Best Things To Do In Egypt

Best Things To Do In Egypt

Introduction

Home of the ancient Pharaohs, Egypt is a destination full of dazzling temples and tombs that wow all who visit. It’s not all historic treasures and tourist attractions, though. With vast tracts of desert for 4WD adventures, the Red Sea’s world-class coral reefs and wrecks for divers, and cruising on the famed Nile River, there are plenty of things to do for all types of travelers. Beach lovers head to the Sinai or the Red Sea Coast to soak up the sun, while archaeology fans will have a field day in Luxor. Cairo is the megalopolis that can’t be beaten for city slickers, while Siwa Oasis and the southern town of Aswan offer a slice of the slow pace of the countryside. With so much to see and do, Egypt allows visitors to create itineraries that combine culture, adventure, and relaxation all on one trip. Plan your sightseeing with our list of Egypt’s top attractions and places.

 

Pyramids of Giza

The last surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza, is one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks. Having awed travelers down through the ages, these tombs of the Pharaohs Cheops (Khufu), Chephren (Khafre), and Mycerinus (Menkaure), guarded by the enigmatic Sphinx, are usually top of most visitor’s lists of tourist attractions to see in Egypt and often the first sight they head to after landing. Today, sitting on the desert edge of Cairo’s sprawl, these megalithic memorials to dead pharaohs are still as wondrous a sight as they ever were and an undeniable highlight of any Egypt trip.

Luxor’s Temples & Tombs

Famed for the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, the Nile-side town of Luxor in Upper Egypt has a glut of tourist attractions. This is ancient Thebes, the power base of the New Kingdom pharaohs, and home to more sights than most can see on one visit. Luxor’s east bank is home to the modern city, with its vibrant souq, the two temples of Karnak and Luxor, and the museum. The west bank’s lush farmland and barren cliffs are where the vast majority of Luxor’s tourist attractions sit, with so many tombs and temple sights that it has been called the biggest open-air museum in the world. Spend a few days here exploring the colorful wall art of the tombs and gazing in awe at the colossal columns in the temples. You’ll see why Luxor continues to fascinate historians and archaeologists.

Cruising the Nile

The Nile defines Egypt. For many visitors, a multi-day cruise upon this famed waterway that saw the rise of the Pharaonic era highlights their Egypt trip. Cruising the Nile is also the most relaxing way to visit the temples that stud the banks of the river on the route between Luxor and Aswan, plus sunrise and sunset over the date-palm-studded river banks, backed by dunes is one of Egypt’s most tranquil vistas. The two famous sights on a Nile Cruise are the Temple of Kom Ombo and Edfu’s Temple of Horus, where all the big cruise boats stop. Suppose you’d prefer a less crowded and slower experience, though, and don’t mind “roughing it” a bit. In that case, you can also cruise the Nile by felucca (Egypt’s traditional lateen-sailed wooden boats), allowing you to create your itinerary. Many cruise boat itineraries depart from Luxor and Aswan, but feluccas can only be chartered for multi-day trips from Aswan.

Saqqara

Everyone’s heard of Giza’s Pyramids, but they’re not Egypt’s only pyramids. Day-tripping distance from Cairo, Saqqara is a vast cemetery of tombs and pyramids utilized during every era of Pharaonic rule. It’s best known for its Old Kingdom Step Pyramid, which shows how the architects of Ancient Egypt finally advanced their engineering knowledge to create an actual pyramid shape. There’s much more to see beyond the Step Pyramid, though, with some of the surrounding tombs, such as the Mastaba of Ti, showcasing some of the finest tomb paintings you’ll see in the country. Nearby, the pyramid site of Dahshur is home to the Red Pyramid and Bent Pyramid, which should be included in any Saqqara visit.

Aswan

Egypt’s most tranquil town is Aswan, set upon the winding curves of the Nile. Backed by orange-hued dunes, this is the perfect place to stop and unwind for a few days and soak up the chilled-out atmosphere. Take the river ferry across to Elephantine Island and stroll the colorful streets of the Nubian villages. Then, ride a camel to the desert monastery of St. Simeon on Aswan’s east bank. Afterward, relax in one of the riverboat restaurants while watching the lateen-sailed feluccas drift past. Make sure to jump aboard a felucca at sunset to sail around Aswan’s islands. This is, by far, Aswan’s most popular activity and the most relaxing way to take in the local sights. There are many historic sites here, and numerous temples nearby, including Philae Temple on its island, but one of Aswan’s most popular things to do is kick back and watch the river life go by.

Egyptian Museum

A treasure trove of the Pharaonic world, Cairo’s Egyptian Museum is one of the world’s significant museum collections. The faded pink mansion in downtown Cairo is home to many exhibits. It’s a higgledy-piggledy place, with little labeling on offer and a severely lacking chronological order. Instead, every corner you turn here is home to some beautiful ancient art or sculpture, which would be the highlight of any other museum. The museum’s star collection is the golden treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Travelers should note that the Egyptian Museum’s swag of riches is being transferred to the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, near the pyramids, which is tentatively due to open (after years of delays) in November 2022. The GEM will finally provide this world-class collection with a worthy showcase, and the entirety of Tutankhamun’s treasures, many of which have been stored for years, will eventually be entirely on display.

