Everything You Need to Know About Luxor

Egypt Birding Tour

Egypt occupies a significant strategic geographical position as a bridge between continents offering migratory species the perfect route for their annual flights from Europe and Asia.

A wide variety of Egyptian habitats ranging from high rugged mountains to desert and tropical style jungle along the Nile basin, give it a unique character plus the diversity needed to attract an extremely wide range of bird life.

There are over 430 species of birds found in Egypt with about 150 being resident. The others are annual visitors from Europe and Asia with the primary migrations south in the fall and the return in the spring months.  In conjunction with Conservation Outdoors Inc. (an international wildlife and habitat conservation group) we have chosen the peaks of these migrations to afford birders a vacation with the maximum chance to view and photograph the widest variety possible.

Imagine being able to combine 5000 years of human history with birding and conservation. On tap are visits to important antiquity sites and oases in both upper and lower Egypt plus a holiday visit to the Sinai peninsula with its beautiful beaches, incredible undersea life and bountiful collection of bird life.  You will also spend time at two of Egypt’s most important  conservation projects.

A sample tour is:

Day 01: Saturday: 

Arrive Cairo. Be met and assisted through immigration and customs by our staff.  Transfer to a five star hotel for the evening.

Day 02: Sunday: 

A full day touring the ancient capital of Memphis, Sakkarra with it’s stepped Pyramid, the earliest pyramid of all, the Seraphim (tomb of the bulls), and the Mastaba of Ti which features beautiful carvings of early Egyptian bird life., Dashour with it’s “bent” pyramid, black pyramid and red pyramid (built of red granite brought all the way from Aswan, this pyramid is open for entry). O/N Cairo. (B)

Day 03 and 04: Monday & Tuesday:  

This morning we drive to the oasis of El Fayoum.  Located about 1.5 hours drive south of Cairo this is one of the greatest oasis areas in Egypt. Fayoum is where the Greeks and Romans had their wineries and grew the grain for the empire.  It also was an important part of Pharaonic history with ancient temples and cities. Due to the canals, in the area, Medinet El-Fayoum (Fayoum city) has been called the Venice of Egypt. The city of close to half a million people was first known as Crocodilopolis, and later Arsinoe, and has a substantial Coptic presence.  It is the capital of the province and lies at the center of the depression, and also the transportation network of the area.  All of the canals, roads, and train rails in the Fayoum converge at Medinet El-Fayoum, including the famous Joseph's Canal, though to have been built by the Biblical Joseph. The city's dominate attractions are the water wheels built by the Greek settlers, the canals, and the Obelisk which stands at the city's northern entrance and was erected in honor of Senwosret I (12th Dynasty).  This monument was originally found in two pieces during the 18th century and was recently reconstructed  and erected in the City.  It is thought to be the only Obelisk in Egypt with a rounded top, and has a cleft where a golden statue of Ra was originally placed. The canal is the main avenue for most commerce in the city. The covered market place and the adjacent street of gold smiths found across the 4th bridge to the west of the central tourist office, are worth a visit.

The Pyramid of Hawara (built by Amenemhet III) also known as the Labyrinth, was the most visited sites of the ancient World. Herodotus claimed to have counted three thousand rooms in the pyramids funeral complex. Herodotus visited the pyramid during the 5th century B.C. O/N both nights at King Farouk’s. (B.L,D)

Day 05: Wednesday: 

We depart Fayoum early this morning for the Pyramids at Giza and the inscrutable Sphinx. In the afternoon we visit the Egyptian Museum then in the early evening board a first class sleeper train for Aswan.  O/N Train (B,D)

Day 06: Thursday: 

We arrive Aswan and transfer to the high speed ferry to Abu Simbel where we will enjoy watching the sunset over the temples. Along the way the lake offers a great opportunity to observe migratory waterfowl as well as native species.  Watch for sightings of the Nile Crocodile, golden jackals, Monitor lizards and Desert foxes, all of which call the lake area home. O/N Abu Simbel. (B,D)

Day 07: Friday: 

Sunrise at the Temples.  After enjoying this incredible experience we board the ferry back to Aswan.  We will visit the Nubian Museum in the afternoon.  A first class presentation on the Nubian culture and history.  We overnight at the Hotel Basma.  Built on the highest elevation in the area it offers commanding views of the Nile, the desert and the city.  O/N Aswan. (B)

Day 08: Saturday: 

Today we visit the Granite quarries with it’s unfinished Obelisk, The temple of Philae and the Old Dam.  O/N Basma Hotel. (B)

Day 09: Sunday: 

Sail by Felucca (native sailboat) to visit the famous islands at Aswan. Kitchener's Island is a botanical garden that naturally attracts a number of species, filled with exotic plants and trees imported from all over the world. It is a perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon in the shade. The island must be reached by boat, and is located on the other side of Elephantine Island from Aswan. The Island was given to Lord Kitchener's for his campaigns in the Sudan. Retiring there he planted his garden, importing plants and trees from all over the world.

