Abu Simbel is the one great site on a Nile cruise that the ship itself never reaches. The two temples stand 280 kilometres south of Aswan, on the shore of Lake Nasser, and visiting them means a morning trip by road or a short flight while your ship waits in Aswan. It is the longest excursion we offer, it starts before dawn, and guests still tell us afterwards it was the best morning of the week. Here is how the trip actually works from a cruise, what you will see, and how to decide whether it belongs in your programme.
- Abu Simbel is 280 km south of Aswan. The trip runs by road, about three hours each way, or by a short flight. You are back on board for a late lunch.
- Ramses II cut both temples into the cliff around 3,200 years ago, one for himself and one for his queen, Nefertari.
- In the 1960s the whole site was cut into blocks and rebuilt on higher ground so Lake Nasser would not drown it. What you visit is the original stone, moved.
- On our current 3 and 4 night offers Abu Simbel is already included. On the 7 night classic cruise it is an optional trip on the free day in Aswan.
- Twice a year, around 22 February and 22 October, the sunrise reaches the statues in the inner sanctuary.
What Abu Simbel is
Around 1264 BC, Ramses II ordered two temples cut directly into a sandstone cliff at the southern edge of Egypt. The Great Temple is fronted by four seated statues of the king, each about 20 metres tall, and runs 60 metres straight back into the rock, through halls of carved battle scenes, to a sanctuary where Ramses sits among the gods. A short walk away stands the Small Temple, built for his wife Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. It is one of very few temples in Egypt built for a queen, and on its facade Nefertari’s statues stand the same height as the king’s, which almost never happens in Egyptian art.
The point of the place was the border. Anyone sailing into Egypt from the south met four colossal images of the king before they met a single Egyptian soldier. Three thousand years later the effect still works. You come around the walkway, the cliff opens, and the statues are simply much bigger than the photographs had led you to expect.
How the temples were saved
When the High Dam was built at Aswan, the lake rising behind it would have drowned Abu Simbel entirely. Between 1964 and 1968, in a UNESCO project involving teams from dozens of countries, both temples were sawn into more than a thousand large blocks, lifted 65 metres up the cliff, and reassembled about 200 metres back from the water, on an artificial mountain built to hold them. The joints are almost invisible. When you stand inside, you are standing in the original stone, in the original arrangement, just higher up. For many of our guests the rescue story ends up being as memorable as the temples themselves, and your Egyptologist will show you where to look for its traces.
The sun alignment
The Great Temple was set out so that twice a year the rising sun shines through the entrance, down the full 60 metres of the axis, and lands on the statues in the sanctuary. It happens around 22 February and 22 October. Three of the four seated figures catch the light. The fourth, Ptah, a god connected with the underworld, stays in shadow. Those two mornings draw the biggest crowds of the year at the site, with music and a festival atmosphere before sunrise. If your dates happen to fall on them, tell us early, because the site is at its busiest and the timing needs care. On every other day of the year the temples are the same temples, without the queue.
The next alignment mornings are 22 October 2026 and 22 February 2027. We update these dates here every year.
How the trip works from your cruise
Cruise ships on the Luxor to Aswan run cannot sail to Abu Simbel. The lake is a separate body of water above the High Dam, so the visit is a land trip from Aswan while the ship stays at its mooring.
By road, the day starts before dawn. It is about three hours across the desert to the temples, roughly two hours at the site, and three hours back, with the road quiet and the light coming up over the sand on the way south. You are back on board around lunchtime, and the rest of the day carries on as normal. It is a long morning, and it is worth knowing that in advance, but the early start is also what puts you at the temples before the middle of the day.
There is also a short flight from Aswan for those who prefer to skip the road. Tell us when you book and we will price both ways for your dates.
Where it fits depends on your cruise. On the 3 night cruise from Aswan it runs on the first day, before the ship sails. On the 4 night cruise from Luxor it comes at the Aswan end. On the 7 night classic round trip it slots into the free day in Aswan, which exists partly for this reason. In our current seasonal offers the Abu Simbel trip, with entrance tickets, is already inside the price.
Is it worth it?
Honestly: for most people, yes, and we say that as the ones who have to wake you at four in the morning. Abu Simbel is not one more temple after Karnak, Edfu and Philae. It is a different kind of monument, colossal sculpture rather than columned halls, and the rescue story gives it a second life that no other site on the river has. Guests who were unsure the night before almost always come back glad they went.
The honest case against is the hours. If you travel with very young children, or long car rides are genuinely difficult for you, the day can be more tiring than it is magical, and the cruise is already full of great sites that involve no such morning. Skipping Abu Simbel does not break the trip. If you are in doubt, ask us on WhatsApp and we will tell you plainly what we would do with your dates and your group.
Practical notes
Bring your passport, as there are checkpoints on the desert road. Take water and a hat even in winter, because the site is open ground with little shade by mid morning. Breakfast is arranged with the ship as an early box or an early sitting, so you do not leave hungry. And charge your camera the night before. The approach around the cliff is the photograph everyone wants.
Questions we hear a lot
How far is Abu Simbel from Aswan?
About 280 kilometres, which is roughly three hours by road each way, or a short flight.
Can the cruise ship sail there?
No. Abu Simbel stands on Lake Nasser, above the High Dam, which ships from the Luxor to Aswan stretch cannot pass. A few separate ships cruise only the lake, which is a different holiday. From a classic Nile cruise, the visit is a road trip or a flight from Aswan.
Is Abu Simbel included in the cruise price?
In our current 3 and 4 night offers, yes, with the entrance tickets. On the 7 night classic cruise and on most ship only bookings it is an optional extra, and we confirm the exact price with your quote.
How early is the early start?
The car usually leaves Aswan before dawn. Exact timing depends on the season and your ship’s schedule, and we confirm it the evening before.
Is the trip guided?
Yes. As with every excursion we run, a licensed Egyptologist goes with you, and Abu Simbel is a site where the guiding earns its keep, because the best of it is in the details on the walls.
When is the sun festival?
Around 22 February and 22 October each year, when the sunrise reaches the sanctuary statues. The site is at its most crowded on those two mornings.
Planning a cruise around it?
See this season’s offers with Abu Simbel included, or find the ship that sails on your dates and ask us to add the trip. We reply within one working day with a full price for your dates.
