# Valley of the Queens Guide: History, Tickets & What to See Source: https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens Language: en # Valley of the Queens وادي الملكات The Valley of the Queens includes burials of royal women and children. Nefertari’s tomb is especially celebrated for its painted decoration, but the wider cemetery has its own history and is worth understanding beyond one famous name. The cemetery developed during the New Kingdom and contains tombs of royal women, princes and other members of the royal household. Its most famous painted tomb belongs to Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II. Nefertari’s surviving decoration is remarkable, but substantial losses and salt damage made conservation essential. The Getty Conservation Institute and Egyptian authorities worked together on its conservation. The survival of painted surfaces should not be mistaken for complete preservation or a guarantee of present access. Published sources · confirm changing details before travel **Already at the site?**Keep the visit sequence and details to look for close to hand. [Open the field guide](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens/visit) In one paragraph The cemetery contains different tomb plans. Early shaft tombs contrast with the multi-room royal tombs of the Ramesside period. In decorated tombs such as Nefertari’s, plaster provided a surface for painting over the rock. Compare the plan and surviving decoration of the tombs actually open during your visit. Time needed: About 1 hour · Best time of day: Early, on the same run as another west-bank site — it is small and does not need a slot of its own [Choosing Tombs in the Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/journal/which-valley-of-the-kings-tombs) **Type**: Necropolis **Bank**: West bank **Period**: New Kingdom **Principal deity**: Hathor **Time needed**: About 1 hour **Best time of day**: Early, on the same run as another west-bank site — it is small and does not need a slot of its own **Heat exposure**: High _· Expect exposed sections. Continuous shade or a seated rest area has not been verified; plan a separate break._ **Walking**: Easy _· Choose the open tombs first, then ask about the walk between them and each entrance stair. No measured accessible circuit is recorded; tombs have different layouts._ **Guide**: Optional **Ticket**: 220 EGP · foreign adult, per person **Photography**: The official ticket page lists mobile-phone photography as free. Confirm room-specific restrictions and rules for other equipment at the site.Online sources checked 2026-09-19 · [Valley Of The Queens — published visitor information](https://egymonuments.com/details/ValleyOfTheQueens) [Nefertari tomb — Ministry notice, November 2024](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/events/the-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-queen-nefertari-s-tomb/) **Current access**: Current access not verified Dashed boxes mark information we have not verified. Check essential prices, hours and access arrangements with the official venue before travelling. FIG. 1 — VALLEY OF THE QUEENS · STONE & COLOUR ## A quiet valley. Vivid worlds within. The valley bowl and two interpretive studies: royal family imagery, and paint over plaster over rock. These are representative details, not a map of individual tombs. LANDSCAPE & DETAIL · SCHEMATIC 1\. Paint on plaster, not paint on stone Select a number to explore a detail here. 1. [Paint on plaster, not paint on stone](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-paint-on-plaster) 2. [A king leading a boy by the hand](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-princes-with-their-father) 3. [The valley is a closed dead end](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-the-valley-head) The valley head 3\. The valley is a closed dead end - THE HEAD OF THE VALLEY Select a number to explore a detail here. 1. [The valley is a closed dead end](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-the-valley-head) A royal family, painted 2\. A king leading a boy by the hand Select a number to explore a detail here. 1. [A king leading a boy by the hand](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-princes-with-their-father) The layers of a painted wall 1\. Paint on plaster, not paint on stone Select a number to explore a detail here. 1. [Paint on plaster, not paint on stone](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#lookfor-voq-paint-on-plaster) Text alternative for this figure A quiet valley. Vivid worlds within. | Look for this | Where | | --- | --- | | 1. Paint on plaster, not paint on stone | Inside any of the decorated tombs — most obviously in the tomb of Nefertari | | 2. A king leading a boy by the hand | The tombs of the sons of Ramesses III, when they are open | | 3. The valley is a closed dead end | Look up the wadi from among the tombs, towards its head | The valley bowl and two interpretive studies: royal family imagery, and paint over plaster over rock. These are representative details, not a map of individual tombs. Look for this ## Details worth stopping for. Numbers match the plan above. Each entry says where it is, what you will actually see, and how confident anyone can be about what it means. 1. 