Nile cruise on a felucca

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Aswan

  Early morning welcome in Aswan, departure by car and then by boat to visit the Philae temple, which is undoubtedly the "Pearl of the Nile." This temple was built on an island that was submerged in the 1970s due to the rising water level of the old Aswan Dam reservoir, following the construction of the High Dam. The temples and monuments built on the island during the Pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods were moved to the new island, also called Philae. You will visit, among others, the temple of Isis, which is clearly the main structure of Philae. It is one of the major sanctuaries of the goddess in Egypt. After that, you will visit the chapel of the goddess Hathor. To conclude, visit the Kiosk of Trajan, which is the main feature of the site. Escort and check-in at your hotel/Nubian house (modest and typical) located in the middle of the real Nubian village of Elephantine Island, Mango Guest House (possibility to have lunch at the hotel with Nubian meals). Free afternoon, possibility of a walk in the Nubian village and in the very colorful popular souk, with its baskets filled with spices and its pyramids of fruit.

• day 2

  Nile cruise

  After breakfast, transfer to your small sailing boat. Your cruise on the Nile will let you discover authentic Egypt, "the Real Egypt." It will also take place on one of the most beautiful feluccas on the Nile (exceptionally equipped with sanitary facilities). This cruise includes 3 typically Egyptian meals, prepared on site by the crew, mineral water as well as unlimited hot drinks. Sailing to the village of Kobaniya (about 3 hours), with the possibility to swim in the Nile. Mint tea, coffee, or herbal tea available at will during the navigation. Dinner and overnight on board.

• day 3

  Nile cruise

  After breakfast, visit of the village of Kobaniya. Hike on foot through the Nubian village, cultivated fields, and Nubian houses. Navigation (about 5 hours) to reach the village of Ballouly. Lunch (depending on possibility) on a peninsula. Mint tea break, coffee or herbal tea at will during the navigation. You admire the sunset from your felucca. Dinner and overnight on board.

• day 4

  Kom Ombo - Edfu

  After breakfast, departure by car for the visit of the Kom Ombo temple, dedicated to the crocodile god "Sobek" and the god "Horus the Elder". Departure to reach the small town of Edfu, visit of the temple dedicated to the falcon god Horus, son of Isis. Edfu owes its fame not to its great antiquity, but to the colossal temple that was built there during the Ptolemaic period. It is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt and the second largest building after Karnak: 137 meters in length, 79 meters in width, 36 meters in height for the pylons. The temple was erected on a much older temple. Construction work began under Ptolemy III in -237, and was completed under Tiberius, 180 years later. Entirely built of sandstone, this temple is remarkable for its harmonious plan with perfect proportions. Continue to Luxor (170 km away). Upon your arrival, transfer to your 4* hotel, local standard, Aracan Eatabe Luxor Hotel, located near the city center (rooms with garden view). Overnight at the hotel.

• day 5

  Luxor

  

  After breakfast, the morning is devoted to visiting some of the grandiose monuments of Luxor (the most famous and the lesser-known ones, away from mass tourism), in the necropolis of Thebes where the rulers were buried in hypogea, dug directly into the mountain. We will visit three remarkable tombs in the Valley of the Kings, which have preserved magnificent and exceptional painted reliefs, thanks to the care taken during their creation. On the way back, stop at the foot of the Colossi of Memnon, once guardians of the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep III. At the end of the morning, lunch in a restaurant on the West Bank. Departure for an in-depth visit of the temples of Karnak. The religious complex of Karnak — often mistakenly called the temple of Karnak or simply Karnak — includes a vast ensemble of temple ruins, chapels, pylons, and other buildings located north of Thebes, today the city of Luxor. The Karnak complex, rebuilt and developed for over 2,000 years by successive pharaohs, is composed of three enclosures. It is the largest religious complex of all Antiquity and was dedicated to the Theban triad, headed by the god Amun-Ra. The complex was connected to the temple of Luxor by an avenue of sphinxes nearly three kilometers long. The site has been the subject of excavations conducted since the 19th century by French archaeologists, organized since 1967 within the Franco-Egyptian Center for the Study of the Temples of Karnak. The visit continues with the discovery of one of these small temples unknown to mass tourism, after first crossing an impressive display of thousands of stone fragments from the excavation fields undertaken on the site, then visiting a small, little-known temple, highly appreciated by the ancient Egyptians, where you will be almost the only visitors. In the late afternoon, departure for the visit of the Luxor temple, illuminated under beautiful lighting that highlights all its beauty.

• day 6

  Departure

  Breakfast at the hotel end of our services.