How to visit Luxor Temple (and why to go at sunset)

Are you planning a visit to Luxor Temple? If not, you should be. Here’s a complete guide to what you need to know before visiting, from tickets and opening hours to the best time to go.

My trip to Egypt was filled with hard-hitters that made my jaw drop and my eyes pop, and this corner of the Nile Valley is home to more than its fair share of them.

Luxor Temple is one of Egypt’s most fascinating attractions. It’s steeped in history, remarkably well preserved and, unlike most of the area’s big sights, it sits right in the middle of the modern city, on the riverside Corniche.

It’s also open into the evening, when the temple is floodlit and the sandstone glows. If you only have time for one visit, I’d go at sunset.

Ready to explore?

At a glance

• Where: the East Bank of the Nile, on the Corniche in the city centre
• Ticket: 500 EGP (250 EGP for students)
• Hours: daily from 6am; last entry 7pm, and the temple stays open after dark
• Time needed: one to two hours
• Best time: late afternoon into sunset, or first thing in the morning
• Photography: phones and cameras are allowed; no flash

Why it’s worth your time

A trip to the city is essential for any Egypt itinerary, and its temple is a fascinating experience, even if you are not an archaeologist or a massive Egyptology nerd (guilty).

Luxor was ancient Thebes, Egypt’s religious heart for much of the New Kingdom (about 1550 to 1070 BC) and, at times, its royal capital. This temple was one of its most important monuments.

The temple is a beautiful glimpse into ancient Egyptian royalty and exemplifies what the pharaohs regarded as necessary. It served many purposes, from being the destination of the great Opet Festival to being a place where kings renewed their divine power, and possibly where some were crowned.

It’s also a remarkable record of more than 3,000 years of history. Pharaohs built it, Alexander the Great added a shrine, the Romans turned part of it into a military chapel, Christians built churches in it, and a mosque still stands on top of it. Few places in Egypt let you see so many layers of history in one visit.

Visit late in the afternoon and you’ll see the sandstone glow gold at sunset; as night settles, the floodlights make the monument look even more mysterious.

A brief history

The temple’s past is exciting and spans the reigns of several of Egypt’s best-known pharaohs. It’s one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, and since 1979 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis.

Who built it?

Amenhotep III commissioned the core of the temple, including its great colonnade and the sun court, around 1390 BC, during Egypt’s New Kingdom.

After his death, Tutankhamun had the walls of the colonnade decorated with scenes of the Opet Festival, and Horemheb added his name to them. Then, around a century later, Ramses II added the huge first pylon, the courtyard behind it, the colossal statues and a pair of obelisks. All in all, the temple took around 150 years to reach the shape you see today.

Building didn’t stop there. In the 4th century BC, Nectanebo I rebuilt the Avenue of Sphinxes in front of the temple, and Alexander the Great had a new shrine built for Amun’s sacred boat deep inside.

But why was the temple built? Unlike most Egyptian temples, it wasn’t built for the worship of a god in the usual way, or for a dead king. Instead, it was dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship: the divine power, or ka, that passed from one king to the next. Some kings may have been crowned here, in reality or symbolically.

The temple’s god was Amun-Ra, the chief of the Egyptian gods, together with his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, the same family worshipped at Karnak.

Facts worth knowing

• The temple is known as Ipet-resyt in the ancient Egyptian language, which means “the southern sanctuary”.
• The temple played the starring role in the annual Opet Festival, when the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu were carried from Karnak along the Avenue of Sphinxes or by river. Under Ramses III, the festival lasted 27 days.
• It is one of the best preserved of Egypt’s ancient temples.
• Each section of the temple served a different purpose, from the courts where crowds gathered for festivals to the inner rooms where only priests and the king could enter.
• Two obelisks once stood at the entrance. Only one remains: its twin was given to France and has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836.
• Originally, six colossal statues of Ramses II stood in front of the first pylon. The two seated statues survive, and archaeologists have pieced standing statues back together from fragments.
• In 1989, workers found a cache of buried statues under the floor of the sun court. Many of them are now on display in the Luxor Museum.
• The Mosque of Abu al-Haggag, built on top of the temple in the Middle Ages before it was dug out of the sand, is still in use. Look for its door hanging high above the temple floor.

What to see inside the temple

The temple is much more compact than Karnak, so it’s easy to explore in an hour or two. Here’s what you’ll see as you walk through it, from the entrance to the sanctuary.

The Avenue of Sphinxes

The temple is approached along the Avenue of Sphinxes, lined with rows of human-headed sphinxes built by Nectanebo I. This processional way once ran all the way to Karnak, 2.7 km (1.7 miles) to the north, and it reopened in November 2021 after decades of excavation. The stretch in front of the temple has the best-preserved sphinxes.

The first pylon

Ramses II’s huge pylon is carved with scenes of his famous battle against the Hittites at Kadesh. In front of it are the seated colossi of the king and the surviving obelisk, about 25 metres high.

The Court of Ramses II

Behind the pylon is a large courtyard surrounded by a double row of papyrus columns, with standing statues of Ramses II between them. In the corner sits the Mosque of Abu al-Haggag, and near the entrance is a small triple shrine for the sacred boats of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, built by Hatshepsut and Thutmose III and later rebuilt.

