Private Day Tour: Abu Simbel from Aswan

Meet your personal Egyptologist guide in the lobby of your Aswan hotel at 4am and board your awaiting private vehicle. It's a bit over three hours drive through the desert in air-conditioned comfort to one of the jewels of ancient Egypt, commonly known as Abu Simbel.

Your first stop is at the rock-cut temples of King Ramses II: the Great Temple, dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, and Ramses himself, and the Small Temple, dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Ramses' wife, Nefertari. The scale of the queen's statue and her own temple indicates her high status during ancient times.

Built during the thirteenth century BC, the temples were moved, piece by piece, to the shores of Lake Nasser when Nile flooding threatened their original location.

Your next stop is at a traditional Nubian village, where you can see locals going about their daily lives and admire the heat-efficiency of authentic Nubian architecture. Then you'll drive back to Aswan, returning to your hotel around noon.