Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt (Arabic: صعيد مصر Sa'id Misr) is a region of the Nile Valley in Egypt, between Luxor and Aswan and the historical region of Lower Nubia, characterised by a number of ancient settlements and temple towns that draw thousands of travellers every year.
Cities and towns
- 1 Luxor has direct flights from Europe and is the main resort. It is very touristy, but its sights are remarkable: Karnak within the city and the Valley of the Kings nearby across the Nile.
- 2 Aswan has many sights, several relocated from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, such as Kalabsha and the Philae Temple.
- 3 Edfu has the Temple of Horus, while north on the road to Esna is the Temple of Nekhbet at El Kab.
- 4 Esna has a red sandstone temple dedicated to the god Khnum.
- 5 Kom Ombo has the Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, but the big attraction just north is Silsila, the royal quarries.
Other destinations
- 1 Abu Simbel
near the border with Sudan is where the Great Temple of Ramses II was moved uphill from the waters of Lake Nasser. - 2 El Kab consists of prehistoric and ancient settlements, as well as ock-cut tombs.
- 3 Lake Nasser is the colossal reservoir lake, 479 km (298 mi) long and up to 16 km wide, created in 1971 by the completion of the Aswan High Dam. Its southern tip is in Sudan, where it's called "Lake Nubia".
- 4 Silsila is a range of sandstone hills.
Get in
By plane
Aswan (ASW IATA) and Luxor (LXR IATA) have flights at least daily from Cairo; Luxor has direct flights from Europe.
By train
A sleeper train runs from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan. As it arrives early morning in Luxor, consider travelling first to Aswan then using a day-time local train to reach Luxor: these are basic but very cheap.
By bus
Long distance buses ply all the way up the Nile valley to Aswan.
By road
As well as the route up the valley, highways cross the desert from the coast, e.g. from Hurghada. If you use a taxi, which is often a good deal, then negotiate with the driver for a stop-off at one or more of the temple towns along the way.
By boat
There are no scheduled ferries along the Nile, but a felucca cruise on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan will include stops at the temple towns between. Larger river cruisers also sail, but are often suspended because of insufficient water in the Nile.
A dilapidated ferry sails once or twice a week across Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa in Sudan; you will need to sort out your visa well in advance. Remarkably, there is no road between these two countries, so this is the only surface connection. The ferry does not call at Abu Simbel.
Get around
See
- Tombs of the pharaohs are built west of the Nile, like the pyramids at Giza, because the west signified death—it was where the sun god Ra died at the end of each day. The finest collection are in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens a short distance from Luxor. They are magnificent unless you are trying to see them at the same time as a coach party—the interiors are small.
- Temples line the valley: Karnak at Luxor is the best-known (and often crowded) whereas you might have Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo to yourself.
Do
Buy
Nothing in Luxor if you can help it. It is overpriced tourist tat with much hassle, which becomes turbo-charged hassle if you display the least interest. Aswan and the other small towns are not as bad, and have genuine souks, though inevitably you are overpaying.
Eat
Drink
Water—it is a desert climate and your sweat evaporates fast, so you do not feel sticky and may not realise how much fluid you're shedding.
Sleep
Luxor and Aswan have the widest range of accommodation, but there are hotels in all the valley towns.
Go next
- Downstream through Middle Egypt to Cairo is the obvious next step.
- Highways cross the desert to the Red Sea Coast, for instance Luxor to Hurghada is a 4-hr drive.
- Terra nullius: neither Egypt nor Sudan acknowledge Bir Tawil on their border. It won't be touristy, that is for sure.