On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days

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On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days
On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days
On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days
On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days
On the Sacred Roads of Egypt – From the Mystery of the Temples to the Warmth of Encounters in 10 Days
Duration
10 Days
9 Nights
Destination
City-to-City Car Excursion
Group Size
2-12 People
Category
Cairo / Alexandria / Lower Egypt

The Journey

Have you ever dreamed of crossing Egypt as one travels up a river of legends? Of winding through its roads between palm groves, forgotten temples and living villages, in search of a history that still beats beneath the sand?

This 10-day journey is an invitation to adventure: a modern odyssey between the mysteries of the pyramids of Giza, the silent corridors of the tombs of Luxor, the sacred cliffs of Abu Simbel and the tranquil waters of the Nile. By private vehicle and overnight sleeper train, you will cross thresholds — of great pharaonic history, but also of a warm and real Egypt of today. A steaming tea shared with a local family, a prayer heard in the alleyways of a souk, a sunset over the Nubian banks.

Accompanied by a passionate Egyptologist guide, housed in soulful accommodation — from convivial hotels to a lodge facing the desert and intimate guesthouses — you will live a rhythmic, contrasted, intense journey.

Accommodation

Cairo: 2 nights in a comfortable 3-star hotel with breakfast included.

Aswan: 1 night in a 4-star hotel with breakfast included.

Abu Simbel: 1 night in a traditional Nubian lodge with dinner and breakfast.

Luxor: 2 nights full board with local host families, for a genuine immersion in daily life.

Overnight sleeper train Cairo to Aswan: double cabin with bunk beds, bed linen provided, private washbasin, hot dinner served on board.


What Is Included in the Price

  • 2 nights hotel in Cairo (3-star, breakfast included)
  • 1 night hotel in Aswan (4-star, breakfast included)
  • 1 night Nubian lodge in Abu Simbel (dinner and breakfast included)
  • 2 nights with local host families in Luxor (full board)
  • Overnight sleeper train Cairo to Aswan (double cabin, dinner and breakfast on board)
  • Full board throughout (except drinks during meals)
  • All entry tickets to all sites in the programme: Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Grand Egyptian Museum, Coptic Cairo, Sultan Hassan Mosque, Al-Rifai Mosque, Saladin Citadel, Mosque of Mohammed Ali, Ben Ezra Synagogue, Temple of Philae, Unfinished Obelisk, Temples of Abu Simbel, Temple of Kom Ombo, Temple of Edfu, Temple of Luxor, Valley of the Kings (3 tombs), Temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Karnak, Temple of Dendera
  • All private air-conditioned road transfers with driver
  • Airport welcome in Cairo and departure transfer from Luxor
  • All service fees and taxes
  • Services of a passionate French-speaking Egyptologist guide throughout


What Is Not Included in the Price

  • International flights (arrival in Cairo, departure from Luxor)
  • Egypt entry visa (25 EUR, payable in cash on arrival at Cairo Airport)
  • Entry to the interior of the Pyramid of Khufu and the tomb of Tutankhamun (specific access not included)
  • Tips for the guide, driver and staff
  • Drinks during meals
  • Optional activities: Abu Simbel sound and light show (20 EUR), hot-air balloon over Luxor (85 EUR)


