Hot Air Balloon · Tour
Luxor Hot Air Balloon, Both Banks and Valley of the Queens
Both banks of the Nile in a single day, with the balloon flight at the front of it. The morning starts in the air over the west bank and the day ends at Luxor Temple on the east, so the two halves of ancient Thebes are covered in one booking instead of two. Ground transport is round trip from your Luxor hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle. On the west bank the route takes in the Valley of the Kings and a selection of its tombs, the terraced temple Queen Hatshepsut built at Deir el Bahari, the two seated figures of Amenhotep III known as the Colossi of Memnon, and an hour at the Valley of the Queens, where Nefertari is buried. Karnak and Luxor Temple close the day back on the east bank. An Egyptologist guide stays with the group all day and explains what each site was built for and who built it. Over an itinerary this long that matters: without it, four centuries of pharaohs and rebuilding phases blur into one continuous row of columns.
What's included
- Hot Air Balloon
- Private tour
- Experienced Drivers
- All service charges & taxes
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- Pick up From Luxor Airport
- Bottle of Mineral Water
- Guide
- Pick up services from your hotel and return
- All transfers by a private air-conditioned vehicle
Itinerary
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Luxor
Hotel pickup is just before sunrise, with the transfer heading to the starting point on the west bank of Luxor. The Nile crossing is by motorboat, and breakfast on board is cake, tea and coffee. At the take-off site, once permission to fly has been granted, there is time to take photographs and watch the balloons being inflated. The flight then rises over what is often called the world's largest open-air museum and lasts roughly 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the weather that morning.
Valley of the Kings
The first stop on the ground is the Valley of the Kings, where admission is free. The site spreads across a wide desert basin, and the guide leads a walk through a selection of the pharaonic tombs cut into the rock, explaining what sets each of them apart.
Costo extra
Temple of Hatshepsut
Next is the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari, the terraced complex Queen Hatshepsut had built in the 15th century BC. Its colonnaded levels rise against the cliff face, and the statues and reliefs on them tell the story of the queen's divine birth and the divine associations she claimed.
Costo extra
Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two massive quartzite sandstone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, standing where they once guarded the entrance to his mortuary temple. Little of that temple survives, which leaves the two figures on their own.
Proceed to explore the magnificent Valley of the Queens
The Valley of the Queens comes next, with an hour spent on site. The tomb of the Great Queen Nefertari is here, and the visit covers the royal burial ground itself rather than a single monument.
Costo extra
The Karnak Temple
Karnak is a complex rather than a single building: columns and chapels behind an imposing double row of sphinxes at the entrance, arranged in a plan that takes some working out on foot. A 1.5-mile line of sphinxes once ran from here to Luxor Temple.
Costo extra
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple closes the day. Restoration work carried out in recent years has uncovered brightly coloured paintings, and that colour is what sets this temple apart from the bare stone of the earlier stops on the route.
Costo extra
Not included
- Entrance fees
- Tipping
Good to know
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Up to 15 travelers per booking.
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- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: hi, de, ps, pt, fil, hr, hu, hak, uk, ur, ml, mr, ms, el, en, it, my, es, ar, vi, ja, fa, ro, nl, no, hsn, ru, fi, cmn, yue, jv, bn, fr, zh-TW, wuu, sk, sr, sv, ko, ku, ta, mnp, gu, cs, te, pa, th, zh-CN, pl, he, da, tr.
Reviews
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