Elephantine Island is the largest of the Aswan area islands, and is one of the most ancient sites in Egypt,  with artifacts dating to pre dynastic periods. This is probably due to its location at the first Cataract of the  Nile, which provided a natural boundary between Egypt and Nubia. As an island, it was also easily defensible. In fact, the ancient town located in the southern part of the island was also a fortress through much of it's history. At one time, there was a bridge from the mainland to the island.

Elephantine is Greek for elephant. In ancient times, the Island, as well as the southern town, was called  Abu, or Habu, which also meant elephant. The town has also been referenced as Kom, after it's principle  god of the island, Khnum (Khnum). It is believed that the island received it's name because it was a  major ivory trading center, though in fact, it was a major trading post of many commodities. There are  large boulders in the river near the island which resembled bathing elephants, particularly from afar, and  this too has been suggested as a reason for the island's name.

The island is very beautiful, and while many of the artifacts there are in ruin, there is still considerable to  see. One of it's main attractions is it's Nilometer, which is one of only three on the Nile, which was used to  measure the water level of the Nile as late as the nineteenth century. There has been an ongoing  excavation at the town for many years by the German Archaeological Institute, and some of the finds along with many other island artifacts, including a mummified ram of Khnum, are located in the Elephantine Museum. Another major attraction is the ruins of the Temple of Khnum. Elephantine Island  was considered to be home of this important Egyptian god, and while this structure dates back to the Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty, there are references to a Temple of Khnum on the island as early  as the 3rd Dynasty. There are also ruins of a Temple of Satiate, who was Khnum female counterpart (the  three local deities were foremost Khnum, but also Satiate and a local Nubian goddess Annett. These gods  were worshipped here since the earliest dynasties), also build by Queen Hatshepsut, a shrine to Hekayib  from the 6th Dynasty, a local governor who was deified after his death. His cult flourished during the  middle kingdom, and some fine statues from the shrine are now in the museum. You will also find a 3rd  Dynasty granite step pyramid which is now just visible, and to the north, the mud brick vaults of the late period which housed the bodies of the royal rams. On the south end of the island is a small one room Polemic temple which was constructed from materials removed from the Calabash Temple. Here, there  are decorations attributed to the Nubian Pharaoh Arkamani from the 3rd century BC The building seems  to have been finished by the Romans with reference to Caesar Augusts.

Other artifacts and archaeological sites have been removed or destroyed. Prior to 1822, there were  temples of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, both of which were relatively intact, but they were destroyed in  that year by the Turkish government. A rare calendar, known as the Elephantine Calendar, dating to the  reign of Toothsome III, was found in fragments, and a Papyrus dating to the 13th dynasty and known as the  Elephantine Papyrus was also discovered. It is unclear where these artifacts are currently located. A Stella  with inscriptions commemorating the repairs made on a 12th Dynasty fortress which honored Senwosret  III was also found, and is now in the British Museum.

Elephantine Island is a beautiful place to visit, with wonderful gardens and some truly significant artifacts.  It is also a good place to spend some leisure time, wandering among the Nubian villages where the  people are friendly and the houses are often very colorful. The houses often have paintings or carved  with a crocodile at the bottom, a fish in the middle and a man on top, with a woman's hand made of brass as a door knocker between the fish and man. Others will have a sacred black cube of Mecca, with a  painting depicting the means of the owner's pilgrimage to Mecca.

Depart by train to Luxor about 5 PM which affords an excellent opportunity to watch sunset along the river, the birds nesting for the night and the river traffic as lights come on at the approach of darkness Arriving Luxor about 9 PM transfer to the St. George hotel, right on the Nile, facing the Necropolis of Thebes. (B,L)

Day 10: Monday: 

This morning we depart early for the West Bank, The Necropolis of Thebes where we will visit the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon.  We can arrange an optional entry to Queen Neferateri’s tomb if you desire. Afternoon free at leisure. O/N Luxor  (B)

Day 11: Tuesday: 

The temples of Luxor and Karnak are visited this morning plus the Karnak Museum.   In the evening we fly to Sharm el Sheikh, located at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula, you are now in Asia.  You will stay right on Naama Bay at the Ghazala Hotel.O/N Sharm (B)

Day 12:  Wednesday: 

Depart in the morning for the Sinai Mountains. Drive to the important Biblical site of Wadi Feiran.  This area is an oasis of greenery in an otherwise hostile environment and as such attracts a wide variety of species ranging from songbirds to predators."...a journey through Feiran is to pass through an entire chapter of the Old Testament itself...

Few places are as steeped in Biblical mystery as the great Wadi Feiran-the Sinai's largest wadi and one of it's most archeologically important stretches of terrain. It was here, according to locals, scholars, and legend, that Moses struck a rock with his staff, bringing forth a spring so his people could drink. Feiran is also the site of Rafadim, the fabled oasis where the Hebrews camped and battled the Amelecites.

For the pilgrims and believers who have been coming to this wadi for centuries, a journey through Feiran is to pass through an entire chapter of the Old Testament itself, Exodus 17. Given such prominence in the Old Testament, it is no surprise that Feiran is littered with the ruins of dozens of ancient churches; some dating back to the 4th century AD, when Feiran began to develop into a major religious center for monks and pilgrims, many on their way to Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine Monastery further east.

