5-Day Aswan to Abu Simbel Cruise: Sail Beyond the High Dam

Wake to the quiet waters of Lake Nasser and enjoy breakfast on board before meeting your Egyptologist guide for the day’s visit.

Begin at Kalabsha Temple, one of the largest surviving temples of ancient Nubia. Built during the Roman period and dedicated to the Nubian god Mandulis, its walls show Roman emperors dressed as Egyptian pharaohs and presenting offerings to the gods. These scenes reflect a time when different cultures met in southern Egypt and adopted one another’s religious traditions.

Kalabsha did not originally stand here. As the High Dam was built and the water began to rise, the temple was divided into thousands of stone blocks and moved to higher ground. It was carefully taken apart and rebuilt near the High Dam during the international campaign to save Nubia’s monuments.

Walk through the temple’s large entrance, open courtyard, and stone halls while your guide explains the carvings and inscriptions covering its walls. From the surrounding area, look across the lake and see how the temple now stands above the water that threatened its original location.

Return to the cruise for lunch, then begin sailing south towards Wadi El Seboua. Spend the afternoon on board as the ship moves through open water bordered by long, empty stretches of desert. With few boats and buildings along the route, the changing colors of the lake and shoreline become the main view.

Dinner is served on board, followed by another quiet night on Lake Nasser.

🍽️ Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner 🛏️ Overnight: On board

After breakfast on board, begin your visit at Wadi El Seboua, meaning “Valley of the Lions,” named after the sphinxes lining the approach to the temple. Walk between these stone guardians towards the sanctuary built by Ramses II, where statues, columns, and wall carvings record the king’s devotion to the gods.

Like many monuments around Lake Nasser, the temple was moved from its original location before the rising water reached it.

The temple also carries signs of a much later period. Early Christians converted part of the building into a church, covering some of the ancient reliefs with plaster before adding their own paintings. Your Egyptologist will help you identify these different layers and understand how the same building served changing communities across many centuries.

The visit may also include the nearby Temple of Dakka and Temple of Maharraqa, subject to the ship’s confirmed excursion schedule. Dakka was dedicated to Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing. Maharraqa was never completed, but its spiral staircase is an unusual feature rarely found inside an Egyptian temple.

Return to the ship and continue sailing across Lake Nasser while lunch is served on board.

Later, reach the Amada Temple complex, where some of Nubia’s finest surviving colours can still be seen. Amada is one of the oldest monuments along the route and was begun during the reign of Thutmose III. Because its painted walls were too delicate to take apart, engineers protected the complete building and moved it along rails to higher ground.

The excursion may also include the Temple of Derr and the Tomb of Pennut, depending on the final cruise itinerary and access arrangements. Derr was cut directly into the rock during the reign of Ramses II, while Pennut’s tomb offers a more personal view of ancient Nubian life through scenes connected with family, status, and beliefs about the afterlife.

Back on board, sail towards Qasr Ibrim, the only major archaeological site in the area that remains in its original location. Rising above the water on a rocky island, it can generally be viewed only from the ship because shore access is restricted.

Dinner is served on board as the cruise continues south towards Abu Simbel.

🍽️ Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner 🛏️ Overnight: On board

After breakfast on board, arrive in Abu Simbel, the final and most famous stop of your journey across Lake Nasser.

Meet your Egyptologist guide and begin at the Great Temple of Ramses II. Four colossal statues of the king sit across its façade, each rising about 20 metres above the ground. Walk beneath them and enter the temple, where large statues, carved walls, and long halls lead towards the inner sanctuary.

Continue deeper into the temple to the sanctuary dedicated to Ramses II and the gods Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah. This is the inner room connected with the solar alignment when sunlight reaches three of the four seated figures on specific dates each year.

Continue to the nearby Temple of Queen Nefertari, dedicated to the queen and the goddess Hathor. Its façade shows statues of Nefertari standing almost as tall as those of Ramses II—an uncommon honor in ancient Egyptian art. Inside, the wall scenes show the queen presenting offerings and taking part in religious ceremonies.

Both temples were originally carved into the mountain at a lower level. During the 1960s, they were cut into large sections and rebuilt on higher ground to protect them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. Your guide will explain how the temples were placed inside artificial hills designed to recreate their original setting.

Return to the cruise for lunch. The rest of the afternoon is free to relax on board and enjoy the scenery around Abu Simbel after four days of sailing through Nubia.

Dinner is served on board, followed by your final night on Lake Nasser.

🍽️ Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner 🛏️ Overnight: On board 

Enjoy breakfast on board before checking out of your cabin and leaving the cruise in Abu Simbel.

Your Respect Tours representative will meet you after check-out and assist with the next part of your journey. Depending on your confirmed travel arrangements, you will either transfer to Abu Simbel Airport for your onward flight or travel by air-conditioned vehicle back to Aswan.

This marks the end of your Aswan to Abu Simbel cruise, following five days of sailing across Lake Nasser and exploring the temples of ancient Nubia.

The check-out time, meeting point, and departure transfer will be confirmed in advance according to the ship’s schedule and your onward travel plans.

🍽️ Meals: Breakfast