Discovering Spiritual Egypt in 11 days

Cairo

Day 1: Welcome to Cairo!

With your arrival at the airport your tour starts. You will be welcomed by a representative who will accompany you to your hotel for check-in and a free welcome drink. There you will meet your Tour Leader and learn more about the itinerary of your upcoming trip. After check-in you are free to spend the rest of the day at your leisure. You could decide to join the optional excursion to the Sound and Light Show on the Giza Plateau, by the magnificent Pyramids at Giza or go out to the city and enjoy a first taste of the Egyptian cuisine.

Cairo - Giza

Day 2: Saqqara - Unas Pyramid - Serapeum

After your first night in Cairo it's time to head out and see more of the beautiful country surrounding the city. Today you will visit the vast site of Saqqara with the Step Pyramid and the small museum on site. You will discover Pepi and Unas pyramids and tombs, as well as the Serapeum, a large underground chamber with evidence of high technology with 20-ton sarcophagi with 5-ton lids carved to perfection. You will enjoy dinner and then return to your hotel in Cairo for the night.

Cairo - Luxor

Day 3: Visiting Karnak and Luxor Temple

You will get up early to catch the morning flight from Cairo to Luxor. Upon arrival, you will check in at the hotel and relax a bit. If you feel up for it you can use the remaining time to discover the area around you.

In the afternoon you will visit the extensive Karnak Temple, where you will see the Sacred Lake and gain entrance to the Shrine of Sekhmet. You will continue to the Temple of Luxor, sometimes called “The Temple of Man” since the Hypostyle Halls in the temple corresponds to the cavities in the human body. You will do a walking meditation along a short part of the Avenue of the Sphinxes which spans 3 km all the way from the Karnak Temple to the Luxor Temple with 2000 sphinxes (currently being restored). You will walk through the temple and into the Holy of Holies at the back of the temple which corresponds to the pineal gland in the human body. 

After this visit you will retire back to your hotel.

Dendera - Abydos

Day 4: Visiting temples around Dendera

Today you will travel across lush farm land to the fantastic Temple of Hathor at Dendera, passing by the village where the Nag Hamadi ancient scrolls were found in 1945 written in the voice of the Divine Feminine. At Dendera, you will see the ceiling of the enormous First Hypostyle Hall that has been recently cleaned revealing curious star maps and strange half-animal, half-human beings. 

After lunch at the House of Life Abydos Hotel with a lovely courtyard overlooking the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, you will visit more temples telling a story of a revived spirituality from the 19th Dynasty. You will return to Luxor in time for dinner and retire to your hotel to relax from this long day.

Luxor - Aswan

Day 5: Discovering Hatshepsut and the Valley of Kings

This day will take you to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (with its shrines to Hathor and Anubis and colorful frescos depicting Hatshepsut's infamous expedition to the Land of Punt), to the Valley of the Kings (a vast City of the Dead where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rocks and filled with treasures for the afterlife) and the Valley of the Queens (with 75 to 80 tombs belong to Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties). The Egyptians called it "Place of Beauty".

Next you will visit magnificent Medinet Habu, a series of temples built by the Pharaoh Ramses III (1182-1151 BC) and second only to Karnak Temple in size and complexity.

The last stop will be Ramesseum, the Mortuary Temple of Ramses II, with the broken, still impressive Colossus of Ramses II, a 1000 ton statue in which the fingers alone are over 1m long.

To end the day, you'll drive to Aswan where you will spend the night.

Aswan

Day 6: Visit to the Temple of Philae and Nubian Village

You will start out the day with a visit of Philae Temple. According to the Ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis traveled all over Egypt gathering her husband Osiris’s remains after he was cut to pieces by his evil brother. On Philae Island, where she found his heart, the Egyptians built a sacred temple to Isis, Goddess of purity, sexuality, nature and protection. During the building of the High Dam, Philae Island was submerged by water, so UNESCO helped transport the temple complex to nearby Agilika Island, where you see it today.

After the visits, you will stop at a Perfume Palace with a special explanation of how to use different oils to work with chakras. Next you will embark on your Dahabeya cruise ship and after a last visit to a Nubian village you will start your sailing trip along the Nile.

Kom Ombo

Day 7: A leisurely day on the Nile

After a first night on the water, you will enjoy your breakfast in tranquility and at your leisure. Today you will disembark the ship for a day excursion to the Greco Roman Temple at Kom Ombo.

The temple building is totally symmetrical with two entrances, two halls and two sanctuaries dedicated to the Falcon God Haroeris (Horus the Elder) and the Crocodile God Sobek. After this first visit you will hop on board again to travel to Silsela, where you will see the temple dedicated to Hormoheb. This is the border of the Egyptian region of Nubia, and in ancient times, Egyptians believed that the Nile originated here.

Your dinner will either be served in the grounds of the Temple, on an island or on the upper deck of your boat while you soak in the beautiful surroundings, the tranquil atmosphere and music to match the mood.

Edfu - Esna

Day 8: Visit Edfu & El Kab site on the east bank of the Nile

Continuing from yesterday you will combine cruising and visiting ancient sights along the Nile. After your breakfast you will visit Edfu Temple traveling by horse carriage. Two beautiful granite statues of the Falcon God Horus flank the entrance and await you. 

For lunch you will board the ship again and sail onwards to visit El Kab. This is an Upper Egyptian site on the east bank of the Nile at the mouth of Wadi Hillal, about 80km south of Luxor, consisting of prehistoric and Pharaonic settlements, rock-cut tombs of the early 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 BC), remains of temples dating from the Early Dynastic period (3100-2686 BC) to the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC), as well as part of the walls of a Coptic monastery.

While you enjoy dinner and relax from this long day, your ship continues its journey to Esna. 

Esna - Luxor - Cairo

Day 9: A last day on the Nile and flight to Cairo

After the third day on board your Nile cruise ship, it is time to say goodbye. You will disembark the ship and drive to Esna Temple dedicated to the triad of Khnum, Neith, and Heka their offspring.

The Temple of Esna would once have been built to a plan similar to the temple of Hathor at Dendera and Horus at Edfu but nowadays only the hall of columns remains. The most impressive scenes are the ones you will find on the ceiling, which is decorated with astronomical representations. On the left side of the gateway of the Temple you can see the sky Goddess Nut, the Dog Star, Orion's belt and Alpha Draconis (or the Dragon Star).

After your visit you will be transferred to Luxor airport for your flight to Cairo, where you will check in at your hotel and spend the night.

Cairo - Giza

Day 10: Private Meditation at Pyramids of Giza & Sphinx

On this last full day in Egypt something very special awaits you! In the early morning you will drive to the Giza Plateau and enjoy a private meditation by the Sphinx and inside the Great Pyramid.

You will enjoy a buffet breakfast at a hotel overlooking the Great Pyramid and, with renewed energy, you will head back out to visit the Pyramids of Giza.

After lunch you will visit the Egyptian Museum which contains the world's most extensive collection of Pharaoh antiquities. Among others, the exhibit includes the world-famous treasures of child king Tutankhamen and the mummy room.

In the evening you will enjoy a last dinner together and then retire to your hotel for a good night's rest.

Cairo

Day 11: Farewell

Depending on the schedule of your flight you will be driven to Cairo airport or you can enjoy a few last hours in the city. We hope you enjoyed this trip and will come back soon.