Luxor West Bank Tour: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple & Colossi of Memnon

The West Bank of Luxor was, for the ancient Egyptians, the realm of the dead — the sun set here each evening, and it became the chosen burial ground for New Kingdom pharaohs. Your day starts at the Valley of the Kings, where you'll descend into three intricately decorated royal tombs (entry ticket covers a standard rotation of tombs; Tutankhamun and a few other tombs require a supplementary ticket, available on request).

Next you'll visit the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, one of ancient Egypt's few female pharaohs. Built into the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari, its clean, colonnaded terraces are unlike any other temple in Egypt and one of the most photographed sites on the West Bank.

Your final stop is the Colossi of Memnon, two enormous stone statues of Amenhotep III that once guarded the entrance to his now-vanished mortuary temple. You'll have time here for photos before your guide returns you to your hotel or cruise ship.