Visit Abu Simbel, Egypt, and I guarantee you will be in absolute awe at what you find there. Built by Rameses II in the 13th century BC, the sight of the imposing temple rising out of the desert is just as incredible today as it must have been when it was built over 3000 years ago.
Read: What to Wear in Egypt as a Female Traveler
What is Abu Simbel?
Abu Simbel is an ancient Egyptian temple. But instead of being built to worship any of the gods, it was built by Rameses II to celebrate himself as king. In fact, the front of the temple has four giant statues of Rameses II, two on either side of the entrance. (Just in case anyone didn’t realise he’s kind of a big deal..). Located next to Lake Nasser, the entire temple complex was actually completely dismantled in 1968 and moved to a site further away from the lake so that it wouldn’t get flooded. (The water rose following the construction of the Aswan dam).
There’s also a smaller temple, the temple of the goddess Hathor and queen Nefertari, next to the large temple. You can go inside both temples, where you can see beautiful hieroglyphs.
Where is Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a temple built in the very south of Egypt, near the border with Sudan. The nearest city is Aswan, on the Nile River.
How to get to Abu Simbel
To visit Abu Simbel, you can stay the night in Aswan and then take a tour bus to the temple. The drive takes 3 hours through the desert. You cannot self-drive as there are security checkpoints and you need to be a licensed tour operator to get through.
There are daily flights to Aswan from Cairo. The flight time is 1 hour and 25 minutes. Aswan has quite a few luxury hotels with views over the Nile.
When to visit
It’s best to visit Abu Simbel between October and April, avoiding the heat of the high summer. I recommend getting there early in the morning so that you can enjoy exploring before it gets baking hot in the middle of the day. If you want photos without the crowds, hang around for a while for the early morning tour buses to leave. It will be hot, but the place empties almost completely, so it’s fab for pics! Note that the road to Abu Simbel is only open from 5am to 5pm. If you really want the place to yourselves, you could stay overnight in the nearby village (also called Abu Simbel)
Read my other posts about Egypt here.
[…] of the highlights of any trip to Egypt is visiting Abu Simbel. This Ancient Egyptian temple is built right out in the middle of the desert near the border with […]