A tour from El Gouna to Luxor and Dendera is a full-day adventure. The drive takes about 3.5 to 4 hours each way via Qena (approx. 270 km). You will visit the Dendera Temple first, followed by Luxor’s major historical sites before returning to your hotel.
Experience a full-day trip to Dendera temple from El Gouna with a prompt pick-up time of 05:00 am from your hotel. You will drive for an hour to visit the Temple of the Goddess Hathor, the Goddess of love and music. Upon arrival at Dendera at 08:00, an Egyptologist tour guide will accompany you, explaining the Temple’s history.
Luxor Dendera Tour El Gouna is an exceptional excursion that we highly recommend. It allows tourists to witness attractions in two cities, dating back to two eras of Egyptian history: Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire. This trip offers an excellent opportunity to learn more about the country’s history while providing significant joy.
Highlights on Dendera & Luxor Excursion from El Gouna
- See the Karnak temple in eastern Luxor.
- Lunch at a restaurant by the Nile River.
- The Colossi of Memnon in the Temple of Amenhotep III.
- Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Western Luxor.
- Also, discover the Temple of Goddess Hathor in Dendera.
Itinerary of Luxor Dendera Tour El Gouna
A combined Luxor and Dendera day tour from El Gouna is highly recommended if you want to experience both the pristine colors of Dendera and the grand scale of Luxor. Because combining both areas requires a massive amount of driving (roughly 3 to 4 hours from El Gouna to Dendera, another 1 to 1.5 hours to Luxor, and 4 hours back), Landious Travel typically offer this as a private 1-day or 2-day excursion rather than a standard large group bus trip.
- First, the Landious Travel representative will pick you up from the hotel in El Gouna around 04:00 am.
- Secondly, after taking all the passengers, the bus will go directly to Qena, passing the town of Safaga. The resort town of Safaga lies 45 miles south of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. At the same time, Qena lies 220 km away in the Nile Valley. Accordingly, the journey from the centre of El Gouna to Qena will take about 4 hours.
Schedule in Qena
- Once you arrive in Qena, you will visit the Temple of the Goddess Hathor. This Temple impressively stands in Dendera – a village near Qena. It is a complex of temples and buildings. Your guide will begin with an explanation of the place. Then he will show you the frequently visited sites of this large complex. The complex itself contains different temples and buildings. Your guide will have a task to show you all these temples and give you free time to take pictures.
Agenda in Eastern Luxor
- Then, you will head to the city of Luxor. The way from Dendera to Luxor will take half an hour. We will show you the Karnak temple when you arrive in Luxor. The Temple is the largest in Egypt and the whole world. The Temple exists in the city of living – Eastern Luxor. Next, your guide starts the explanation of the Temple. Then, he will show you the frequently visited places of this large complex. It is noteworthy that this complex itself contains different temples and buildings. Your guide will have a task to show you all these temples and give you free time to take pictures.
- Following the visit to the Karnak temple in Eastern Luxor, you will do the shopping for a bit of time.
- Then, you start a boat picnic through the Nile with a visit to Banana Island. This is an additional program; you can order it through us in advance! Once the Nile picnic ends, you will find yourself in Western Luxor, the City of the Dead.
Timetable in Western Luxor
- In Western Luxor, the trip continues with a visit to the Colossi of Memnon. These Colossi are the two exquisite statues at the entrance to the Temple of Amenhotep III. Of course, your guide shows you these statues. Then, he gives you free time to take a picture.
- Further, you head to the beautiful Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. It is the great Temple that lies in Deir el-Bahary. The ancient Egyptian builders cut it amazingly into a rock with three floors. Around this Temple, you will see all sorts of tombs and other temples. Next to the Temple of Hatshepsut lie the temples of Thutmose III and Amenhotep. Once again, your guide provides information and free time to inspect the place.
- The next point of this program will allow you to watch how artisans prepared statues in antiquity. Indeed, you can get an idea about this handicraft work in the alabaster factory.
Home Back
- Finally, our bus returns to Hurghada after a fantastic sightseeing trip to the beautiful city of Luxor.
- This Excursion to Dendera & Luxor from El Gouna ends at approximately 22:00.
What Does the Price of Dendera & Luxor Excursion El Gouna Include?
- Tickets for visiting temples.
- Lunch.
- Guide.
- Also, transfer to Luxor and go back to the hotel.
