Best of Egypt: Explore Cairo, Aswan & Luxor

About the destination: Luxor is the premier travel destination in Upper Egypt and the Nile Valley. The dynastic and religious capital of Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom Egypt, Luxor has much for travelers to enjoy: vast temples, ancient royal tombs, spectacular desert and river scenery, and a bustling modern life. Numerous architectural monuments of Luxor are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Luxor consists of the City of Luxor on the east side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor, and Thebes on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor. The Valley of the Kings is one of the main reasons why tourists come to Luxor. It is an enormous place full of various tombs of different sizes, which were lavishly constructed for the powerful pharaohs, queens, and nobles. King Tutankhamun's tomb was found here in the 1920s, almost untouched. Other major attractions in Luxor include the temple complexes of Luxor and Karnak, Medinet Habu, the Tombs of the Nobles, the Ramesseum Temple, and the Valley of the Queens. Beautiful and ancient, Luxor is the world's best collection of antiquities.