A city that lies along the Nile, Luxor is full of ancient sites and temples. Luxor and Karnak temples lie on the east side of the river, while the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens lie on the opposite bank. We visited in the hottest month of the year, and as we wandered between the pillars of Karnak Temple, the temperature was over 110 degrees!! During our short stay in Luxor, we visited the temples I just mentioned and also spent a beautiful evening walking on the corniche along the Nile.

Karnak Temple:

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut:

In addition to the Pyramids of Giza and Abu Simbel, I had long been drooling over photos of Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. Built near the Valley of the Kings, it is nestled in the cliffs and contrasts with the bright blue sky above.

Valley of the Kings:

We also went to the Valley of the Kings, an area where tombs were made for pharaohs and nobles for almost 500 years. It is most famous for the tomb of King Tut. Unfortunately, you cannot take pictures in any of the tombs and from the outside they are simply small entrances dug into the hills. Everything inside of King Tut’s tomb has pretty much been moved to the museum in Cairo, so there isn’t too much to see.

 Luxor Temple:

We did not go inside Luxor Temple, but visited it on our evening stroll to see it all lit up!

Have you been to the sites and temples of Luxor?