We drive about an hour from Luxor to Esna, which is part of the Luxor governorate. Here we explore the temple of Esna, dedicated to the ram-headed god Khnum. The temple sits below street level within the town, as it was excavated from layers of earth. Get ready for a real treat! We'll be discovering heritage craft traditions, including beautiful textiles, as we visit the restored Wekalet Al-Geddawi, a caravanserai, and the Ottoman-era market of Al-Qissariya.

Then, we'll check in to Royal Houseboat and enjoy lunch on board as we sail for about 4-5 hours to El Hegz Village. This is an amazing opportunity for true cross-cultural exchange as we visit a local family who are excited to have visitors from the wider world. Your guide will be on hand to translate, so you can ask them questions and enhance your understanding of village culture. Dinner and your first night on the Nile, enjoying the comforts at Royal Houseboat.

Breakfast on board, sailing to El Kab. From the village, we walk (or you can go by donkey, motorized tricycle, or tuk tuk) to see the massive walls of the ancient town of Nekheb and explore the New Kingdom tombs. Sail to Edfu in horse-drawn carriages to visit the Temple of Horus. Sailing with dinner and free time as you overnight on the dahabiya.

At El Kab, you'll find the remains of ancient settlements dating back to about 3,000 BC (possibly centuries earlier) to Roman rule. The site is one of the most unique in Egypt because ancient villages and cities are rarely found. As we move inland, you will be amazed by the impressive mud brick walls and the long valley lined with tombs and shrines, including temples dedicated to Nekhbet and Thoth. We enter the decorated tombs of New Kingdom officials from the area, which are truly something to behold!

We board the dahabiya for lunch and set sail towards Edfu. Horse-drawn carriages take us to the magnificent temple with its expansive spaces and countless hieroglyphic inscriptions. We admire Tell Edfu to the west of the temple, which includes houses dating from the Old to New Kingdom. If time allows, we also stroll through the local market.
We sail again. Time to relax with dinner and drift into dreams as you become part of the rhythms of the Nile.

Breakfast on board. We step off the Royal Houseboat at Bisaw Island and the village, ready for a leisurely walk through a farm. We meet some of the women and children and learn how the unique sun bread is baked in homes here. We are welcomed by the local fishermen to their boats, learning of the skills of these men who live in harmony with the Nile. Fish caught can be enjoyed as part of dinner that evening!

We'll sail to El Selsela, where we'll take a short walk parallel to the Nile to visit shrines and a massive quarry. This is where they quarried all that sandstone for temple buildings in Thebes (Luxor). Cut into the rock are the speos (chapels) of Horemheb, with its sanctuary containing rock shrines and various stelae and inscriptions. The huge quarry gives context to how much building material was sourced from this area. And there's more! There's an area of sand here where children (and children at heart) can slide and play.

We sail until it's time for an atmospheric barbecue dinner by moonlight, followed by another tranquil night on board.

Breakfast on Board, A short walk from Royal Houseboat, the Temple of Kom Ombo is a must-see! It's dedicated to the crocodile-featured god Sobek and the god Horus. As you look towards the temple, you can't help but feel the incredible connection to the power of the Nile! We also have the incredible opportunity to visit the Crocodile Museum, which includes some truly impressive, mummified crocodiles.

In nearby El Daraw, we have a special dinner planned for that night. You'll learn how to shop Egyptian style, and then you'll get to try your new skills in the market shopping for ingredients for dinner. We also get to visit a camel barn, where we'll learn all about these fascinating animals and the camel trade.

We're off to a Nubian village! From about 7,000 BC, communities evolved from African Nile Valley civilizations to form the Nubian, Ancient Egyptian, and Kushite civilizations. There are several Nubian communities near Daraw, and we'll visit at least one of them! The Nubian civilization is one of the oldest in the Nile River Valley, and it's fascinating! Nubians are a fascinating ethnolinguistic group indigenous to southern Egypt and northern Sudan. While many Nubians in Egypt were displaced by the construction of the High Dam near Aswan, they have since made their way north of Lake Nasser. Although Nubians are historically and culturally distinct from other Egyptians, they have long been interconnected with Egypt in a way that has made them one of the most fascinating groups in the country's history! While many Egyptian pharaohs colonized Nubia at various times, it was Nubian pharaohs from the Kingdom of Kush who ruled ancient Egypt in the 7th century BC!

Breakfast on board and check out of the Royal Houseboat & start visiting Aswan!
We start by Philae temple, giving you a picturesque approach to the site. In the 1960s, the monuments on this island were relocated from the original Philae Island nearby so they would not be flooded because of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Philae is home to a wealth of fascinating structures, many of which date back to the Ptolemaic era (332–30 BC). And there's the unfinished obelisk! Obelisks are magnificent four-sided, tapered monuments which were called tekhenu by the Ancient Egyptians. It is estimated that the unfinished obelisk would have been an impressive 42 meters tall and weighed an astonishing 1,200 tons! This would have made it the largest obelisk ever constructed by the ancient Egyptians.

Then, you've got to check out the High Dam! You'll get to enjoy incredible views of the Old Aswan Dam and the Nubian Lake (Lake Nasser). Seeing the High Dam and Lake Nasser is an absolute must! It'll blow your mind and give you a whole new understanding of how the ever-changing flow of the Nile has influenced Egyptian history. The dam was built to control the flooding of the Nile, increase water storage for irrigation, and generate hydroelectricity—all of which have had a profound impact on Egyptian history! However, the large area flooded presented an incredible opportunity for relocation, with more than 100,000 people moving to new homes. Many incredible archeological sites were submerged, creating a fascinating underwater landscape!

Time to head back home or on to Cairo! Transfer to Aswan airport to fly back home or Cairo.