Day 1
- Monday 8th March 2027
We fly London Heathrow to Luxor and on arrival take our private transfer and check in to the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa for one night on room and breakfast basis
Day 2
- Tuesday 9th March - To Abydos
After breakfast we leave Luxor and take the road north for Abydos. On arrival in Abydos, we check in to The House of Life, a comfortable local hotel, close to the sacred temples. We have a lunch at the hotel before we make our first visit to the Temple of Seti I with plenty of time to view some of the most stunning reliefs to be found in all of Egypt. We stay at this hotel for three nights on a full board basis. An evening lecture from Chris. (BLD)
Day 3
- Wednesday 10th March - Anubis Mountain
Today we have a special permit to enter the Tomb of Senusret III cut in to the natural ‘pyramid’ shape hill known as Anubis Mountain. The eight-hundred-foot-long structure cut into the hill is still being studied by a team from Penn Museum. We visit the temple of Ramesses II and a look at recent excavation work in the area and then return to the hotel for lunch. This afternoon we head off to Kom el Sultan with its massive mudbrick walls, and we have time to walk to the huge mudbrick enclosure of Shunet el Zebib dating to the 2nd Dynasty and built by Khasakhemwy. This evening another talk from Chris. (BLD)
Day 4
- Thursday 11th March - Repyt at Athribis
We drive North this morning to visit the fabulous site at el Hawawish. Here, we have the chance to enter some of the rock-cut tombs dating back to the Old Kingdom. This does involve climbing around 1,000 steps! Later we continue to the fascinating site of Athribis where we find the remains of the last big stone temple built in Egypt. Dedicated to the god Min-Re, his wife the goddess Repyt and their son Kolanthes, restoration work is still underway at the site. We travel with a lunch box today. Before returning to Abydos, we visit the White Monastery, founded in the 4th Century AD. (BLD)
Day 5
- Friday 12th March - Entry to the Osireion
A fabulous morning as we have arranged a special private permit allowing access to the Osireion via the northern entrance tunnel. This long entrance corridor has a fascinating collection of reliefs. Another chance to wander the shrines in the Seti Temple before we have a final lunch at our Abydos Hotel. We head back to Luxor and the Hilton Hotel this afternoon where we check in for three nights on room and breakfast basis. (BL)
Day 6
- Saturday 13th March - Padiamenope
This morning we head straight to Asasif as we have a special permit to explore the tomb of the Chief Lector Priest Padiamenope, TT33. This vast labyrinthine tomb is one of the largest in Egypt. Still being conserved there are 22 rooms and the walls are covered with important texts. Next, to the Temple of Hatshepsut standing close by. Plenty of time to search out the Punt reliefs, the Chapel of Hathor and the spectacular view from the upper terraces. We have a refreshing lunch at our favourite local restaurant before heading to the Temple of Seti I where we clearly see the difference between the art of Seti I and that of his son Rameses II, who finished off his father’s work. Finally today the Ramesseum, mortuary temple of Ramesses II. (BL)
Day 7
- Sunday 14th March - The Valley of the Kings
Today we dedicate to the Valley of The Kings. We have tickets for entrance to three tombs of your own choosing of those open on the day. Plenty of time here to buy extra tickets for Seti I and Tutankhamun for those who wish. We return to our local restaurant for our final lunch of the week and then travel back to our hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. (BL)
Day 8
- Monday 15th March 2027 - Home
We take our private transfer to Luxor Airport for our direct flight to London arriving early afternoon. (B)
Chris Naunton is an Egyptologist and author of Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt (Thames and Hudson 2018) and Egyptologists Notebooks (2020). He has appeared in numerous television documentaries, regularly lectures on a wide variety of subjects around the UK and online, and is a frequent visitor to Egypt. He was Director of the Egypt Exploration Society from 2012 to 2016, President of the International Association of Egyptologists from 2015 to 2019, and is now Director of the Robert Anderson Trust.
B = Breakfast BL = Breakfast and Lunch BD = Breakfast and Dinner BLD = Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
