Queen Nefertari – 8 Days (Cairo & Nile cruise)

Breakfast is followed by a full day in Cairo with your Egyptologist, an expert who is also easy company. You start on the Giza plateau, whose pyramids are the last survivor of the ancient world’s seven wonders. Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos each built a pyramid here from enormous stone blocks, and together they remain one of the most impressive feats of human construction. Beside them lies the Sphinx, long seen as the guardian of the pharaohs’ country, its lion body topped by a head modelled on Chephren as it watches over the site.

Next comes the Grand Egyptian Museum. Its collection runs to over 250,000 objects covering roughly five millennia, and the star exhibit is Tutankhamun’s treasure, including the famous mask of solid gold. To finish, you transfer to Cairo railway station and board the sleeper train to Aswan. A domestic flight can replace the train if you would like a smoother, more comfortable journey.

After breakfast, a representative meets you at Aswan railway station when you arrive. Your first visit is the world-famous High Dam, a celebrated engineering achievement built in 1960 that supplies all of Egypt with electricity and water for irrigation. A short boat ride then carries you to Agilika Island and the Temple of Philae, a temple honouring the goddess Isis that is made up of several shrines and sanctuaries. Afterwards you return to the Nile cruise and have lunch on board.

After breakfast, you visit Kom Ombo Temple, an unusual double temple shared by two gods. Its right side honours Sobek, the crocodile god, and its left side Horus the Great, the sun god associated with war. Lunch is back on the Nile cruise, after which you continue to Edfu Temple, dedicated to Horus and the best-preserved temple surviving from the ancient world. Dinner is a continental buffet.

After breakfast, you cross to Luxor’s west bank. Your first stop is the Valley of the Kings, the royal burial ground used for pharaohs starting with Thutmose I, made up of many tomb chambers. You then visit the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, two huge statues, before heading back to your Nile cruise.

After breakfast, you leave the cruise ship and set off for the east bank of the Nile. Here you tour Luxor Temple and then Karnak, which in ancient times were connected by a long road flanked with ram-headed sphinxes. Together they show why Luxor has earned its name as the biggest open-air museum on earth and one of the leading archaeological sites in the world. Your guide then drops you at Luxor railway station for the sleeper train back to Cairo. If you would rather travel more smoothly and comfortably, you can upgrade to a domestic flight.

After breakfast, you arrive at Cairo railway station, where you are met and driven to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. It was the first museum to concentrate on ancient Egypt, history’s earliest civilization, and it is the only one in Egypt that surveys all the country’s historical eras under one roof. Its 50,000 artifacts follow Egyptian life from prehistory to modern times.

The next stop is the Citadel of Saladin, where the alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali stands. Continue into Old Cairo, known as the religious compound since its churches, synagogue and mosque lie within a short walk of each other. You can see the Hanging Church, the synagogue of Ben Ezra, and the oldest mosque on the African continent, not only in Egypt.

Late in the afternoon you go to Khan el Khalili, among the most remarkable oriental markets, with many shops showing a wide range of gold and silver jewelry.

Breakfast is followed by your transfer to the airport for departure.