6-Day Lake Nasser Cruise and Abu Simbel Holiday

The 6-day Lake Nasser cruise and Abu Simbel holiday takes you to the least-visited corner of Egypt: the quiet southern lake where Nubian temples, rescued from the rising water in the 1960s, now stand on the shore. Sailing from Aswan through Wadi El Seboua and Amada to Abu Simbel and back, you reach monuments that most Egypt tours skip, and you arrive at Abu Simbel by water instead of the early-morning desert convoy.

Each day combines a private Egyptologist guide, a comfortable Lake Nasser cruise ship and a calm pace across desert shores and open water. Dates, hotel category and the order of visits can be adjusted before you book, so the holiday follows your plans instead of a fixed group schedule.

Tour Overview

This Egypt Lake Nasser cruise follows the route Aswan → Wadi El Seboua → Amada → Abu Simbel → Aswan. Between the Aswan High Dam and the Sudanese border lies one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, and its shores hold a string of Nubian temples that were dismantled and rebuilt on higher ground during the UNESCO Nubian Salvage Campaign. This programme gives you time at each of them with a guide who explains both the ancient history and the rescue story.

Tour Highlights

Day-by-Day Itinerary: 6-Day Lake Nasser Cruise and Abu Simbel Holiday

This is the recommended plan. Because the ship sails across open water, the captain may adjust arrival times for weather and mooring, and your guide confirms each day's schedule on board.

Places You Will Visit and Their History

Most of the temples on this Nubian temples cruise were moved by an international team between the 1960s and 1980, a project that saved monuments the High Dam would have flooded. Here is the background to each stop.

Aswan High Dam

Built between 1960 and 1970, the Aswan High Dam ended the Nile's annual flood and created Lake Nasser, over 500 km long. It supplies hydroelectric power and irrigation water, and its construction made the rescue of Nubian monuments necessary.

Philae Temple

The Temple of Isis at Philae was a major pilgrimage site in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. After the dams, it was dismantled and rebuilt on Agilkia Island between 1972 and 1980. The last known hieroglyphic inscription, dated 394 CE, was carved here.

Unfinished Obelisk

In the granite quarries of Aswan lies an obelisk about 42 metres long that cracked before it was freed. Attributed to Hatshepsut, it shows how Egyptians cut granite with dolerite pounders and gives a rare view of ancient stonework in progress.

Kalabsha, Beit el-Wali and Kertassi

The Roman-era Temple of Kalabsha, dedicated to the Nubian god Mandulis, was moved in the early 1960s by a West German team, and today sits on an island near the High Dam. Beit el-Wali, a small temple of Ramesses II, shows his Nubian campaigns, while the Kertassi Kiosk is a graceful Hathor-column pavilion.

Wadi El Seboua

Wadi El Seboua means Valley of the Lions, named after the sphinx avenue leading to the sandstone temple built by Ramesses II for Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty. The complex was moved to higher ground in the 1960s, and its courtyards are lined with colossal statues.

Dakka and Maharraqa

The Temple of Dakka honours Thoth and was built by Ptolemaic and Roman rulers, with a Nubian king named Arkamani contributing to its earliest phase. The small Maharraqa temple, once part of a Roman fortress, is dedicated to Serapis.

Amada Temple

Amada is the oldest surviving temple on Lake Nasser, begun by Thutmose III and completed under Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV, around 1450 BCE. Its painted reliefs keep their colours, and the entire temple was moved in one piece on rails in 1965.

Derr Temple

Derr is the only rock-cut temple of Ramesses II on the east bank of Nubia, dedicated to Ra-Horakhty. Its wall reliefs show the king in battle and in offerings.

Qasr Ibrim

A fortress site on a rocky hill, Qasr Ibrim was occupied for around 3,000 years, from pharaonic times through Roman, Christian and Ottoman eras. Today it rises as an island in the lake and is viewed from the ship.

Great Temple of Abu Simbel

Carved into the cliff around 1264 BCE, the Great Temple of Ramesses II is guarded by four 20-metre seated colossi. The sanctuary is aligned so sunlight reaches the inner statues twice a year, around 22 February and 22 October. The temple was rediscovered by Johann Burckhardt in 1813 and opened by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817.

Temple of Nefertari

The smaller temple beside it was built for Ramesses II's chief queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. Statues of king and queen stand at nearly the same height, a rare honour in Egyptian art. Both temples were cut into over 1,000 blocks and raised by about 65 metres between 1964 and 1968.

Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser filled behind the High Dam in the 1960s and 1970s, flooding ancient Nubia and displacing its people. Today it is a calm, remote waterway with desert shores, birdlife and Nile crocodiles, and a living reminder of Nubian culture.

What Is a Lake Nasser Cruise?

A Lake Nasser cruise is a multi-day voyage on the reservoir behind the High Dam. It differs from a classic Luxor to Aswan cruise because the monuments are Nubian and Ramesside, the shores are empty desert, and the ship moors in quiet bays instead of busy towns. Many of the sites cannot be reached by road, so a cruise is the most comfortable way to see them.

Ships on the lake are generally smaller and calmer, with cabins, a restaurant, a sun deck and a lounge. The route from Aswan to Abu Simbel and back normally takes four nights on board. Your quotation confirms the specific ship, cabin category and sailing dates.

Activities on This Holiday

Accommodation and Meals

You spend one night in an Aswan hotel and four nights in a private cabin on the Lake Nasser cruise ship. Hotel category and cabin type are confirmed in your written proposal according to your budget and dates. On board, meals are taken in the ship's restaurant on a full-board basis, and breakfast is included at the Aswan hotel.

Transport

Private air-conditioned vehicles handle your airport transfers, your Aswan sightseeing and the transfer to the High Dam port. After that, the ship is your transport, with tenders for shore landings. Your quotation states whether flights to Aswan are included.

What Is Included and Not Included

Final inclusions are always confirmed in writing before payment.

Prices

Booking and Cancellation

Share your dates, number of adults and children and preferred comfort level. We send a personalised itinerary, you approve the details, and you pay by Cash, PayPal, Binance, Visa or Mastercard. Cancellation and amendment terms depend on the ship and hotel selected, so they are stated in your written quotation before you confirm. Call or message us on +20 100 925 5585.

Best Time to Go and What to Pack

The best time for a Lake Nasser cruise is October to April, when days are warm and nights are cool. Summer is very hot, and some ships do not sail in the hottest months, so confirm availability. Pack light cotton clothing with covered shoulders and knees, a sun hat, sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes, a light jacket for the deck, binoculars and your passport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tours and Guides

Browse all Nile cruise and beach packages, or read about Aswan and Abu Simbel.