Included

  • Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx and Grand Egyptian Museum — the full pharaonic and modern experience
  • Coptic Cairo: Hanging Church, Church of Saint Sergius, Ben Ezra Synagogue — cradle of Egyptian Christianity and Jewish heritage
  • Islamic Cairo: Sultan Hassan Mosque, Al-Rifai Mosque, Saladin Citadel and Mosque of Mohammed Ali — masterpieces of Islamic architecture
  • Khan el-Khalili souk and Al-Muizz Street — living heart of historic Cairo
  • Overnight sleeper train Cairo to Aswan in a private double cabin with dinner served on board
  • Temple of Philae on the sacred island of Agilkia — last sanctuary of the Isis cult, saved by UNESCO
  • Unfinished Obelisk of Aswan — 42-metre marvel revealing ancient quarrying techniques
  • Night at Abu Simbel in a traditional Nubian lodge on Lake Nasser
  • Temples of Abu Simbel at sunrise: Ramesses II and Nefertari in sacred silence before the crowds
  • Felucca sail on the Nile to Elephantine Island and Kitchener Botanical Garden
  • Temple of Kom Ombo: the twin sanctuary of Sobek and Horus, with medical bas-reliefs
  • Temple of Edfu — one of Egypt's best-preserved temples, dedicated to Horus
  • Temple of Luxor at golden-hour sunset — from Amenhotep III to Alexander the Great
  • Valley of the Kings: 3 royal tombs in the heart of the Theban necropolis
  • Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari — visionary architecture of the female pharaoh
  • Colossi of Memnon — the 18-metre quartzite giants of the Theban plain
  • Temple of Karnak: the great hypostyle hall with 134 columns, spiritual heart of ancient Egypt
  • Temple of Dendera: the intact celestial ceiling with zodiac and constellations, dedicated to Hathor
  • 2 nights with local host families in Luxor — home-cooked meals, neighbourhood walks, genuine exchanges
  • Private French-speaking Egyptologist guide throughout the entire 10-day journey
  • Full board from day 1 to day 10, all transfers and entry tickets included

Excluded

  • International flights (Cairo arrival, Luxor departure)
  • Egypt entry visa 25 EUR
  • Interior of Pyramid of Khufu and tomb of Tutankhamun
  • Tips for guide, driver and staff
  • Drinks during meals
  • Abu Simbel sound and light show 20 EUR
  • Hot-air balloon over Luxor 85 EUR

Itinerary

1

Day 1: Welcome to Cairo – Arrival and Hotel Check-in

Meals at own expense
On arrival at Cairo International Airport, our representative is waiting for you with a sign bearing the agency name. After a comfortable transfer, you check into your hotel. Free time to rest or begin absorbing the vibrant atmosphere of the Egyptian capital. Dinner at your own convenience. Accommodation: Hotel 3-star, Cairo.
2

Day 2: Pyramids of Giza – Sphinx – Grand Egyptian Museum Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast Lunch Dinne
This morning you set out for the Giza plateau, where the three mythic pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure rise — stone mountains built over 4,500 years ago, fascinating for their grandeur as much as for their mathematical and astronomical precision: perfect north orientation, proportions linked to the golden ratio and pi, celestial alignments. At the Valley Temple, the assembly of massive stones reveals an ancestral knowledge born of a science long lost. Then comes the silent moment face to face with the Great Sphinx, enigmatic guardian turned towards the East.You continue to the Grand Egyptian Museum, a 21st-century masterpiece at the foot of the Giza plateau, bridging past and future. Its luminous galleries hold the treasures of Tutankhamun reunited in their entirety for the first time, colossal statues of the Ramesses, everyday objects, funerary frescoes and furniture that faithfully restore the life of the ancient Egyptians. Included visits: Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Grand Egyptian Museum. Accommodation: Hotel 3-star, Cairo.
3

Day 3: Coptic and Islamic Cairo – Transfer to the Station Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
This day is devoted to the exploration of Old Cairo, a sacred crossroads where churches, mosques and synagogues coexist as witnesses to Egypt's rich religious mosaic. You begin at the Roman Fortress of Babylon, at the heart of which Coptic Christian tradition took root. You discover the celebrated Hanging Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary with its 110 icons, the Church of Saint George, and above all the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, built over the cave where the Holy Family is said to have stayed for three months during their flight into Egypt. You then enter the Ben Ezra Synagogue — the oldest in Egypt — where a hidden chamber revealed thousands of precious manuscripts known as the Cairo Geniza, illuminating Jewish community life in Egypt since the 10th century.After lunch, you continue to the Sultan Hassan Mosque, a 14th-century Mamluk masterpiece designed as a great theological school for all four Sunni legal schools. Opposite stands the Al-Rifai Mosque, built in neo-Mamluk style and housing the tombs of the Egyptian royal family and the last Shah of Iran. You then climb to the Citadel of Saladin, founded in the 13th century to protect Cairo against the Crusaders, home to the spectacular Mosque of Mohammed Ali with its 84-metre Ottoman minarets and marble courtyards. A stroll through Khan el-Khalili and the Al-Muizz Street closes the day among the treasures of Islamic architecture.In the evening, transfer to the station. Departure by sleeper train in a double cabin with bunk beds, bed linen provided and private washbasin. Hot dinner served on board. Included visits: Saladin Citadel, Sultan Hassan Mosque, Al-Rifai Mosque, Hanging Church, Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Ben Ezra Synagogue, Khan el-Khalili. Accommodation: Overnight sleeper train Cairo to Aswan.
4

