(Last Updated on Apr 6, 2024)

After a thrilling drive to Abu Simbel, we were now on our boat, all set to depart for the Nile river cruise. Our guide, Ahmed, was also joining us till the first stop, Kom Ombo. After lunch and a short rest (we had started our day at 3:30am), we climbed up to the sundeck to enjoy the breeze and the view. We could see some giant pillars in the distance – presumably of the temple we were visiting next.

The Nile is the longest river in the world. It runs 6650 kms long starting in Uganda (the White Nile) and emptying itself into the Mediterranean Sea. It is the reason for Egypt’s existence (the Gift of the Nile) and was home to one of the most advanced civilizations of the world at its time.

Here’s a bit about the Nile cruise. There are many companies that operate these multi-day cruises on the Nile. Some go downstream the river from Aswan to Luxor and few even go onwards to Cairo. You can also find cruises in the opposite direction – it would depend on how you plan your itinerary. If you want to experience the Nile river’s glory and also not get bored by the long travel, we highly recommend that you pick the Aswan-Luxor stretch for your Nile river cruise.

By doing this, you would be starting South in Upper Egypt (called “upper” because the Nile starts there) and then moving North towards Lower Egypt (called “lower” because the Nile flows out to the sea there) – the temples and sights get grander and you will enjoy it more. Otherwise, you will see the best in the beginning and other sights will pale in comparison. We had followed a similar logic in Uzbekistan as well, starting with Khiva then Bukhara and finally Samarkand.

Back to the boat. The sun had set by the time we reached Kom Ombo. We walked out and saw many people sitting out on the road, smoking their hookahs and watching football. Mo Salah was the hero everywhere. The roads were full of 3-wheelers – either Bajaj or TVS – Indian companies had made decent inroads in Egypt.

The Kom Ombo temple was huge with really tall columns (the same ones we had seen from a distance) built around 100 BC. The reason it was so big – it was a double temple – one was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the other for Haroeris (a form of the falcon god, Horus). There were some parts of the ceiling that were still intact and the stories depicted still had traces of the original paint. The pillars and walls were covered with hieroglyphs and carvings depicting offerings to Gods and were topped with a crown shaped like a papyrus or lotus flower. 

We saw a version of the oldest Egyptian calendar made on the walls with each date, month and season (including leap year) – they also depicted the Nile inundation season, which was the primary reason for maintaining the calendar (I had referenced this in my “New Year” blog – go check that out after this). There were recipes for medicines and procedures for childbirth illustrated – something very unique about this temple. 

Right next to the temple was a crocodile museum which housed mummies of many crocodiles discovered from the area. There were even mummified eggs! Sadly, no pictures from there. We then said goodbye to our guide, Ahmed (he was based in Aswan, so he had to head back home) and got back on our cruise on the Nile.

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Day 4

The boat had docked at the town of Edfu for the night. We got up at 6am and went down to meet our guide, Ahmed (not the same guy). He helped us on to a horse carriage and we joined a battalion of at least 50 other carriages. For 6am, the place was super crowded with all the people and horses. 

As soon as we got to the temple, Ahmed rushed us to the front to beat the crowd. We walked through some ruins and we could see bits of the pylon. The suspense built up until we could see the entire front facade. Remember the pylon from Philae temple in the previous episode? This one was way bigger than that! The Edfu temple is special – it is one of the best preserved structures from Ancient Egypt – one that didn’t have to be relocated due to the Nile floods. It is the largest temple of its kind which is still intact. 

The temple is dedicated to Horus and Hathor and was used as the center for big festivals. The rooms in the temple got narrower and smaller as we moved towards the sanctuary – like a pyramid. Each room inside was raised higher than the previous one – signifying that God stands taller than everyone else. Public access used to be till the outer courtyard and only the king and high priest could enter the innermost rooms for offerings – something we still see in Hindu temples especially in South India. This is what we saw in Bhutan as well.

Another common feature was that the inner sanctuary was barely visible from outside as there was no direct sunlight. The lack of sunlight helped preserve the paint on the walls even after so many years. We walked around the halls imagining them to be full of the offerings depicted on the wall carvings. A time when the kings offered their prayers more than 2000 years ago!

Our horse carriage then took us back to the Nile cruise and we set sail to Luxor. 

It was a long cruise which took about 8 hours. We sat on the sundeck enjoying the view and writing notes based on which this blog has been written. 

At a place called Esna, we got to see something incredible. There was a wall constructed across the river – only a narrow passage could be seen on one side – presumably for boats to go through. However, the wall was immediately followed by a road bridge with vehicles passing. Ah, so this must be a drawbridge!

Our boat lined up with some other boats that had reached here before us. We waited for the drawbridge to open. But it didn’t. Instead a small gate in the narrow passage opened and our boat went in. The gate closed behind us and we moved forward to the wall. That’s when we realized – the water level on the other side of the exit gate was much lower! In a matter of minutes, the water was drained out and we were down to the level of the river in front of us. The gate opened and we easily passed under the road bridge! This spot is called the Esna lock and the mechanism of raising and dropping the water level is the same as what is used in the Panama canal!

We also got to see an ingenious method of sales on the cruise. Yes, SALES! I was standing at the window of our room, enjoying the view outside when I saw a small boat lurking dangerously close to ours – in fact, I felt it almost got crushed by ours. The 2 men in it scrambled about, threw a rope to latch onto our cruise and tied it to their boat. We were moving fast and as soon as the rope went taut, the boat did the equivalent of a wheelie!

And then, they started selling stuff! Clothes, dresses and towels! Negotiating in various languages, they would stuff the towels inside plastic covers and throw them with impeccable aim into the rooms/deck. They also threw a plastic moneybox which the customer had to fill with cash and throw back at them or into the water. As Nam says, when it is the end of the month, you need to go to such lengths to meet your sales targets – or in this case, to make ends meet!

As we neared Luxor, we started seeing mountains – a complete change in scenery! There were sailboats floating around the water. Our Nile river cruise was almost over.

Sailing on the Nile is an amazing experience – the water seems gentle but the currents are strong – you can see the power wielded by this river as it brings life to a desert. You feel almost as if the Nile was alive. In fact, in ancient Egypt, they looked for the qualities of the Nile in their rulers and only those who had them would end up ruling successfully. Their calendars revolved around the Nile and life itself was closely tied to it. It was indeed a privilege to experience the longest river in the world.

We reached Luxor at 4:30pm. Our local guide (not Ahmed) was a lady named Karma. She met us at the lobby of our boat and we headed to the Luxor temple. Last time we had a guide named Karma, it was a man and we were in Bhutan (that’s a cue for you to go check out our Bhutan blogs!). 

Check out the other Egypt blogs here:

• The Egypt Itinerary – Plan your perfect trip to the land of the pharaohs!
• The Southern Tip of Egypt – Abu Simbel – our “Woah” moment of the trip
• Meeting Tut in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor – Exploring the temples and tombs of the ancient capital city
• The Pyramids of Giza and Cutting a Cake in Cairo – Celebrating Nam’s birthday at the Pyramids

If you have any questions on how to plan your trip, leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to help. Do subscribe to the blog if you like the content. You can also share it with fellow travel enthusiasts.