Tours of the Best Temples in Egypt

The Egyptian gods did not have their seats in the distant heavens, but lived among the people in many Egyptian temples scattered throughout the country. The statues of deities placed in a cult cell in the temple were not only an image but were thought to be the deity themself. Therefore, the Egyptians called the temple "the house of god" and also "the horizon of heaven," as the temple symbolized the transition between the world here on earth and the world of the gods. The monumental temples are one of the most spectacular places to see in Egypt on Egypt temple tours. 

Served daily and supplied with everything that they needed by numerous temple personnel, the gods lived a secret life hidden from the eyes of the Egyptian multitudes. The living mortals were not worthy of coming into direct contact with the deities. They could do this only by referring to the statues of the king or high officials who acted as "intermediaries" in these contacts.

According to the belief of the ancient Egyptians, people must live according to the established order of the world, avoiding sins and worshiping the gods who rewarded them for it by taking care of all life and nature. The temple is a reflection of the entire universe. As long as it exists, the world will also exist. If the preserved temple breaks, there will be chaos and a state of defeat.

Temple architecture developed relatively late in Egypt compared to other civilizations. While impressive cult buildings were built as early as the 5th millennium BC in the Ancient East (Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Palestine), until the beginning of the Old Kingdom, there were only small brick temples in Egypt. However, these small temples already had all of the elements in their planning that are typical of later temples.

Most of the temples that have survived to the present day are from the New Kingdom and the Greco-Roman period. They can be divided into deity temples and tomb temples, which were devoted exclusively to the cult of the deceased ruler. The "standard" Egyptian temple consisted of pylons, a courtyard where the festivities were held, an appearance room, a sacrificial table room, a room for a deity's barge and, most often, three cult cells. There was no barge room in the mortuary temples, and the cell of the deities was replaced with a place of worship for the deceased king. The temple was always built from the inside outwards. They started from the central cell and this meant that subsequent rulers could expand the already existing layout.

You enter an open courtyard through the massive gate structure with high flagpoles. This area was filled with crowds of ordinary Egyptians during holiday periods. There was at least one pillared hall adjacent to the courtyard, in which a cult statue of the deity "appeared" on the occasion of holidays. High-ranking officials were allowed to enter this hall, while the rest of the temple complex was accessible only to the king and priests. The sacrificial table hall was used as a "dining room" when the local gods were visited by other deities from the surrounding temples. Real food was placed in front of the deities' statues, which were later eaten by the priests when the gods were full. In the adjoining room of the barge, a wooden ship was placed on a high platform and this is how the statue of the god was transported during processions or when the god was visiting other temples. In the rear part of the temple there was a cell, and in it a chapel with a statue of a deity, to whom the selected priests of high rank or the king himself paid homage every day. In Egyptian temples, three deities (triads) constituting the divine family were most often worshiped, and therefore usually three cult cells were located in them.

Within the temple complex, along the main road running in a straight line, there were treasuries, warehouses and archives, where valuables and decorations for deities, the food necessary for daily worship, and sacred texts were stored. Usually narrow side stairs led to the flat roofs of the temples; on festive days, the procession with the statue of the deity could ascend the roof to the chapel located there. Part of the temple complex was a sacred lake, used by priests for ritual ablutions. There was often a temple garden, and from the end of the Late Dynastic period, birth houses that were dedicated to the mother goddess in the holy triad and worshiped in the temple.

The temple district was surrounded by a brick wall, which was often decorated with the motif of a zigzag line, in the Egyptian convention of representing water. This wall symbolized the waters of the primordial ocean that once covered the earth, and from which the country emerged at the dawn of its history.

Karnak is one of the largest temple complexes in the world. Its history begins during the reign of the XII dynasty when a small sanctuary of Amun - the main god of the state pantheon was established. For 1500 years, the temple complex was constantly expanded, with the addition of courtyards, storage rooms and pylons. Added to this was the sacred lake and numerous small temples of other deities that can still be seen today.

Our Egypt temple tours will allow you to get to know the best temples in Egypt. These are all on the list of temples in Egypt along with the entry fees, temples in Egypt. Below are the famous temples in Egypt that we recommend you visit during your Egypt vacation on one of our temple tours.

Temple at Abydos - one of the oldest temples in Egypt
Located 160 km north of Luxor. Abydos is the burial place of the first kings, and the late God Osiris. This is one of the oldest places of worship and ancient temples in Egypt. According to legend, the head of Osiris was buried here, and this is also where the resurrection of this God took place. The cemetery stretches for about 1.5 km. The most famous ancient Egypt temple is Seti I, which was completed by his son Ramesses II. Behind here, the tomb of Orion emerges, and the tomb of King Seti I is in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor along with other ancient Egyptian rulers.

