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Abu Simbel

Ramesses II's Temples on Lake Nasser

Plan this trip
1 dayIdeal stay₹3,390From / night₹700Food / day₹1,320Entry

The two rock-cut temples of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari, with their four 20-metre seated colossi, cut apart and moved up the cliff in the 1960s UNESCO campaign to save them from Lake Nasser. Most visitors come on a day trip from Aswan (minibuses leave around 04:00 for the 3.5-hour drive) or by the short flight; a night in the village gives the temples at sunrise and the evening sound-and-light show without the crowds. Twice a year, about 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun reaches the statues in the inner sanctuary.

Highlights

  • Four seated colossi of Ramesses II
  • Inner sanctuary of the Great Temple
  • Temple of Nefertari and Hathor
  • Sunrise over Lake Nasser
  • Sound and Light Show on the temple fronts
  • Sun Festival (about 22 Feb and 22 Oct)

Things to do

  • Great Temple of Ramesses II and Nefertari's templeMorning · 2h 30m
  • Sound and Light ShowEvening · 1h
  • Sunrise over Lake Nasser from the temple terraceMorning · 1h 30m

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Abu Simbelvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Abu Simbelvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: October – April

Worth knowing

Upper Egypt Summer Heat (40 °C+)

From May to September daytime highs in Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel pass 40 °C, and the Valley of the Kings and Karnak have little shade. Start every site at the 06:00 opening, be back in the hotel by 11:00, go out again after 16:00, and drink far more water than you think. Rooms and cruises are cheapest now for that reason.

Heads up

Ramadan: Shorter Hours

Ramadan falls about February to March in 2027 (the dates move about 11 days earlier each year). Museums, sites, shops and offices keep shorter hours, many local restaurants open only after sunset, traffic jams just before the evening meal, and the evenings are lively. Tourist hotels and resorts serve food and drink as usual; eat and drink discreetly in public by day.

Heads up

Peak Season Crowds

Christmas to mid-January is the busiest time at the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings: book the museum's timed tickets, the sleeper train and any Nile cruise well ahead, and be at each site at opening.

  • Abu Simbel Sun Festival — Twice a year the rising sun shines 60 metres into the Great Temple and lights the statues of Ramesses II, Amun and Ra-Horakhty in the sanctuary (Ptah, god of darkness, stays in shadow). Thousands come; the temple opens before dawn, with music and dancing outside. Book Abu Simbel or Aswan rooms and the early minibus well ahead.
  • Ramadan — The fasting month: many cafés and restaurants outside the tourist hotels close by day, sites and offices keep shorter hours, and the streets come alive after the sunset meal (iftar), with lanterns (fanous) and late-night crowds in Islamic Cairo. Eat and drink discreetly in public by day. It falls about February to March in 2027.
  • Eid al-Fitr — Three days of holiday at the end of Ramadan: Egyptian families head for Alexandria, the Red Sea and Sinai, so beach hotels, trains and buses fill and prices rise. Banks and offices close.
  • Eid al-Adha — The feast of the sacrifice, a four-day holiday: sheep are slaughtered in the streets on the first morning, and the beaches and trains fill with Egyptian holidaymakers. About May in 2027.
  • Christmas, New Year and the winter peak — Late December to early January is the busiest fortnight of Egypt's season: Nile cruises, Abu Simbel flights, the Watania sleeper and Grand Egyptian Museum time slots sell out, and Luxor and Aswan hotels raise their rates. Book by October.