Experience the best of Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel stands on the western shore of Lake Nasser, near the border with Sudan, about 280 kilometres by road from Aswan. Its two rock temples were cut into a sandstone cliff in the thirteenth century BC for Pharaoh Ramesses II. The Great Temple is fronted by four seated statues of the king, each about twenty metres high, and a smaller temple beside it is dedicated to Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor.

When the Aswan High Dam threatened to flood the site in the 1960s, an international effort cut both temples into blocks and rebuilt them on higher ground, about sixty-five metres above their original position, inside artificial hills. The inner sanctuary of the Great Temple is aligned so that on two days each year, around 22 February and 22 October, the sun reaches the statues at the back. Other relocated temples lie along the shores of the lake.

Nubian cooking uses fish from Lake Nasser, grilled or fried, with fresh bread, ful beans, dates and hibiscus tea, and Nubian songs and crafts are part of local life. The desert is extremely dry and summers are fierce, so the cooler months from October to March are the gentler time of year.