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Visit the extraordinary Abu Simbel Temples on a private full-day tour, with return transfers by air-conditioned van from Aswan. With an Egyptologist guide, see the Sun Temple of Ramses II, and the Temple of Queen Nefertari.

Tour itinerary:
Enjoy a full-day exploring the temples of Abu Simbel, one of the greatest attractions in Egypt and all antiquity. You will drive direct from Aswan to Abu Simbel in the company of an expert Egyptologist guide.

Departing at 04:00 by police convoy, drive for 3 hours south to Abu Simbel on the banks of Lake Nasser. The world-renowned site is where Ramses II (1290-1223 BC) ordered two sun temples be carved from the limestone mountains.

At the Great Temple of Ra-Harakhte and Amon-Re, the 4 famous colossal statues of Ramses II sit majestically staring across the desert, while 6 massive statues stand in front of the Temple of Hathor, dedicated to the cow-headed goddess of love, and built in honor of Ramses’s favorite wife, Queen Nefertari.

With the completion of the High Dam, a campaign was launched to save the temples from the rising water, and in 1968 UNESCO and the Egyptian government organized that the temples be cut into blocks, and moved piece-by-piece to a new position higher up the hillside.

Originally cut into the side of a mountain, the temple is now domed by an artificial mountain, built to resemble the original location. The original temple was constructed so that the rising sun shone between the statues of Ramses and into the inner recesses of the sanctuary every February 22nd and October 22nd.

Modern engineers spent a year calculating the new placement of the temple in order to reproduce this miracle. Today, as it has for millennia, the sun’s rays illuminate the holy statues for 20 minutes on both dates each year.

After visit, you will be collected by our Guide. Transfer Back to your place of choice in Aswan.