The Wadi's chief religious sites are the rock from which Moses drew water, which convention places at the western entrance to the oasis, and Mount Tahoun, which Moses supposedly used as an observation point to view  the battle with the Amelecites. Atop the mountain is an ancient cross, and the ruins of a small church dating back to the 4th century.

As captivating as the Wadi's biblical lore, are its natural spectacles. Chief among these is the Oasis of Feiran, the largest oasis in all of Sinai. The heart of the oasis is a spectacular and luxuriant sprawl of palms that stretches over four kilometers in length, the reason why Feiran is called the "Pearl of Sinai." Along the edges of the oasis and the wadi are the dramatic, often sheer cliffs of the wadi wall, which contribute to the valley's secretive and  paradisiacal  atmosphere.

You will also be introduced to Bedouin culture, one that has not changed for many centuries.  Enjoy a BBQ lunch Bedouin style, Ride a camel if you like. From Wadi Feiran we drive to Mt. Sinai where we overnight at a small hotel. O/N Wadi el Raha (B,L,D)

Day 13: Thursday: 

Today you can rise early, about 3AM, climb Mt. Sinai and watch the sunrise from the crest or sleep in and the view the mountain from the base.  You will also visit St. Catherines.

Located at the foot of Mount Moses, St. Catherine's Monastery, was constructed by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565. It is built around what is thought to be Moses' Burning Bush, which has a chapel built atop it. It is a spectacular natural setting for priceless works of art, including Arab mosaics, Greek and Russian icons, Western oil paintings, paintings on wax, fine sacerdotal ornaments, marbles, enamels, chalices, reliquaries, including one donated by Czar Alexander II in the 19th century, and another by Empress Catherine of Russia in the 17th century. But of perhaps even greater significance is that it is the second largest collection of illuminated manuscripts (The Vatican has the largest). The collection consists of some 3,500 volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages. Around the year 1850, the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus, which is now in the British Museum in London, was discovered here. The Monastery even has a small 10th or 11th century mosque which was probably built to appease the Islamic authorities of the time. There is also a small chapel (the Chapel of St. Triphone, also known as the Skull House) which houses the skulls of deceased monks.

St. Catherine's has a rich history indeed. So rich that it is a sparkling example of an undiscovered Jewel of travel. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery, though St. Anthony's predates it, and the smallest diocese in the world. The Monastery was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but was actually built by Emperor Justinian to house the bones of St. Catherine of Alexandria. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peek that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica. We have additional pictures of this church, and of its interior.

St. Catherine's is also a formidable fortification, with granite walls 40 to 200 feet tall, surrounded by gardens and cypresses. Prior to probably the twentieth century, the only entrance to St. Catherine's was a small door 30 feet above ground, where provisions and people where lifted with a system of pulleys, and where food was often lowered to nomads. It has withstood numerous attacks over its 14 hundred year existence thus protecting a rich store of art, and today, while it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world, it’s original, preserved state is unmatched.

Though established and patronized most of its history by the Russian Orthodox Church, it is now under the auspices of  the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of its monks are also of Greek origin.

Leaving St. Catherines you proceed to the Gulf of Aquaba then back to Sharm el Sheikh to overnight.  O/N Sharm.  (B)

Day 14: Friday: 

This morning fly to Cairo where you will visit Gabal el Asfar. This is the huge reclaiming area for the cities sanitation system. Since it’s start in 1923 this area has grown into one of the richest birding sites in Egypt.  Returning to the city you will visit the Khan el Khalili bazaar.  You will overnight at the Cairo Marriott. This former palace is located on an island on the Nile, in the heart of Cairo. It is surrounded by acres of gardens and the bird watching here can be very entertaining and rewarding.  O/N Cairo. (B)

Day 15: Saturday:  

Today we see Old Cairo with it’s famous churches, synagogues and Mosques plus the Citadel of Salad el Din. O/N Cairo. (B)

Day 16: Sunday: 

Our staff will transfer you to the airport, assist with departure formalities and checking in for your International departure.

Tour Includes: Hotels (based on double occupancy), meals as outlined (B: breakfast, L: lunch and D: dinner), ground transfers pertaining to the tour,  first class sleeper train, ferry to/from Abu Simbel, flight to Sharm el Sheikh from Luxor and from Sharm el Shiekh to Cairo, all entry fees and permits for sightseeing excursions, private guide service by a qualified ornithologist and Egyptologists, air-conditioned vehicle with driver. Service charges and taxes. Travel insurance for those departing the USA or Canada.

NOT included:  Items of a personal nature such as tips, telephone, laundry, entry visa, etc., anything not specifically mentioned as included.

DEPARTURES: Spring and Fall annually, timed to match the peak migrations.

• Priced from: $2695 per person, double occupancy Half board throughout (breakfast and dinner): 
• $525 Full board throughout (breakfast, lunch and dinner): $900

This tour is operated in conjunction with Conservation Outdoors Inc.  A USA based international scientific/charitable organization that operates wildlife conservation and habitat preservation programs in Egypt, Israel and South America.

Prices are only an indication of providing these tours and services. Actual pricing will be done for a specific program custom designed for your party.

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