dark cavernous interiors of traditional temples. After his death, his young son, Tutankhamun, ascended the throne and reinstated the old gods, leading to the abandonment of his father’s city. We’ll visit Akhenaten’s tomb, as well as those of some of his courtiers. 

After breakfast, we continue with a tour of the little-visited tombs at Beni Hassan, set high above the Nile at the foot of a cliff, with wonderful views across the valley. The tombs belong to the 11th dynasty governors of the region and unlike more imposing royal tombs, here you’ll find wall paintings showing charming glimpses of real daily life, with hunting scenes, farming, dancing and even wrestling competitions! 

Enjoy a final morning’s sail watching the changing scenery as you near the historical city of Cairo, Egypt’s bustling capital. 

This afternoon we’ll explore Old Cairo’s Christian history with a visit to the remarkable 3rd century ‘Hanging Church’, built over a gateway to the Roman era Babylon fortress. With its wooden barrel-roofed interior this makes for a fascinating introduction to Egypt’s long Coptic heritage. We continue to the Coptic Museum and the nearby Ben Ezra synagogue, said to be the place where the Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses in his basket amongst the reeds. 

Today we’ll drive out of the city towards the Giza plateau for our first close-up view of the Great Pyramids. The truly gigantic size of the three main pyramids only becomes fully apparent when they tower above you in all their majesty. For the more adventurous, entry into the pyramids is available at an extra cost payable locally. For the Great Pyramid of Cheops there’s a daily limit to the number of visitors, so there’s no guarantee of an entry.

A little further down the hill is the mighty Sphinx, one of the world’s largest free-standing sculptures. We’ll then return to the ship for lunch. 

“This day of days, the most wonderful that I have ever lived through…” is how Howard Carter described the day in 1922 when he realised, he had made the archaeological find of the century. King ‘Tut’s’ tomb held so many treasures that it took 10 years to examine, photograph, catalogue and finally remove all 5,398 of them. See the collection in the Tutankhamun Galleries at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum, the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation and, a treasure-house overflowing with artefacts of remarkable ancient craftsmanship, ranging from the mundane to the mystical.