What does the Program of Dendera & Luxor Excursion El Gouna not include?
- Additional excursion programs.
- Also, Drinks.
Here’s a list of things you might want to consider bringing along for your trip
- Breakfast box.
- Also, put on suitable clothes for the season.
Booking Days of Luxor Dendera Tour El Gouna
- Sunday from 04:00 – 20:00.
- Tuesday from 04:00 – 20:00.
- Also, Thursday from 04:00 – 20:00.
What is expected to be seen during the excursion to Dendera & Luxor from El Gouna?
Monuments in Dendera
Temples of Dendera
The temple complex at Dendera is quite large, boasting a basilica, two birthhouses, a sacred lake, and numerous other temples and shrines within its walls. Structures at the site hail from various ancient Egyptian eras, with monuments from the Middle Kingdom, the Ptolemaic Era, and the Period of Roman provincial rule.
Evidence shows that the first building on the site was built around 2250 BCE, but the vertical structures mostly date from the Ptolemaic Era forward. When the site was rediscovered in 1995 BCE, construction likely began on the Mentuhotep II monument, the oldest existing system. The Mentuhotep monument has since been moved to Cairo.
The oldest form is from Nectanebo II, built ca. 345 BCE. It may be more accurate to say the structure as we know it began in 54 BCE when construction started on the Temple of Hathor, the most prominent structure at the Dendera complex.
The Temple of Hathor is one of Egypt’s best-preserved antiquity sites today and an excellent example of traditional Pharaonic architecture. It was built primarily during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, a period of Greek rule in Egypt.
However, the Temple was completed under the Roman emperor Trajan, who is depicted on the walls of the complex making offerings to Hathor. The temple complex also includes a monumental gateway constructed by Trajan and Domitian, another Roman emperor.
Cult of Hathor
This site was the centre of the cult of Hathor. It was believed that during a period known as the Happy Reunion, Hathor would journey from her Temple at Dendera to spend some time with her husband, Horus, at his Temple in Edfu.
This “reunion” was a yearly occurrence, and at the end of the celebration, Hathor’s return to Dendera was thought to signal the official beginning of the Nile’s flood season.
Zodiac of Dendera
The Temple originally housed the famous Zodiac of Dendera. This bas-relief with human and animal figures represented a night skyscape. It was found on the ceiling of a chapel in the Temple of Hathor, where the mysteries of the resurrection of the god Osiris were celebrated. Egyptologists determined it should be interpreted as a map of the sky rather than a giant horoscope or a perpetual astrological tool.
The particular configuration of the planets among the constellations shown in the Zodiac of Dendera occurs only about once every thousand years. Two astrophysicists dated it between June 15 and August 15, 50 BCE. The Zodiac accurately depicts the location of two eclipses during their respective occurrences.
The representations of the signs of the Zodiac as we know them today did not appear in Egypt until the Greco-Roman Period. This monument reflects how Egyptian cultural elements merged with Babylonian and Greek astronomical and astrological theories due to the Assyrian and Babylonian deportations of the eighth and sixth centuries BCE and the Persian and Greek invasions of the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.
The Zodiac of Dendera was transported to France in 1821 with the permission of Mohamed Ali Pasha, the Turkish ruler of Egypt at the time. It is currently on display at the Louvre in Paris. The Egyptian government has asked for its return.
Monuments on the eastern bank of the River Nile
Karnak Temple
- This Temple’s old name is Ipet-isut, which means “the most sacred of places”. It is the largest temple complex in the ancient world. Amazingly, it represents the achievement of many generations of ancient builders and pharaohs.
- This complex Temple took more than two thousand years to build continuously. It comprises three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples on 247 acres. Within the great Hypostyle Hall is an incredible forest of giant pillars.
Hatshepsut Temple
- At El Deir El Bahary, Hatshepsut Temple is an impressive temple dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. It is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples of Ancient Egypt! Impressively, the temples of Hatshepsut rise out in the desert with a series of terraces. Also, they apparently merge with the sheer limestone cliffs that surround them.
Temple of Thutmose III
Deir el-Bahari is home to the Temple of Thutmose III. The Temple sits on a rocky platform in the centre of the Deir el-Bahari valley, dominating the surrounding structures. The Temple of Hatshepsut and the Temple of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre surround the design itself.
Also, Colossi of Memnon
- The significant remains of a vast mortuary temple are two massive mono-stone statues of King Amenhotep III.