Nefertari's tomb
Among Egypt's finest.
Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onceinawhile — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Olaf Tausch — CC BY 3.0 · Onceinawhile — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onceinawhile — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chabe01 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Onceinawhile — CC BY-SA 4.0
A rocky valley on Luxor's West Bank where queens, princes, princesses and senior courtiers of ancient Egypt were buried between about 1550 and 1130 BC, while the kings were laid in the nearby Valley of the Kings. It was known in antiquity as Ta-Set-Neferu, the Place of Beauty or the Place of the Royal Children. The main valley holds more than ninety tombs, the best known and finest being the tomb of Queen Nefertari, the favourite wife of Ramesses II, counted among the most beautiful tombs in all Egypt for its astonishingly well-kept bright colours and its blue ceiling studded with stars. The Italian Schiaparelli found it in 1904, and it has been carefully restored. The general ticket usually opens three tombs in rotation, among them those of sons of Ramesses III such as Prince Amenherkhepeshef and Prince Khaemwaset, with lovely painted reliefs showing the prince with his father before the gods. The general foreigner's ticket costs about two hundred and twenty Egyptian pounds, and Nefertari's tomb takes a steep extra ticket of about two thousand five hundred pounds for a short, timed visit. It opens from six in the morning to five, and early morning is the best time, before the heat.
Among Egypt's finest.
Painted princes' tombs.
The valley's old name.
West Bank, Luxor, south-west of Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina (Workers' Village)The village of the craftsmen and artists who cut and decorated the royal tombs i10 minutes walk
Medinet HabuThe mortuary temple of Ramesses III, and the finest thing on the west bank after15 minutes walk4.9
Valley of the KingsThe royal necropolis of the New Kingdom — a rock valley on the west bank where E20 minutes walk4.7
Tombs of the Nobles (Sheikh Abd el-Qurna)A necropolis on the slopes of the West Bank hills, the largest group of private 21 minutes walk
RamesseumThe memorial temple of Ramesses II on Luxor's West Bank, built to keep his memor22 minutes walkFor lovers of ancient Egyptian art, yes: its colours are among the finest to survive in Egypt, but the visit is short and timed, so read up before you go in.