Nile Dahabiya Boat Sail along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan – 8-Night / 9-Day

Arrival to Luxor Airport, meeting the representative of Merit Amun Egypt Tours, then transfer by a luxury minibus for a hassle-free check-in to Luxor West Bank aboard the Nile Dahabiya Boat for an 9-day cruise sail along the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, lunch will be on board, then we will visit the Karnak temple complex which is dedicated to the worship of god Amun. You will be able to see the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re which contains 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows. You will also have the chance to see the sacred lake in the Precinct of Mut, which is constructed in a crescent shape and is more than 3000 years old and until now its water has not dried up.
After we finish the visit, we will return to the boat for having dinner and stay an overnight on board the boat.

Breakfast will be on board, then we will be moving to the west bank of Luxor which includes the Valley of the Kings and colossi of Mammon. We will go to have lunch at one of the best restaurants in Luxor so you would experience the taste of the Egyptian cuisine with its delicious food. Afterwards we will visit the mortuary temple of Ramses III at Madinet Habu. In ancient times Madinat Habu was known as Djanet and according to ancient belief was the place were Amun first appeared. Both Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III built a temple dedicated to Amun here and later Rameses III constructed his larger memorial temple on the site. Then in the evening, we will visit The Luxor Temple which is located on the east bank of the Nile River. It was one of the two primary temples on the east bank, the other being Karnak and it was built during the New Kingdom and dedicated to the worship of the goddess Mut. The Luxor temple contains the temple of King Amenhotep III, the shrine of Alexander the Great since that Luxor temple was dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship and in the case of Alexander the Great, who claimed he was crowned at Luxor but may never have traveled south of Memphis. It also contains some remains of a Roman shrine, and it has a crucial and awe-inspiring construction which is the Rams Road (also known as the Avenue of Sphinxes or The King’s Festivities Road) and it is a long avenue which connects the Karnak Temple with the Luxor Temple lined with over 1050 sphinxes and rams. Finally we will return back to boat for having dinner while sailing to Esna and stay for an overnight on board the Dahabiya boat.

Breakfast on board, then we will be moving to visit the Temple of Esna (which is also called the Temple of Khnum) and is dedicated to the god Khnum, the god of creation and fertility. The remains of the Temple contain a hall of columns with 24 pillars beautifully decorated with lotus and palm capitals. The walls are covered with 4 rows of reliefs, showing Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors dressed in Pharaoh costumes, sacrificing to the God of the Temple. There are chambers on both sides of the temple entrance that were used by the priests and keepers of the temple as storerooms. The most interesting scenes in this temple are the ones you will find on the roof, which is decorated with astronomical representations. On the left side of the gateway of the Temple, you can see the sky Goddess Nut, the Dog Star, Orion’s belt, and Alpha Draconis (or the Dragon Star). On the western wall of the façade of the Temple, you can see the God Horus, God of protection, and the God Khnum, dragging a net full of fish from the Nile, as well as reliefs of birds. Then we return to the boat to have lunch while the boat sails to El Cab Village, we then move to El Cab Village which is a place full of noble tombs from the old and new kingdom. After we finish the visit, we will return to the boat which will sail to Edfu. You will have dinner and stay an overnight on board.

Breakfast will be on board then we will visit the temple of Edfu that dates back to the Greco period and is dedicated to the God Horus, the God of protection. It was the center of several festivals sacred to Horus. Each year, “Hathor travelled south from her temple at Denderah to visit Horus at Edfu, and this event marking their sacred marriage was the occasion of a great festival and pilgrimage.”
After that we return back to the Dahabiya boat for having lunch while it sails to Gebel el-Silsila. Once it arrives there, we will have a visit to Gebel el-Silsila and explore the ancient sandstone quarries and rock-cut chapels of Horemheb, Seti I, Ramesses II and Merenptah. After finishing the tour, we will return back to the Dahabiya boat for having dinner while it will continue sailing to Kom Ombo. We will overnight there nearby an island which is called Maniha island.

Breakfast will be on board, then we will be moving to visit the temple of Kom Ombo which is an amazing temple that dates back to the Greco period. The building is unique because its ‘double’ design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods. It is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and god Horus. The temple is atypical because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis. Afterwards, we will return back to the boat for having lunch while the boat will continue sailing to Aswan.
Once we arrive, we will visit the Botanical Garden which contains numerous rare plants and then the Nubian village which is a marvelous village that will be showing us the daily life of the Nubian people. In the evening, there will be a city tour to explore the epic sights of Aswan and afterwards we will visit the market of Aswan. We will finally return back to the boat for having dinner and stay for an overnight.

Breakfast will be on board, then we will have a chance to visit the Philae temple which dates back to Greco period as well and it is dedicated to the Goddess Isis the Goddess of motherhood. This temple is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser.
After that will move to visit the High dam of Aswan, an engineering miracle which was built in the 1960 and is one of the world’s largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan.
Afterwards we will move to the unfinished obelisk which is the largest known ancient obelisk and is located in the northern region of the stone quarries of ancient Egypt in Aswan. Its creation was ordered by Hatshepsut and is nearly one-third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If finished it would have measured around 41.75 metres (137.0 ft) and would have weighed nearly 1,090 tonnes (1,200 short tons), a weight equal to about 200 African elephants. We will finally return back to boat for having lunch and dinner and we will overnight on board. There would be a free time in the evening so there is an optional tour where we can visit the light and sound show of the Philae temple where you go to a journey in the past, in the Ancient Egypt’s era, learn about the pharaohs and the gods they served during the Sound and Light Show, a nighttime audiovisual experience that shows the Philae Temple from a different perspective. The focus here is on bringing the temple to life through atmospheric lighting and sound effects, letting the sheer scale and historical significance of the structure shine through with a little extra drama. The pharaohs who built parts of the temple complex talk to you as you pass through the site, detailing their accomplishments, beliefs and the royal way of life they enjoyed some 3,000 years ago, you will definitely have some very enjoyable time there.

Breakfast will be on board boat, then there’s an optional tour to the Temple of Abu Simbel which is a ravishing temple that dates back to the new kingdom of the 19th dynasty for the king Ramses II or (Ramses the Great) and is comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan. Those who will decide to stay in Aswan, they can spend a relaxing and charming day aboard the Nile Dahabiya boat.
After returning back from Abu Simbel, we will be having dinner while the boat will be sailing back to Luxor and enjoying a musical evening with oriental belly dance. An overnight stay will be on board the Dahabiya boat.

Breakfast and lunch will be on board. We will arrive Luxor by noon. There would be a free time in the evening so there is an optional tour where we can visit the light and sound show of the Karnak temple where you would go to another beautiful Sound and Light Show which will elucidate the marvelous Ancient Egyptian history, the pharaohs and gods they served in the past and it is also a nighttime audiovisual experience that shows the Karnak Temple from a different perspective. There will be also a city tour to explore the epic sights of Luxor and afterwards we will visit the market of Luxor. We will finally return back to the boat for having dinner and stay for an overnight.

Breakfast will be on board, then we will be moving to Luxor airport escorted by a Merit Amun Egypt tours Representative for final departure.