Aswan: Private Guided Tour to High Dam, The Obelisk & Philae Temple by Boat

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Start your day tour in Aswan by getting picked up from your hotel or cruise ship and drive to the High Dam of Aswan, an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. From the top of the High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nasser to the Kalabsha temple in the south and the huge power station to the north.

   1 h

2. Continue to the Unfinished Obelisk in the granite quarries of Aswan, where much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from. The Unfinished Obelisk still lies where it was carved when a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. Your qualified Egyptologist guide will explain how the 1 ton obelisk was carved, and why the crack caused it to be abandoned.

   45 min

3. The last of the 3 famous Aswan sites you will see is generally regarded as the best. Philae Temple was carefully moved to its current location (around 500 meters from the original site) when the construction of the High Dam caused surrounding Nile waters to rise. A short motorboat ride takes you to the island, where your guide will take you on a walking tour through the temple before allowing you free time to explore further on your own. Dedicated to the goddess Isis, Philae Temple has a beautiful setting on an island in the river which has been landscaped to match its original site.

   2 h

4. After finishing your tour, you'll be dropped off your hotel or Nile cruise in Aswan.

   Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 35 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5A must do in ASSUAN

  We had a splendid time with Omar ( guide) and Hani ( driver). They are very kind and know English very well. Omar is prepared on everything we visited and he answered all our questions. They even brought us to the quarry to see how local people extract the stole from the ground. We really uppreciated their company and we suggest tourists to book this trip with them.

  camilla_tMay 2026via Viator

• 5Excellent Experience

  Excellent all round experience with a great guide Michael who was a great source of knowledge and moved at exactly the pace we wished for. Would highly recommend

  lmac102March 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Excellent tour

  We really appreciate and like the way how the guide explains us the history. The transportation was really comfortable and kind.

  MariaAngelica_RMay 2024via Viator

• 5Highly recommended Tour in Aswan

  Highly recommended tour to visit all the main sites in Aswan. But more importantly our guide Aida wad simply fabulous taking time to explain all history of the monuments and sites. Aida gave us plenty of free time to explore by ourselves and take pictures. Transportation was on time and well arranged throughout the whole Tour! You will not be disappointed by booking this Tour. X&D

  dodobirdiApril 2024via Tripadvisor

• 5Excellent, professional, informative tour

  Michael is an excellent, knowledgeable guide who speaks impeccable English and led us on a relaxed, stress-free tour of the Philae Temple and Unfinished Obelisk. He did a great job explaining the deeper meanings of the artwork inside the temple, and walked us through the history very well. Aswan is a calm, peaceful oasis by the Nile that's full of fascinating history. I highly recommend you have Michael take you around the sights.

  4kareemfJanuary 2024via Tripadvisor

• 5it was a very good tour...

  it was a very good tour and the guide Aida was knowledgeable and helpful , we enjoyed it very much. Philae temple was fantastic.

  Gary_MNovember 2023via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Aswan

• Its from-price is 48% below the median of the 312 day trips we list in Aswan.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 19 of 312.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Aswan

Aswan is Egypt's serene southern city on the Nile, where feluccas glide between granite islands, Nubian villages and palm-fringed riverbanks.

The Nile is at its most beautiful here, broken by granite boulders and green islands. Elephantine Island holds ruins of ancient temples and colourful Nubian villages, Kitchener's Island is covered by a botanical garden, and on the west bank the Tombs of the Nobles are cut into the cliffs of Qubbet el-Hawa, while the domed Mausoleum of the Aga Khan stands on a desert hill further south.

Top-ranked sights in Aswan: Abu Simbel Temples, Philae Temple (Temple of Isis), Aswan High Dam.

See all 1751 experiences in Aswan