The Colonnade of Amenhotep III

The temple’s grand processional colonnade has two rows of seven giant columns with open papyrus capitals. Its walls are carved with scenes of the Opet Festival, commissioned by Tutankhamun: look for the sacred boats being carried and towed along the Nile, with musicians, dancers and soldiers alongside.

The Sun Court of Amenhotep III

The colonnade opens into a wide courtyard lined on three sides by elegant double rows of papyrus-bundle columns. This is where the 1989 statue cache was found.

The inner temple

Beyond the sun court are the oldest and most sacred parts of the temple. Look out for:

• The Roman chapel: around AD 300, the Romans built a military camp around the temple and turned one of its halls into a chapel for the cult of the emperors. Restored wall paintings from around AD 300 show Roman officials and the emperors themselves.
• The shrine of Alexander the Great: a barque shrine built in the name of Alexander, who is shown on its walls as a pharaoh making offerings to Amun.
• The birth room: carved scenes telling the story of Amenhotep III’s divine birth, with the god Amun as his father.

Planning your visit

Taking a tour

Booking a tour is a superb option if you want to leave the planning to someone else. Most tours combine it with Karnak, and include transport and an Egyptologist guide.

This guided East Bank or full-day tour is a superb option if you are only in Egypt for a limited time. The East Bank option covers both temples, and the full-day version adds the West Bank’s Valley of the Kings, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, with lunch.

Going it alone

It’s pretty simple to visit the temple independently, as it’s right in the city centre. Once you’re in the city, you can walk, take a taxi or hop on a horse-drawn calèche (agree the fare first).

From the West Bank: the public ferry is the cheapest and fastest way to cross the Nile. It runs back and forth all day, leaving when it fills up, costs just a few Egyptian pounds and lands on the Corniche right by the temple. Private motorboats also make the crossing for a little more.

From Cairo: the quickest option is to fly: flights take about an hour. You can also take the overnight sleeper train. Tourists can only book the designated sleeper trains that leave from Giza station (not Cairo’s main station), so triple-check before you book. This sleeper train transfer from Cairo includes the ticket, dinner, breakfast and transfers.

From Aswan: trains take about three hours, or you can travel by private car or on a Nile cruise or felucca trip. Feluccas can’t pass the Esna lock, so felucca trips end with a minibus transfer to the city.

After making it to the temple, all you need to do is buy an entrance ticket and walk in, or you can choose to pay a local guide to show you around.

Hire a licensed guide if you can, as this will give you a much better experience, filled with insider knowledge and insights, as well as helping the local economy.

Entrance fee

The entrance fee is 500 Egyptian pounds for adults and 250 EGP for students with a valid ID card.

Address

Corniche El Nil, Luxor City, Luxor Governorate, Egypt.

Luxor Temple opening hours

The temple is open every day of the week, from 6am. The last entry is at 7pm, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ official booking site.

Unlike most ancient sites here, the temple stays open after dark, and it’s floodlit in the evening. Visitors generally report that it stays open until around 9pm, but closing times can change, including during Ramadan and on public holidays, so check at the ticket office on the day.

Best time to visit: for sunset, aim to arrive an hour or so before the sun goes down. That’s around 5pm to 5.30pm in winter and around 7.30pm in midsummer, so in summer make sure you’re through the gate before the 7pm last entry. Stay on after dark to see the temple lit up.

If you’d rather avoid the crowds, go first thing in the morning, when it’s also much cooler.

Combine your visit with Karnak

The two temples were built as a pair, so it makes sense to see them on the same day. Visit Karnak first thing in the morning, when it’s cooler and quieter, then take a break during the heat of the day and come back here for sunset.

If you’re feeling energetic, you can walk part of the Avenue of Sphinxes between the two, just as the ancient processions did. There’s very little shade, so go early or late in the day.

Where to stay

El Mesala Hotel is where I stayed. It’s on the West Bank, right by the ferry landing and across the river from the temple, so it’s a short boat ride away. See my guide to where to stay for more options on both banks.

Top tips for your visit

• Go at sunset: buy your ticket in the late afternoon and stay as the floodlights come on.
• Bring a bank card: pay for your ticket by card, and carry some small notes for toilets and tips.
• Prepare for the heat: I travelled in late May and early June, and there were points in Luxor where I was so hot I didn’t know what to do with myself. In summer, avoid the middle of the day.
• Dress respectfully: the Mosque of Abu al-Haggag inside the temple is a working mosque, so loose clothing that covers your shoulders and knees is a good idea.
• Say no politely: people may offer to show you a hidden corner or take your photo, then ask for money. A polite “la shukran” (no thank you) works.

Watch my Luxor video

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Discover more Egypt travel guides

• The best things to do in Luxor
• Karnak Temple: a visitor’s guide
• Should you take a hot air balloon ride? What you need to know
• Visiting the Valley of the Kings: a practical guide
• Where to stay on the East and West Banks
• What you need to know about taking a River Nile cruise in Egypt
• 10-day Egypt travel itinerary
• The best things to do in Egypt
• Egypt travel tips: what you need to know

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