Luxor West Bank in One Day: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and Medinet Habu

Luxor's West Bank can be seen well in one full day: the Valley of the Kings first thing in the morning, the Temple of Hatshepsut before midday, Medinet Habu after lunch and the Colossi of Memnon on the way back. Start at 6 am, take a licensed Egyptologist guide, and add a sunrise balloon flight if you can get up at 4.

The West Bank is the city of the dead: tombs and mortuary temples on the side of the Nile where the sun sets. The East Bank (Karnak and Luxor Temple) is covered in our Luxor travel guide. This article is the day across the river.

The day at a glance

1. 05:00 to 07:00: optional hot-air balloon over the West Bank.
2. 07:00 to 10:00: Valley of the Kings: three tombs on the standard ticket.
3. 10:30 to 12:00: Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.
4. 13:30 to 15:00: Medinet Habu, the best-preserved colour on the West Bank.
5. 15:15: the Colossi of Memnon, a ten-minute stop by the road.

Valley of the Kings: go at opening time

The valley opens at 6 am, and the first two hours are the coolest and the quietest. The standard ticket covers three tombs from those open that day; the tombs of Tutankhamun (KV62), Seti I (KV17) and Ramesses VI (KV9) need separate tickets.

If you buy one extra ticket, make it Ramesses VI: the whole ceiling is painted with the Book of the Day and the Book of the Night, and the colour is almost complete. Photography without flash is allowed with the camera ticket; flash is never allowed.

• Tomb choice: Ramesses IV (KV2), Merenptah (KV8) and Ramesses IX (KV6) are long, well lit and usually on the standard ticket.
• Heat: from May to September the valley passes 40 °C by late morning, so bring water and a hat.

Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari

Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as pharaoh for about twenty years, around 1479–1458 BC. Her mortuary temple is built in three terraces straight into the cliff, and its middle colonnade carries the reliefs of her expedition to the Land of Punt. There is a little electric train from the ticket office to the temple; it costs a few pounds and saves a hot walk.

Medinet Habu: the colour most visitors miss

Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple of Ramesses III, is the West Bank site that most coach tours leave out, and that is the reason to go. The inner courts keep their original blue, red and yellow, and the outer walls show the king's battles against the Sea Peoples. Allow an hour.

Colossi of Memnon

Two seated statues of Amenhotep III, each about 18 metres high, are all that stands of his mortuary temple. They are by the main road, free to see, and take ten minutes. In Roman times the northern statue was said to "sing" at dawn. The sound stopped after a repair around AD 200.

A sunrise balloon flight

Balloon flights leave at about 5 am, last 40 to 45 minutes and drift over the temples, the green fields and the Nile. Flights are cancelled in strong wind, so book it for your first Luxor morning and keep the second as a back-up.

How to fit it into a trip

• By road with Cairo: 5 Days Trip to Egypt- Cairo and Luxor gives Luxor two full days, East and West Bank.
• With a Nile cruise: Pyramids and Nile Escape Program visits the West Bank on the cruise's Luxor day, on ships such as Oberoi Zahra. See our Luxor to Aswan cruise guide.
• Where to stay: Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor is a short ferry or taxi ride from the West Bank. All tours that visit Luxor.
• When: October to April. The reasons are in the best time to visit Egypt.

Watch the video above for the tombs and temples on the ground before you go.