Temple of Hathor in Denera - one of the best preserved ancient temples in Egypt
Located 55 km north of Luxor, this is the most important place of worship of heaven and the goddess of love, Hathor. Compared to other ancient temples in Egypt and places of worship in the Nile valley, it is relatively the youngest. The temple was built in the period of 125 BC in the classical Egyptian style by Ptolemy and Romans. The goddess Hathor was equated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Every year during the new year, the statue of the goddess Hathor was symbolically conveyed to the sun god. You can enjoy breathtaking views from the roof of the temple.

Karnak temple complex - one of the most famous temples in Egypt
Karnak - the city of Egyptian temples, is the largest stunning, extensive temple complex in Egypt and you will be able to view the magnificent structure on one of our temple tours. Its construction took about 1500 years, it takes about 250 thousand. m2 of space. The temple complex is dedicated to the worship of the god Amun and consists of three areas surrounded by walls. The temple of the god Amon Re, named the temple of wealth, is the largest temple with 10 pylons. It is not a temple in the classic sense of the word, but a collection of various sacred buildings erected together. The most important buildings include the temple with a columned hall (Hypostyle Hall), which covers an area the size of the cathedral in Cologne Germany. 134 columns in 16 rows are spread over an area of 54.08 m2, making up one of the largest buildings in human history. In ancient times, the avenue, surrounded by 365 statues of sphinxes, led directly from the Temple of Amun to the Temple of Luxor, 2.5 km away. This road ended with 10 pylons at the temple.
 

Luxor temple - one of the great temples of Egypt
The complex is dedicated to the gods Amon and Mut, as well as their son Khonsu. The construction works on the temple complex started in 1400 BC. On both sides of the entrance you can see 2 statues of seated Ramesses II (15 m high). In front of the monument on the left is an obelisk, the second one on the right was donated by Muhammad Ali to France, and has been standing on Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. Inside the temple, the walls are decorated with bas-reliefs, while the capitals of the columns are papyrus-shaped and covered with hieroglyphs that refer to the victorious battles of Ramses II. From the north side you can see the beginning of the 3 km of Sphinxes Avenue that leads to Karnak. In the evenings, the entire facility is effectively illuminated, giving it a mysterious theatrical energy that you shouldn't miss out on. See it in all its glory on one of our temple tours.

Temple in Kom Ombo - one of the temples along the Nile River
This temple is located 40 km north of Aswan. There is actually a group of Egyptian temples, which was dedicated to two gods - crocodile Sobek (southern part of the building) and Horus with the head of a falcon (northern part of the building). The temples are situated on a hill overlooking the Nile. They consist of two symmetrical interconnected parts; the pylon, courtyard and portico. The Egypt temples were built in the 2nd century BC during the reign of Ptolemy. The Hathor Chapel is especially worth recommending, with sacred crocodiles embalmed 2,000 years ago. Now the crocodile mummies and other exhibits from the area can be viewed in the museum next to the temple.

Temple of Isis (Philae) - one of the best preserved Egyptian temples for gods
Located 8 km south of Aswan. Apart from the temples in Edfu and Dendera, it is one of the best-preserved Ptolemaic sanctuaries.
The Temple of Isis on the island of Philae would have been completely flooded after the construction of the Great Aswan Dam, so in 1979 it was moved to the higher island of Agilkia. Her son Harpocrates was also buried in the temple next to Isis. Visiting the temple is an amazing experience, and the evening's light and sound performances provide an unforgettable experience.

Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel - one of the best temples in Egypt
On the west bank of the Nile, 320 km. south of Aswan, in Nubia lies the temple of Abu Simbel, the most beautiful and impressive building - a work created in the times of Pharaoh Ramses II the Great. A mosque-like temple carved out of solid rock in the middle of the Nubian desert was to demonstrate the strength, power and eternal superiority of Egypt on the southern border of the country. The facade of the temple consists of four gigantic statues of the Pharaoh sitting on the throne. Each colossus is 20 meters high, the distance from ear to ear is 3 meters and the mouth is 1 meter long. The statues not only play a prestigious role, symbolizing the power of Ramses II but also have an architectural function - they support the entire facade of the building, which is 31 meters high. Moving deeper into the rock massif, the actual sanctuary appears, where there are 3 statues of a triad of deities and a statue of Ramses himself. It's here that the sun alignment occurs twice a year, when, early in the morning, a ray of sunshine travels 65 meters from the entrance to the inner chapel to illuminate the statues of Amun-Ra, Re-Horakhty and Ramses II.
The temple was saved by UNESCO when a team of international architects and engineers set themselves the task of saving this monument from the waters of the Nile when the Great Aswan Dam was created.