Day 4: Arrival in Aswan – Temple of Philae

Lunch Dinner
You arrive in Aswan late morning. You board a boat to the island of Agilkia, set amid the peaceful waters of the Nile, where the Temple of Philae stands — a Ptolemaic masterpiece erected to the glory of Isis, goddess of magic, motherhood and mystery. Long the refuge of the last living cult of pharaonic Egypt, Philae remained a place of pilgrimage until its closure by Emperor Justinian in 551 AD. Threatened by rising waters after the construction of the old dam, the sanctuary was saved by UNESCO and moved stone by stone to this neighbouring island, faithfully recreating the magic of its original setting. Its columns rise between sky and river in a frame of rocks that invites contemplation.In the evening, dinner in the lively and fragrant atmosphere of the Aswan souk — local flavours, heady spices and the warm welcome of the Nubians. Included visits: Temple of Philae. Accommodation: Hotel 4-star, Aswan.
5

Day 5: Unfinished Obelisk – Road to Abu Simbel – Optional Sound and Light Show

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
The morning begins at the famous pink granite quarry of Aswan, from which the monumental blocks were extracted to build temples, colossi and obelisks across all of ancient Egypt. You discover the great Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the rock — a striking witness to the craft of pharaonic stonemasons. At nearly 42 metres long, it would have been the largest obelisk ever erected had a crack not condemned it to remain in place. The visit reveals the extraction techniques of the era: dolérite stone mallets, groove-cutting and transport of blocks to the Nile — an engineering feat still fascinating today.You then travel south by minibus to Abu Simbel, at the gateway to Nubia. Check-in at a traditional Nubian lodge. In the evening, as an optional extra, you may attend the sound and light show projected onto the façade of the temples — a nocturnal staging retracing the epic of Ramesses II and Nefertari. Included visits: Unfinished Obelisk. Accommodation: Nubian Lodge, Abu Simbel.
6

Day 6: Temples of Abu Simbel at Sunrise – Felucca on the Nile, Return to Aswan

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
At first light, as the desert slowly awakens, you set out to contemplate the majestic temples of Abu Simbel, carved into the cliff face on the shores of Lake Nasser. The silence is almost sacred. Before you, Ramesses II sits enthroned for eternity, while further along the Temple of Nefertari pays tribute to royal love in all its symbolic power. The rising sun gradually illuminates the stone colossi, revealing battle scenes, triumphs carved in rock and the constant homage paid to the gods. This is a rare, almost intimate moment — the sacred vibration of the place felt far from the daytime excursion crowds.You return to the lodge for a final breakfast, then take the road back to Aswan. On arrival, lunch and hotel check-in. In the afternoon, you board a felucca gliding along the Nile. The wind-caressed sail carries you to Elephantine Island, the cradle of Aswan, and then to Kitchener Botanical Garden — a green jewel where palm trees, exotic flowers and birdsong compose a gentle pause outside of time. Included visits: Temples of Abu Simbel, Felucca sail (Elephantine Island, Kitchener Botanical Garden). Accommodation: Hotel 4-star, Aswan.
7

Day 7: Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu – Arrival in Luxor – Temple of Luxor at Sunset