1 ### Paint on plaster, not paint on stone [Back to the drawing](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#site-drawing) Inside any of the decorated tombs — most obviously in the tomb of Nefertari Get close to a wall and look at the surface rather than the picture. You are looking at a skin of gypsum plaster laid over rough, crumbling rock, with the painting on top of it, and in places you can see where the plaster was built out to level a bad patch. Conservation here shows why surviving colour needs careful management. Salt movement, moisture and fragile plaster can threaten a painted surface even when it still looks vivid. 2. 2 ### A king leading a boy by the hand [Back to the drawing](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#site-drawing) The tombs of the sons of Ramesses III, when they are open Scene after scene of the king walking a young man forward and presenting him to a god — the boy shown with the side-lock of youth, the father doing the introducing. Fact — the scenes and who they show. Interpretation — reading them as an expression of grief rather than as royal protocol. The sidelock and other youthful features identify royal children in the scenes. Such visual conventions do not, on their own, establish a person’s age at death. 3. 3 ### The valley is a closed dead end [Back to the drawing](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-queens#site-drawing) Look up the wadi from among the tombs, towards its head A narrow valley shut off at the top by a cliff face, with a water-worn chute cut down it and a grotto at the head — dry almost all the time, and briefly a waterfall when it rains. Interpretation Fact — the valley’s shape, the chute and the grotto. Interpretation — that their sacred associations determined the choice of burial ground. It is a very particular kind of place, and the choice of it was probably not accidental. The grotto has been linked to Hathor and to the western mountain as a place of rebirth — an argument about landscape rather than about any inscription, which is why we mark it as interpretation. Look closely, photograph only where permitted, and keep hands and bags clear of ancient surfaces. Follow barriers and conservation instructions. FIG. 2 — Who added what ## Who built and changed this place? Explore the rulers connected with this site and the work they left here. [19th Dynasty **Ramesses II** c.1279–1213 BCE Sixty-six years on the throne, and his name cut into everything within reach. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/ramesses-ii) [20th Dynasty **Ramesses III** c.1184–1153 BCE The king behind Medinet Habu, whose reign left records of both military ambition and economic strain. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/pharaohs/ramesses-iii) The rulers appear in chronological order. Select a name to explore their reign and the monuments connected with it. How to visit ## Plan your visit. ### Tickets Published prices in Egyptian pounds per person. Online sources checked 2026-09-19. **Foreign adult / student**: 220 / 110 EGP **Egyptian adult / student**: 30 / 10 EGP A Ministry notice from November 2024 says Nefertari’s tomb closed in March 2024 for humidity monitoring. We have not found a later official reopening notice. Do not assume QV66 is available or included in this admission. Recheck the official seller for your visit date, concession eligibility and any additional charges. A listed ticket does not establish which interiors are open today. Online sources checked 2026-09-19 · [Valley Of The Queens — published visitor information](https://egymonuments.com/details/ValleyOfTheQueens) [Nefertari tomb — Ministry notice, November 2024](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/events/the-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-queen-nefertari-s-tomb/) ### Opening hours & timing **Daily hours**: Opens 06:00; last entry 17:00 in summer, 16:00 in winter and Ramadan. **Time needed**: About 1 hour **Best time of day**: Early, on the same run as another west-bank site — it is small and does not need a slot of its own ### Heat & shade **Heat exposure**: High **Shade**: Low **Walking**: Easy **Water on site**: not verified Expect exposed sections. Continuous shade or a seated rest area has not been verified; plan a separate break. ### Photography **Photography**: The official ticket page lists mobile-phone photography as free. Confirm room-specific restrictions and rules for other equipment at the site.Online sources checked 2026-09-19 · [Valley Of The Queens — published visitor information](https://egymonuments.com/details/ValleyOfTheQueens) [Nefertari tomb — Ministry notice, November 2024](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/events/the-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-queen-nefertari-s-tomb/) ### Getting there At the southern end of the west-bank sites, past Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, in a side valley off the desert road. Reached by taxi from the ferry or over the bridge, and usually paired with Medinet Habu or Deir el-Medina, both of which are close by. **Typical taxi fare**: not verified ### Do you need a guide? A guide can explain the owners and funerary scenes. Confirm open tombs and ticket coverage with the official office before choosing. [Choosing a guide in