Timeless Egypt – 11 Days (Cairo – Luxor & Aswan)

Once breakfast is over, your private Egyptologist leads you into the world of ancient Cairo. At the Giza Plateau you visit the Great Pyramids built for Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos. They are the only ancient Wonder left standing and a lasting tribute to the skill of their engineers. Close by is the Great Sphinx, the puzzling statue that pairs a lion’s body with a pharaoh’s head and has protected the necropolis for millennia.

Next you travel to Saqqara, the oldest royal burial ground in the country, a large landscape of pyramids and tombs. There you visit the Step Pyramid of Djoser, often described as the first monumental structure ever made of stone and a landmark moment for architecture.

After breakfast, you spend time with Cairo’s long history at the Grand Egyptian Museum, a cultural landmark of world class that holds the finest ancient Egyptian art ever collected. Walk through its huge galleries towards the treasures of Tutankhamun, where the solid-gold funerary mask, among the most famous masterpieces humanity has produced, is the highlight.

After breakfast, the day starts at the Citadel of Saladin. Its skyline is dominated by the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali, and the site gives you panoramic views of Cairo. Old Cairo comes next, a quarter where the sites of Egypt’s religious heritage are close enough to walk between. Inside it you see the Hanging Church, the old Ben Ezra Synagogue and a mosque ranked among Africa’s oldest, a reminder of centuries of coexistence.

In the late afternoon you explore Khan El Khalili, the city’s best-known bazaar, where shops sell gold and silver jewelry alongside long-established crafts. You then go back to the hotel after a day rich in culture and calm discovery.

After breakfast, you head to Cairo Airport and take the short flight to Luxor. Your private Egyptologist meets you on arrival and introduces you to Luxor, a city of great history on the Nile. Your visit today is the Luxor Museum, one of the best museums in Egypt, with a carefully chosen collection of New Kingdom masterpieces. Its well-designed galleries show fine statues, reliefs and objects recovered from Luxor’s temples and tombs, helping you understand the ancient city that was once called Thebes.

After breakfast, you visit Luxor’s East Bank, which holds some of antiquity’s most outstanding monuments. Start at Karnak Temple, an enormous complex of sanctuaries that was built and extended across many centuries. Luxor Temple follows; in ancient times a processional route lined with ram-headed sphinxes tied it to Karnak. Seen together, the two temples make clear why Luxor is thought of as the finest open-air museum anywhere and an archaeological landscape that matters to all humanity.

After breakfast, cross to Luxor’s West Bank to visit the New Kingdom royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, then Queen Hatshepsut’s impressive temple. Finish at the Colossi of Memnon, two vast statues that have overlooked the Theban plain for millennia.

After breakfast, you leave Luxor and head south to Aswan along one of the loveliest parts of the Nile Valley. On the way you stop at the Temple of Kom Ombo, unusual for its dedication to two gods, Sobek, god of crocodiles, and Horus the Elder. Set high above the river, the temple gives fine views across the Nile and the countryside around it.

The journey then continues past traditional villages and palm groves as the river curves through Upper Egypt. In the afternoon you arrive in Aswan and are taken to your hotel, with the rest of the day free to rest and take in the calm atmosphere of this pleasant riverside city.

After breakfast, your sightseeing in Aswan begins at the High Dam, one of the great works of modern Egyptian engineering. Then a boat carries you over to Agilkia Island to see the elegant Temple of Philae. The temple was dedicated to Isis and is admired for its well-kept sanctuaries and finely preserved reliefs.

After breakfast, you are taken to Aswan Airport for the flight to Cairo. On arrival you are met and escorted privately to your hotel, and the rest of the day is free to relax or discover the city on your own.

Overnight at Le Meridien Cairo Airport.

Optional Experience: If you want to see one of Egypt’s most remarkable monuments, an early morning trip to the Temples of Abu Simbel can be arranged before you leave. Cut into the cliffs above Lake Nasser, the great temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari rank among the greatest works ever produced by ancient Egyptian builders. Once the visit is over, you return to Aswan Airport to catch the Cairo flight.

Once you have had breakfast, the airport transfer takes you to your departure.