Exploring Luxor, Egypt: West Bank

The West Bank in Luxor was the end of our adventurous journey throughout the country of Egypt.

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To-Do

• Hot Air Balloon: We woke up bright and early to face Jonah’s fear of heights and take a hot air balloon ride. 3:00am was incredibly early but it ended up being so worth it! Check out our video here!

After we finished a safety briefing about what not to do and how to land safely, we started to ascend in the balloon, that held about 15-20 people. Since we have never been in a hot air balloon, we had no idea what to expect.

Although we have taken hundreds of flights, we were both a little nervous at first. Thankfully, although you aren’t tied down to anything, the side of the basket is very high so there really isn’t any chance of you accidentally toppling over the side. We each were apprehensive in our own way. Jonah being afraid of how far off the ground we were and Sierra being nervous of the ability to keep the balloon up with the fire.

We soon forgot about our fears though, once we got higher up and started seeing the incredible views! Our hot air balloon operator was very knowledgable, pointing out the Valley of the Kings and Queens and getting us so low to the ground that we could reach out and touch the crops if we wanted to.

We were in the air probably only about an hour and a half, but honestly, we could have stayed up there so much longer, just taking in the 360 degree views of Luxor. It was a bit scary when we finally did land as most of the other people did not follow the protocol that we were told, but thankfully our operator was skilled enough to get us down safe and sound.

• Valley of the Kings: Although there are over 60 royal tombs, not all of them are available for viewing and you are allowed access to 3 of them with the standard ticket, which cost 160 Egyptian pounds (about $9). We also purchased access to the tomb of Tutankhamun for an extra 200 Egyptian pounds (about $11).

It is also worth mentioning that since we wanted to take pictures, we needed to purchase the photo pass. At 50 Egyptian pounds (about $3) it was well worth it and they were very strict about us having it so we thought it best not to risk it.

There was a lot of walking to get down into the tombs so we were thankful to be wearing some comfortable shoes! Thankfully, there was a trolley to get us from the entrance to the tombs, for a small cost of 5 Egyptian pounds (about $0.30).

It was just a short ride to the tombs and the first one we went into was the tomb of Merenptah (KV8). Walking down the stairs and then a ramp, we just had to stop multiple times to admire the vividly colored hieroglyphics on the side of the walls. It is absolutely crazy to think that these were carved and painted so long ago!

Once we made got down to the bottom of the ramp, we came upon the the sarcophagus hall that holds the burial chamber.

After finishing up with that tomb, we headed over to the tomb of Tutankhamun. Although it is the most famous tomb of them all, it is not as impressive as the others but still a must if you are there! Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside so we just had to take a lot of mental pictures. There is a guard down in the tomb who will watch you, so there is really no chance of sneaking a picture.

After seeing the mummy of King Tut, next on our itinerary was the tomb of Rameses III (KV11). The long walk down to the bottom is well worth it as it is beautifully decorated with dozens of paintings that are again, mesmerizing.

Our last stop in the Valley of the Kings was the tomb of Rameses IV (KV2). Again, another long walk down to the bottom, with many colorful paintings. It is very similar to Rameses III except it was bigger.

Overall, the Valley of the Kings is absolutely something that you must do if you have the time in Egypt! It was an incredible experience with so much history. Since the pyramids did not have nearly as much hieroglyphics as we expected, the tombs made up for it.

• The Temple of Hatshepsut: Located near the Valley of the Kings, this memorial temple was built for Queen Hatshepsut and took about 15 years to complete. The name of the main building is known as Djeser Djeseru (holy of holiest).

This location was chosen because the ancient Egyptians considered this valley to be sacred for its connection to the funerary goddess Hathor. The entrance fee was 80 Egyptian pounds (about $5).

Walking through the temple, we admired the statues and paintings, some of them still so vivid even now.

Unfortunately, after her death, most of the statues and depictions of the queen were destroyed, leaving only a few left for us to marvel at. She apparently wasn’t too popular with her stepson, Thutmose III and he ordered the demolition.

Upon leaving the temple, we came across some school children who were begging us to take pictures with them. Apparently, we were very popular in Egypt for being a foreigner!

• The Colossi of Memnon: The original purpose of these two massive stone statues of Amenhotep III was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep’s mortuary temple. They have been greatly impacted by a few earthquakes throughout the years, but what was left of them was grand. They are huge and towered over us at 60 feet high.

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Unfortunately, our time in Egypt had come to an end and Mohammed took us back to the airport. It was an amazing journey and we can’t wait to return to Egypt again some day!