Luxor](https://luxor101.com/plan/do-you-need-a-guide) Access ## Check the access details you need. Access depends on the whole route: surfaces, thresholds, distance, shade and facilities. We describe these separately, but have not completed an on-site access audit. Confirm the details you need before visiting. [How we assess accessibility](https://luxor101.com/plan/accessibility) **Ground surface**: A broad, gently rising valley floor of compacted grit and stone, level enough but loose and dusty underfoot **Stairs**: Each tomb is entered down a stair; the tombs are short compared with the Valley of the Kings, but the descent is unavoidable **Shade**: Expect exposed sections. Continuous shade or a seated rest area has not been verified; plan a separate break. **Sensory conditions**: Expect transitions between the outdoor cemetery and individual tomb interiors. Lighting, airflow and visitor numbers need checking for each tomb. **Claustrophobia**: Tomb interiors can be confined, with stairs or narrow passages and a return along the entry route. Conditions differ by tomb; assess the exact route before entering. **Distance on foot**: Choose the open tombs first, then ask about the walk between them and each entrance stair. No measured accessible circuit is recorded; tombs have different layouts. **Confirm before visiting:** Step-free entry · Wheelchair route · Seating · Accessible toilet · Vehicle drop-off. Our access descriptions are planning guidance, not an on-site audit. Confirm the route and facilities you need before visiting. Photographs alone cannot establish accessibility. After the reading ## Would a licensed guide help your visit? We do not arrange guides or take booking fees. Our guide explains where local knowledge and historical context can add to a visit, and what to ask before hiring someone. [Do you need a guide in Luxor?](https://luxor101.com/plan/do-you-need-a-guide) Continue reading ## Explore the connections 1–1 / 8 [Necropolis · West bank ### Valley of the Kings The royal burial landscape of the New Kingdom: rock-cut tombs tucked into a desert valley, separate from the kings’ major commemorative temples. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings)[Temple · West bank ### Medinet Habu Colour survives here wherever the roof did — on a temple built by a king fighting to hold Egypt together. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu)[Village · West bank ### Deir el-Medina The village of the men who cut the royal tombs. It is the site that makes all the others feel human. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/deir-el-medina)[Temple · West bank ### The Ramesseum Ramesses II’s mortuary temple, largely collapsed — including the colossus that put “Ozymandias” into English. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/ramesseum)[God ### Hathor Goddess of love, music and the western mountain — the one who receives the dead. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/hathor)[God ### Osiris Ruler of the dead, associated with restoration and renewal. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/osiris)[God ### Isis The wife who put Osiris back together and the mother who hid Horus — protector of the dead. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/isis)[God ### Anubis The black jackal of the cemetery, who does the embalming and guards the burial. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/anubis) Sources & further reading 9 Tier 1 [Significance of the Valley — Valley of the Queens project](https://www.getty.edu/projects/valley-of-queens/significance-of-the-valley/) Getty Conservation Institute Online source checked 2026-09-19 Tier 1 Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — monument and site records Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt) Tier 1 [Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis — World Heritage List inscription and documentation](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/87/) UNESCO World Heritage Centre Online source checked 2026-09-19 Tier 1 Theban Mapping Project — Atlas of the Theban Necropolis Theban Mapping Project Tier 1 [The conservation of the wall paintings in the tomb of Nefertari](https://www.getty.edu/news/processing-the-material-record-of-the-tomb-of-nefertari-project/) Getty Conservation Institute Online source checked 2026-09-19 Tier 2 The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw Oxford University Press Tier 2 The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples and Museums, Kent R. Weeks American University in Cairo Press Tier 1 [Valley Of The Queens — published visitor information](https://egymonuments.com/details/ValleyOfTheQueens) Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — official ticket service Official page indexed · checked 2026-09-19 Tier 1 [Nefertari tomb — Ministry notice, November 2024](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/events/the-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-queen-nefertari-s-tomb/) Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Official page indexed · checked 2026-09-19 Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references. These references provide the historical background for the page. [Sources and review status](mailto:corrections@egyptmore.com?subject=Luxor101%20correction)