Temple of Horus in Edfu - one of the ancient temples in Egypt from list of temples in Egypt
This is the best-preserved temple in Egypt from the Ptolemaic period and you can visit it on one of our Egypt temple tours. It represents a typical example of an Egyptian temple with characteristic external walls made of clay. This mosque-like temple has an entrance in the form of a huge pylon, and an open columned hall, surrounded by columns decorated with various capitals. The entrance to the temple is guarded by two very beautiful black granite statues, representing Horus in the form of a falcon. In the background, behind the sculptures, there is the outer wall of the temple with the figures of Horus and Hathor.

During our Egypt temple tours, you will be able to visit many ancient temples in Egypt, both from the outside and inside. You will get to explore the pylons, hieroglyphs, sanctuaries, obelisks, courtyards, hypostyle rooms, statues of the Egyptian gods and pharaohs, and much more. Our tours are carried out with a professional Egypt guide who will introduce you to the history of ancient Egypt temples throughout the ages, paying attention to important architectural and artistic details. The guide will tell you lots of interesting stories about the ancient temples in Egypt, especially the temples along the Nile river, and the gods they were dedicated to.

Our all-inclusive Egypt vacation packages and our Egypt temple tours include the entry fees, and temples in Egypt. For an additional fee, you can explore the artificial mountain of Abu Simbel. The mountain that is home to the Abu Simbel temple was constructed by an international team of engineers to house the magnificent ancient Egypt temple of Ramses II, when it had to be moved due to the construction of the Great Aswan Dam.

You can go inside the mountain itself to get a behind-the-scenes look at the construction and learn more about the work of the archaeologists and engineers at this unique mosque-like complex.
It is an amazing Egypt temple tour where you can admire both the old wonder and the new.

We will show you the best temples in Egypt, and the most famous temples in Egypt during our Egypt temple tours.

The Inside Egypt team includes the best English-speaking guides in Egypt. Their knowledge and understanding of ancient temples in Egypt is impressive, and their fluency in the English language is perfect. Visiting the famous Egypt temples during our Egypt temple tours will take you on an amazing journey back in time. With our Egyptian guides, on our tours, you will get to know the best temples in Egypt and the most famous temples in Egypt.

Our guided tours focus on exploring the temples along the Nile River in southern Egypt. Most of the Egyptian temples for gods are well preserved and your guide will introduce you to the typical structure of the monumental temple. These structures most often consisted of a processional avenue with rows of sphinxes on both sides, the main entrance of the temple between two pylons in front of which there were usually giant statues of the king. This is then constructed with a quadrilateral courtyard with porticoes, a hypostyle hall, a barge hall, and a sanctuary.

On our Egypt temple tours, you will also see an example of an Egyptian mortuary temple, a place of worship of the deceased king, the terraced temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari (Thebes). Along with our professional Egyptian guide, you will also discover two Egyptian temples carved into the rocks of Nubia. These are the temple of Ramses II and the temple of Nefertari at Abu Simbel.

Our Egyptian guides on our Egypt temple tours will show you the Egyptian temples for gods in Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan and Abu Simbel, as well as the temple Qasr Qarun at Fayoum Oasis. Come and join us on our tours and learn about the best temples in Egypt from your knowledgeable and passionate guide.

The entry fees, and temples in Egypt during our Egypt temple tours, are included in our all-inclusive Egypt vacation packages. The itinerary of each of our luxury tours contains information on which Egyptian temples for gods, and Egypt temples will be visited as part of our Egypt temple tours. Inside Egypt, a reputable travel agency in Egypt takes care of everything for our clients. However, during our luxury Egypt tours we also have Egyptian temple tours, which are an optional extra with an additional charge. This is an offer for travelers who would like to see and experience more.

Visiting inside the artificial mountain of Abu Simbel, which hides the temple of Ramesses II, is additionally payable on all our luxury Egypt tours. This is an optional trip and costs $ 390 per person.

On our Around Egypt in 14 days tour (a 14 days in Egypt tour) you can participate in an optional trip to the Medinat Habu temple complex in Luxor. This trip costs $ 95 per person. Medinat Habu is one of the main tourist attractions of Western Thebes. Among the most beautiful monuments of this complex, consisting of the temple complex of Tuthmosis III, the mortuary temple, the palace of Ramses III, and several chapels related to the cult of Amun, is the South Gate, located between the two towers.

On our shortest tour around Egypt, the Golden Highlights tour (an 8-day Egypt tour), a trip to the Luxor Temple is an optional trip. This temple can be visited in the evening during your stay in Luxor. The tour costs $ 90 per person. Exploring the Egyptian world by night is interesting and mystical. The lighting installed in the temple brings out details not visible in the light of day. It's an amazing experience.

The ancient temples of Egypt are beautiful. You will find out about them all during our tours.