5.0 on Tripadvisor Licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and AntiquitiesMinistry licensed guides On the river since 2011 Luxor and Aswan, every week
The Valley of the Kings is a dry valley behind the Theban hills, on Luxor’s west bank, where the kings of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties were buried, from about 1550 to 1069 BC. More than sixty tombs have been found here, and a handful are open to visitors at any time.
The valley, the tombs, and two of the famous ones.
A natural pyramid rises over the valley. For the Egyptians it was a symbol of rebirth, and the kings chose to be buried beneath it.
Long corridors slope down into the hill, painted with the books of the afterlife: the sun’s journey through the night, and the gods who guard each hour.
The king stands before the gods, making offerings, in colours that have lasted more than three thousand years underground.
Tomb 62, found by Howard Carter in 1922. It is small, and only the burial chamber is painted, but it held about 5,000 objects packed tightly together.
Begun by Ramesses V and enlarged by his uncle Ramesses VI, who was buried in it. Every ceiling is covered with astronomical scenes and texts.
Your guide explains each tomb before you go in, so you know what to look for underground.
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Your ticket covers three tombs, chosen from those open that day. Your Egyptologist picks the best three and explains each one before you go in.
Tutankhamun. Tomb 62, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Only the walls of the burial chamber are decorated.
Seti I. Son of Ramesses I and father of Ramesses II. One of the longest, deepest and most beautifully decorated tombs in the valley, and the first to be decorated from end to end. It was found by Giovanni Belzoni.
Ramesses V and VI. Begun by Ramesses V and enlarged by Ramesses VI. In the burial chamber the sky goddess Nut appears twice, back to back, framing the Books of the Day and the Night, and ancient visitors left nearly a thousand graffiti in Greek, Latin and Coptic.
Tell us when you book, or tell your Egyptologist on the day, and we arrange the extra tickets.
Aware that earlier royal tombs had been robbed, the kings of the New Kingdom gave up pyramids and hid their tombs underground in this secluded valley. Thutmose I, around 1500 BC, is the first king known for certain to have been buried here. Besides the sixty-odd tombs there are about twenty unfinished ones, little more than pits cut into the rock.
The valley is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, listed in 1979.
Every cruise we sell visits the valley with a licensed Egyptologist.
Three, chosen from the tombs open on the day. Which tombs are open changes from time to time.
Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramesses V and VI. Tell us when you book or tell your Egyptologist on the day.
It can be. The valley holds the heat and there is little shade outside the tombs, which is why we go in the morning. Bring a hat and water.
Some. The tombs are reached along a sloping path, and inside you walk down corridors and steps into the hill.
Tell us your dates and we will send back two or three ships that fit, with real prices.
See also the Temple of Hatshepsut, visited the same morning.
