Luxor stands on the Nile in southern Egypt, built over ancient Thebes, which for about a thousand years through the Middle and New Kingdoms was the religious centre of Egypt. The river splits the city in two, and that split is the ancient order itself: the east bank was given to the temples of the living and the west bank to the tombs of the dead, because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Karnak and Luxor temples stand on the east, the Valley of the Kings and the mortuary temples on the west. The city is often called an open air museum, and for sheer density of surviving ancient building it has few equals.
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See flights to Luxor →When to visit Luxor
October to April is the only sensible window, with daytime temperatures between 25C and 30C, and since the temples give no shade that difference decides the trip. Nights from December to February are cool and a light layer is needed. From May to September the shade temperature passes 40C and the middle of the day is not safe for sightseeing, so a visit in those months has to be squeezed into the first hours of the morning and the last of the evening.
Things to do in Luxor
Karnak Temple
Added to by ruler after ruler for some two thousand years, Karnak is the largest complex of religious buildings in the world. The Great Hypostyle Hall holds a hundred and thirty four columns, the twelve in the centre standing about twenty one metres tall and carved as bundles of papyrus. The precinct also contains a sacred lake, obelisks and an avenue of ram headed sphinxes.
Luxor Temple
Standing inside the modern city, the temple was begun under Amenhotep III and enlarged by Ramesses II with a monumental gateway and colossal statues. One obelisk remains at the entrance; its twin has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. The temple can be visited under floodlight in the evening, when the shadows of the columns are at their most striking.
The Valley of the Kings
In the dry valley on the west bank lie more than sixty rock cut tombs, and most of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried here. The painted scenes on the tomb walls hold their colour after three thousand years. Howard Carter found the almost untouched tomb of Tutankhamun here in 1922, in the chamber numbered KV62. A standard ticket admits you to a limited number of tombs, and which ones are open rotates.
The Temple of Hatshepsut
The mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari was built in the 15th century BC by the architect Senenmut for the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut. Its three colonnaded terraces read almost as one piece with the cliff behind them, and it counts as the most unusual work of ancient Egyptian architecture. The wall reliefs record the sea expedition sent to the land of Punt.
The Colossi of Memnon
The two seated statues at the entrance to the west bank show Amenhotep III and stand about eighteen metres tall. The vast mortuary temple behind them was brought down by an earthquake, so only these two figures remain. Ancient writers record that the northern statue gave out a sound at dawn, and the graffiti Roman visitors cut into the base can still be read.
Luxor Museum
Opened on the bank of the Nile in 1975, the museum is known for showing a small number of objects with wide spacing and good lighting. The core of the collection is the cache of statues found in the courtyard of Luxor Temple in 1989, a group of twenty six pieces left almost unscratched by their time underground. Some of the objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun are shown here as well.
Flights from Turkey to Luxor
Direct flights to Luxor from Turkey leave from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen. Pegasus opened the route for the winter season: it starts on 28 October 2026, runs twice a week and closes at the end of March, so the service is seasonal. The flight takes about 2 hours 40 minutes. For a summer trip the route is via Cairo or Hurghada, with a one hour domestic flight from Cairo to Luxor or a ten hour night train. Luxor International Airport is about 6 kilometres from the centre.
Luxor FAQ
How many days do you need in Luxor?
Karnak and Luxor temples on the east bank take a day, and the Valley of the Kings with Hatshepsut on the west bank another. A third day suits Medinet Habu, the Tombs of the Nobles and the museum. Adding Aswan or a Nile cruise stretches the trip to five or seven days.
How far is the airport from the city centre?
Luxor International Airport is about 6 kilometres from the centre, so it is a very close in airport. Public transport is sparse, a taxi reaches town in 15 minutes, and most hotels offer a paid transfer.
Do you need a visa for Egypt?
A Turkish passport needs an Egyptian visa. For tourist visits it can be obtained online in advance, and the application asks for a hotel booking and a return ticket. Approval usually takes a few working days, so it is safer to apply at least two weeks before travel.
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