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
This morning you leave Aswan by vehicle for Luxor, 250 km along the Nile valley between green banks and golden hills. Through the window, a living landscape unfolds: fields of sugar cane, maize and clover worked by farmers who seem to belong to another age; children waving from the roadside; donkey carts crossing your path; Nubian villages revealing behind ochre walls the quiet rhythm of a life deeply rooted in the earth.Your first stop is the Temple of Kom Ombo, suspended between sky and Nile. This unique temple embodies Egyptian duality: dedicated to two opposing deities — Sobek, the crocodile god of brute force and fertility, and Horus the Elder, the solar falcon of wisdom and protection. The architecture itself is perfectly symmetrical, with two entrances, two sanctuaries and two halls. On the walls, engraved scenes reveal remarkable medical knowledge: precise calendars, surgical instruments and healing practices.The road continues to Edfu, second sacred stop, where the majestic Temple of Horus rises — one of the best-preserved in Egypt. Crossing the monumental pylon, you enter the mythical world of the battle between Horus and Seth, an eternal struggle between order and chaos.Late afternoon arrival in Luxor. Before the sun disappears behind the palm groves, you visit the Temple of Luxor, a jewel of the ancient Theban world, a living sanctuary at the heart of the modern city. The colossi of Ramesses II welcome you in a silence charged with grandeur. At dusk, in the golden light bathing the columns of the Court of Amun, the place takes on an almost mystical dimension. Included visits: Temple of Kom Ombo, Temple of Edfu, Temple of Luxor. Accommodation: Local family guesthouse, Luxor.
8

Day 8: Valley of the Kings – Temple of Hatshepsut – Colossi of Memnon – Temple of Karnak

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
The day opens on the Theban bank, at the heart of the Valley of the Kings — a mineral sanctuary where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom rest under the protection of the sacred mountain. This hidden necropolis holds over sixty revealed tombs, each a threshold to the invisible, carved for eternity into the mystical flank of the earth. In the silence of the depths, the walls recount the great passage: the soul guided by the funerary books, moving towards regenerating light. Three of the most eloquent tombs open their doors to you, chosen for the beauty of their scenes and the spiritual power they radiate.Nearby, set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, the Temple of Hatshepsut deploys its colonnaded terraces in striking harmony with the mountain. Designed by Senenmout in the 15th century BC, this architectural masterpiece celebrates the female pharaoh who made myth a tool of power. On the Nile road back, the Colossi of Memnon stand as millennial sentinels watching over the Theban plain.After lunch with your host family, you cross to the East Bank to discover Karnak, sanctuary of Amun-Ra and spiritual and political heart of ancient Egypt. Built over more than two millennia, its 134-column hypostyle hall composes a cosmic architecture mirroring the primordial Nun. Pharaohs carved their cartouches here to inscribe their names in eternity. Included visits: Valley of the Kings (3 tombs), Temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Karnak. Accommodation: Local family guesthouse, Luxor.
9

Day 9: Dendera – The Celestial Temple of Hathor

Breakfast Lunch Dinner
This morning you take the road northward through sugar cane fields and sleepy villages to one of Egypt's most fascinating treasures: the Temple of Dendera, dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love, music — and cosmic knowledge. Here everything speaks of stars and rebirth. In the great hypostyle hall, your eyes rise to an intact celestial ceiling where the signs of the zodiac, the constellations, the solar barques and the lunar cycles are displayed — pages of sky engraved in stone, a book of sacred astronomy bequeathed by the ancients. Behind these coloured frescoes lie secret rooms, crypts and chapels where the mysteries of the resurrection of Osiris were celebrated. Dendera is an initiatory sanctuary where science and the sacred were one and the same.At the end of the visit, you return to Luxor for a final warm evening with your host family. Included visits: Temple of Dendera. Accommodation: Local family guesthouse, Luxor.
10

Day 10: Return Flight from Luxor – End of the Journey

Breakfast
The journey ends, but the impression remains: that of an authentic and living Egypt. An exceptional stay in exceptional conditions. A parenthesis outside time, engraved within you. Transfer to Luxor Airport for your departure flight.

Prices & Accommodation

Starting Price

Per Person €799.00

Optional Extras

Egypt Entry Visa €25.00 / person
Hot-Air Balloon Ride over Luxor €85.00 / person
Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show €20.00 / person

Accommodation

Contact us for detailed accommodation information for this tour.