Visiting The Valley of the Kings whilst on holiday at Luxor, Egypt.
Touring round Luxor's Valley of the Kings Tombs whilst on holiday in Egypt - our visitor guide
with photos from around the Tombs.
It is simple (and a lot cheaper) to visit the Valley of the Kings on your own rather than go by an organised
coach trip and of course you can then stay at various
locations for as long as you want and go where you want to go - rather
than be shuffled around on an itinerary. We decided we would go to the
Ticket Office by taxi - visit several of the tombs and then walk back
across the hills above Hatshepsut and drop back down to walk
over to Seti before taking a walk back to the ferry on the Nile.
The really nice thing about walking back was you get a much better idea of the
amazingly fertile countryside, get the chance to talk to some of the local
people and of course see all sorts of wildlife too.
We found the Egyptians to be really friendly - on our
way down through one village in the hills we were invited into a small
house and sat and had a cup of tea and quite a lengthy chat about all
sorts of things. At Seti we had already met and talked to several of the
secret police who guard the Temple so we also had the opportunity to see
them again to say hello (for about an hour...).
The weather was reasonably warm - around 90
degrees - but in the Valley of the Kings area it did seem a lot hotter
than that. Also up on the hills you do need to have water with you plus a
hat etc. - we also wore our walking boots - a real bonus because the
surfaces are scree in places and sometimes quite rocky underfoot.
There is not a lot to see externally around
the site - just a variety of concrete entrance areas to the various tombs
plus several areas where you can hide from the hot sun for a while. Not
all the tombs are open - they are rotated presumably for maintenance
reasons etc. - the tombs do generally have notice boards with plans of the
tombs and a little information about the previous owner. The tombs we
visited were:
KV34 Tomb of Thutmes III - there is quite a climb up
steps to this tomb - once up you go steeply down into the tomb - the
sarcophagus is still there and the wall paintings are excellent - well
worth visiting.
KV2 Tomb of Ramses IV - the sarcophagus is there - this tomb is quite
elongated and again is well worth visiting for it's ceilings and wall
paintings.
KVKV11 Tomb of Ramses III - by far the best for it's amazing wall
paintings. This is a quite long tomb but just about everywhere was decorated.
Having finished looking round the tombs we
now headed up into the hills - we took a stoney path which started on the
right hand side of KV11 - this heads steeply up for a few metres and then
meets a cross path. Go right and follow this narrow path as it winds up
hill - the path is way-marked in places. The views back into the Valley of
the Kings are excellent from up here as are the views of the surrounding
hills. The path soon widens - ignore a wide path coming in from the left -
just continue on up to the top of the saddle. (We diverted here by taking
a path on the left which climbed even higher - the views were even
better).
At the saddle go over the top
and then follow the path on the left which winds round the hill and heads
towards a red brick building and broken fencing. Once passed the red
brick the path goes round to the right of the hill ahead and then
Hatshepsut comes into view below on the right. Continue on the path over
the next hill - then cross a rough and rocky open area where the path is
somewhat indistinct. On the far side take the path on the left which goes
round the hill - shortly a village comes into view.
Continue walking on round the hill
and arrive just above houses. There are numerous paths down some better
than others so carefully make your way down into and then through the
village to the tarmac road. Cross the road and continue ahead over an open area to
reach another tarmac road - there are several alabaster shops a little way
to the right. Cross the road and continue on a track opposite which goes
towards trees passing a small shop and houses on the right.
Follow the
track as it bends left in front of the trees and shortly comes out by the
rear of Seti Temple.
Turn left following the outer wall of the
Temple which is now on your right and carry on round the site to reach a
tarmac road. Go right and now follow this road through the village to
reach main crossroads. Now turn right and follow this road with fields on
the right and a canal on the left - there are lots of things to see
in the fields and around the canal and also good views back towards the
Valley of the Kings and Queens. Eventually the road comes to a cross roads
at the next village, turn left and follow the road back to the Ferry by
the River Nile.
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for lots more photos and topics about the area around Luxor or if you fancy some more Egyptian
Travel and great sunshine and beaches you may be interested in our
Sharm El Sheikh Holiday and Travel Guide.
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India Goa and Dandeli - Please see our Home Page for links to these topics.
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The really nice thing about walking back was you get a much better idea of the
amazingly fertile countryside, get the chance to talk to some of the local
people and of course see all sorts of wildlife too.
