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25°41′N 32°38′E · Luxor & Ancient Thebes, Upper Egyptالعربية
Luxor101Plan your trip

Four days in Luxor

The same three days, plus the hillside where ordinary life is painted.

Days
4
Nights
4
Pace
Steady
The route at a glance

Four days add room for the officials’ tomb chapels, the Ramesseum and a slower museum visit alongside the main temples and royal tombs.

Scenes of music, harvests and workshops in private chapels offer valuable detail, while also serving funerary purposes. Choose the chapels currently open and leave time to connect their images with the rest of the trip.

Your days in order
Itineraries

Your days in order

Day01

Karnak and Luxor Temple

Start
At the Karnak gate when it opens
Finish
Leaving Luxor Temple after dark
Stops
  1. Karnak

    2–3 hours

    Use the extra time to explore beyond the Hypostyle Hall (a roofed hall supported by rows of columns) if the permitted route and your energy allow. The eastern buildings add earlier and later layers; you do not need to cover the entire axis.

  2. A long midday break

    Two to three hours

  3. Luxor Temple

    1–1.5 hours

    After Karnak, look for the mosque above the ancient courtyard floor. It belongs to the later religious history of the site; its presence does not establish an uninterrupted tradition from the pharaonic temple.

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Day02

Valley of the Kings and Deir el-Bahari

Start
At the crossing at first light
Finish
Back across the river by early afternoon
Stops
  1. Valley of the Kings

    2–3 hours

    Take time between tombs and arrange a rest at a confirmed shaded or indoor venue. Seating and shade within the valley have not been verified.

  2. Temple of Hatshepsut

    1–1.5 hours

    Second, before the bay heats up. The middle terrace carries both the Punt expedition reliefs and the erasures, and they are worth separating in your mind: one is what she wanted recorded, the other is what somebody later wanted removed.

  3. Colossi of MemnonOptional

    15–30 minutes

    On the road back, with time to actually look at the excavation behind them rather than photographing the front and leaving.

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Day03

The southern west bank

Start
At the crossing early
Finish
Back for a late lunch and a free afternoon
Stops
  1. Deir el-Medina

    About 1 hour

    Begin with the village’s surviving streets and rooms, viewed from the permitted paths. Allow for exposed ground, then check which tombs are open and whether their descents suit you.

  2. Medinet Habu

    About 1.5 hours

    Late morning. The outer walls carry the fullest surviving Egyptian account of the wars against the coalition Egyptologists call the Sea Peoples, and inside there is more original colour than at any other temple on this bank.

  3. Valley of the Queens

    About 1 hour

    Close to both, and worth a proper hour on a four-day plan rather than the afterthought it becomes on a shorter one. The tombs of the princes show something Egyptian royal art almost never shows: the king in a supporting role, leading a child by the hand.

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Day04

The nobles, the Ramesseum, and the museum

Start
At the crossing early — the hillside faces the sun
Finish
Out of the museum in the late afternoon
Stops
  1. Tombs of the Nobles

    1–2 hours, depending on how many tomb groups you visit

    The hillside includes exposed ground and uneven paths. Confirm which chapels are open and arrange transport or guiding around the actual entrances and your access needs.

  2. The Ramesseum

    About 1 hour

    A short distance from the nobles and on the way back. After three days of temples this is the one that explains why the others are ruins: the stone temple fell and the mud-brick storerooms behind it are still standing and still roofed.

  3. Luxor Museum

    1–1.5 hours

    The museum can connect objects with the sites you have visited. Check its hours before making it the last stop, and choose a few pieces to look at slowly.

Back to all days
Plan

Do you need a guide or a driver for this?

This is a suggested route, not a booking. Arrange any guide, driver or admission separately, and confirm what each service includes.

Choosing a guide in Luxor
Journal

Reading for the journey

Deir el-Medina: The Ancient Egyptian Village That Makes the Tombs Feel Human

The writings from Deir el-Medina include work records, letters, accounts and religious texts. They reveal parts of a royal workforce’s lives, filtered through what people recorded and what survived.

Reading the Colour That Survives

Paint survives where materials and conditions have allowed it to remain, sometimes with conservation support. Weathering, salts, moisture and past interventions help explain losses; bright colour alone does not mean a wall is intact.

What a Royal Commemorative Temple Was For

Royal commemorative temples sustained worship and the king’s memory, during life and after death. At Thebes, they were separate from the royal tombs that held the burials.

Where the objects went

Objects from Thebes are held in Luxor, elsewhere in Egypt and abroad. Each has its own history of discovery and movement; a museum label and object record can help you trace it.

Hatshepsut: The Story to Know Before Visiting Deir el-Bahari

Hatshepsut ruled with full royal titles alongside Thutmose III. Her royal names and images were attacked later; the pattern and timing complicate the familiar explanation of immediate personal revenge.

Sources & further reading3
Tier 1Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — visitor information: opening times, ticketing and site accessMinistry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt)
Tier 2The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples and Museums, Kent R. WeeksAmerican University in Cairo Press
Tier 2Thebes in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor, Nigel and Helen StrudwickBritish Museum Press

Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references.

Opening hours, ticket prices and tomb access change. Published prices and hours carry an online source-check date where available. Field checks, current access and human editorial review remain separate; confirm arrangements before travelling.