Abu Simbel

Even in a country adorned with temples, Abu Simbel is something special. Ites II’s great temple is adorned with colossal statuary standing, a guard outside and wit, and an interior sumptuously decorated with wall paintings. Jutly famous for its megalithic proportions, Abu Simbel is also known for the incredible engineering feat by UNESCO in the 1960s, which saw the entire temple moved from its original setting to save it from disappearing under the rising water of the Aswan Dam. Today, exploring Abu Simbel is just as much about admiring the triumph of this international effort to save the temple complex as it is about gaping in wonder at Ramses II’s awe-inspiring building works.

White Desert

Egypt’s kookiest natural wonder is White Desert National Park, out in the Western Desert, just south of Bahariya Oasis. Here, surreally shaped chalk pinnacles and huge boulders loom over the desert plateau, creating a scene that looks like icebergs have found themselves stranded amid a landscape of sand. This highly scenic environment looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It is a favorite destination for 4WD desert trips and overnight camping, both easiest organized in Bahariya Oasis. For desert fans and adventurers, this is the ultimate weird playground, while anybody who’s had their fill of temples and tombs will enjoy this spectacular natural scenery.

Diving the Red Sea

Below the Red Sea’s surface is another world as fascinating as the temples and tombs on land. The coral reefs of the Red Sea are renowned among scuba divers for both the soft corals on display and the vast amount of sea life, ranging from colorful reef fish and nudibranchs to sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays, and even dugongs. For divers, the most famous town to base yourself in is Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula, which is closest to the reefs of Ras Mohammed National Park and the Straits of Tiran reefs. To dive the sites of the Straits of Guba, head to Hurghada or El Gouna on the Red Sea coast, while advanced divers should check out the resort of Marsa Alam, the nearest base for diving Egypt’s “deep south” dive sites.

As well as fish life and coral, the Red Sea is a major wreck-diving destination. The most famous wreck is the Thistlegor, a British WWII cargo ship that was on its way to resupply Allied troops when it was bombed by the Germans in 1941. Today, the site is regarded by divers as one of the top five wreck dives due to the vast cargo of cars, motorbikes, and WWII memorabilia that can be seen both scattered on the sea bed around the wreck and inside the ship itself. Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada organized dive boat trips to the wreck.

Explore Islamic Cairo

The atmospheric, narrow lanes of the capital’s Islamic Cairo district are full of mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools of learning), and monuments dating from the Fatimid to the Mameluke eras. This is where you’ll find the labyrinth shopping souq of Kh n el-Khalili, where coppersmiths and artisans still have their tiny workshops, and stalls are laden with ceramics, textiles, spice, and perfume. Surrounding the market is a muddle of roads, home to some of the most beautiful preserved architecture of the old Islamic empires. There is a wealth of history here to explore. Visit Al-Azha  Mosque and the dazzling Sultan Hassan Mosque and climb to the roof of the ancient medieval gate of Bab Zuweila for the best minaret-speckled panoramas across the district.

 South Sinai’s Beach Life

Egypt’s South Sinai region, on the Sinai Peninsula, offers a beach for every type of traveler. Sharm el-Sheikh is a European-style resort town packed full of luxury hotels, international restaurants, and bags of entertainment options. A favorite with Europeans on winter-sun vacations, many resorts here cater to families on one- or two-week sun-and-sand breaks. Dahab is a low-key beach town with a budget-traveler heart, which is just as much about desert excursions and adventures as the sea. It’s mainly known for its cheap dive-package deals and lagoon beach area, where windsurfing and kitesurfing are the top activities. Up the coast, between the port town of Nuweiba and the border town of Taba, are the bamboo hut retreats that offer complete get-away-from-it-all respites from life and back-to-basics beach life.

Alexandria

Alexandria has a history that not many others can match. Founded by Alexander the Great, home of Cleopatra, and a razzmatazz renegade city of the Mediterranean, this seafront city has an appealing days-gone-by atmosphere that can’t be beaten. Although today, there are few historic remnants of its illustrious past left to see, Alexa dria’s long seafront Corniche road leading to its fort (sitting on the site where its famous ancient lighthouse once sat) remains a favorite summer destination to capture cooling sea breezes for Egyptians and foreign visitors alike. Underwater archaeological projects here have imbued Alexandria’s museums with exciting exh bits. The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a contemporary interpretation of Alexandria’s famed ancient library, and the handful of historical sights in town include an atmospheric catacomb site.

Abydos Temple

The Temple of Osiris in Abydos is one of Ancient Egypt’s most fascinating artistic treasures. The temple, begun by Seti I, sits amid a vast necropolis site where archaeological excavations are ongoing. There are various other temple remnants to see here, but for most visitors, the Temple of Osiris is the main reason to visit. Its hypostyle halls, graced by papyrus-headed columns, contain some of the finest relief work in Egypt, with various scenes portraying the pharaoh and the gods of Ancient Egypt. As the temple lies north of Luxor, it isn’t on the main Nile cruise ship route, so it receives much fewer visitors than the temple sites in Luxor itself and the Nile-side temples to the south. This means you are often lucky enough to wander through the temple’s halls with only a few visitors.

Siwa Oasis