Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is a pair of temples Ramses II had carved into a sandstone cliff above Lake Nasser, 280 km south of Aswan. A foreign adult ticket costs about 600 EGP, and the trip from Aswan takes about 3.5 hours each way by road or 40 minutes by air.

Abu Simbel was Ramses II's statement at the southern edge of his kingdom: two temples cut straight into a sandstone cliff above the Nile, built to impress Nubian travellers heading north and to show Egyptian power deep into Africa. Four seated colossi of the king, each 20 m tall, guard the Great Temple. Inside, a corridor lined with Osiride statues runs to a sanctuary 60 m into the rock. Twice a year, on or about 22 February and 22 October, sunlight travels the full length of the temple and lights up three of the four gods seated there. Ptah, the god of darkness, stays in shadow.

The smaller Temple of Hathor and Nefertari next to it is one of only two temples in ancient Egypt dedicated to a queen. It is also the only one where her statues on the façade stand as tall as her husband's.

Between 1964 and 1968 both temples were cut into more than 1,000 numbered blocks and rebuilt 65 m higher up the cliff, out of reach of Lake Nasser. It remains UNESCO's best-known rescue project.

What to see

• The four 20 m colossi of Ramses II on the Great Temple façade
• The inner sanctuary, aligned for the twice-yearly Sun Festival
• The Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Hathor
• The view over Lake Nasser stretching south
• The evening Sound and Light show

Visiting

• Opening hours: 5 am – 6 pm
• Tickets: about 600 EGP for foreign adults
• Getting there: fly from Aswan (40 min) or go by road (3.5 hours each way). It is easiest with an overnight stay in the small town of Abu Simbel
• Best time: the two Sun Festival dates, if your plans allow
• Nearby: Philae, Temples of Wadi al-Sebua