Description of the program

Breakfast and start of the cruise to Esna. On arrival, visit the temple of Esna, built in the Greco-Roman period and dedicated to Khnum and Neith. Return to the boat for lunch and continue the cruise to El Hegz Island where the boat will stop for the night. Dinner and overnight on board.

Breakfast, then navigation to Edfu. On arrival, horse-drawn carriage excursion to the temple of Horus further inland. This shrine to the falcon god Horus is both the largest temple of the Ptolemy dynasty and the second largest in Egypt after Karnak. Inside, the intact paintings, inscriptions and reliefs make it the best-preserved temple in Egypt. After the visit, return to the boat for lunch and continue the cruise to Bisaw Island where the boat will stop for the night. Free walk in the island and dinner on the shore. Overnight on board.

Breakfast and departure for the visit of Gebel Silsileh, both archaeological site and the most important sandstone quarry in Egypt. Placed under the protection of the god Hapy, this quarry provided the sandstone for almost all the temples of Upper Egypt. On the western bank of the river appears a sanctuary carved out of the rock, dedicated to the god Horemheb and to seven other deities, hence the local god Sobek. Lunch on board and discovery on foot of the old quarry before continuing the cruise to Kom Ombo. Dedicated to two deities, Sobek the crocodile in the south and Horus the falcon in the north, the temple has a perfectly symmetrical architecture. Erected on a hill by three Ptolemies, the Kom Ombo complex is surrounded by a surrounding wall covered with reliefs. Return to the boat to continue up the river to Aswan for dinner. Overnight on board.

  Breakfast on board, then departure to visit the temple of Philae on the island of Agilka, one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in Egypt. Begun by Pharaoh Nectanebo I during the XXX Dynasty and completed by the Romans, it is the main sanctuary dedicated to Isis. After Philae the visits continue with the high dam and the unfinished obelisk. The Aswan region, rich in schist, alabaster and pink granite found only in this part of Egypt, provided the stone blocks for the pyramids, statues and colossi built by the pharaohs. In the granite quarry you will find the largest obelisk known to date (41.75m), the size of which was abandoned following a crack in the rock. Return to the boat for lunch. Sound and light show option at the Philae temple in the evening. Dinner and overnight on board.   

   Breakfast and free morning in town. Optional excursion by coach or plane to visit the temples of Abu Simbel, built by Ramses II. Return to Aswan for lunch before resuming navigation to Luxor via Esna, where you will arrive at night. Dinner and overnight on board.    

   Breakfast, then departure by coach for the visit of the necropolis of Thebes on the west bank of the Nile, followed by the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, where the tombs of many New Kingdom pharaohs are located, as well as their families and nobles in favor, continued visits with the Colossi of Memnon, the last vestiges of the temple of Amenhotep III and Deir el Bahari, the funeral temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Carved out of the rock in the mountain of Thebes, this temple with three terraces built in -1455 is both harmonious and modern and although dedicated to the god Amon, there are also chapels of Anubis and Hathor, the protective goddess of women. Return to the Dahabiya for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the southern part of ancient Thebes on the east bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor are located. The two temples are connected by a dromos, a long path lined with sphinxes, and are dedicated to Amun. In the evening, optional sound and light show at Karnak temple. Dinner and overnight on board.    

Breakfast and free time until the time of transfer to Luxor airport. Assistance with boarding and flight formalities to Cairo. On arrival, installation at the hotel, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, departure for the site of Sakkarah and Memphis, the step pyramid of Djoser, erected in 2700 BC. JC After lunch in a typical restaurant, you enter the world of "Absolute Grandeur": the Giza plateau, symbol of Ancient Egypt with its pyramids: Cheops, the largest of the pyramids and the last of the 7 wonders of world, Khephren and his temple of pink granite and Menkaure bordered by the pyramids of the queens, all guarded by the famous Sphinx of Giza, the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

 In the morning, departure by coach for the wonderful city of Alexandria (230 km - approximately 2h30 drive), bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. During this day, several visits are organized.

Breakfast at the hotel then visit of the famous National Museum, one of the richest in the world, in the heart of Cairo. Lunch in town and visit of Islamic Cairo with its thousand minarets, its citadel and the mosque of Mohamed Ali, return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Cairo airport. Assistance with boarding.