Abu Simbel, Egypt

Abu Simbel: The Temples That Were Moved

In 1964, UNESCO launched one of the most ambitious engineering operations in the history of archaeology: cutting the temples of Abu Simbel into approximately 2,000 numbered blocks, each weighing up to 30 tonnes, and reassembling them 65 metres higher on the same cliff face. The reason was the rising water of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam, which would have submerged the temples entirely by 1968. The operation took four years, cost $40 million in 1960s money (roughly $400 million today), and involved 50 countries contributing expertise and funding. The temples now sit on an artificial hill that looks entirely natural. Knowing what you are looking at changes the experience considerably.

The temples were built by Ramses II beginning around 1264 BC, during the 19th Dynasty. Ramses was a pharaoh of exceptional self-promotion - he is represented on more statues than any other Egyptian ruler - and Abu Simbel is his most extravagant monument. Four seated colossi of himself, each roughly 20 metres tall, guard the entrance to the Great Temple, which is carved 60 metres deep into the sandstone cliff. Inside, a sequence of halls leads to the innermost sanctuary containing statues of four gods: Ptah, Amun-Ra, Ramses II deified, and Ra-Horakhty.

The Sun Festival

Twice each year, on February 22 and October 22, the rising sun penetrates the full depth of the temple and illuminates the faces of three of the four inner sanctuary statues. Only Ptah, the god of darkness, remains in shadow. This alignment was deliberately engineered into the temple’s orientation by its ancient builders and has been precisely reproduced in the relocated structure - UNESCO engineers took care to replicate the astronomical alignment, not just the architecture. The dates are believed to correspond to Ramses II’s birthday and coronation anniversary.

The Sun Festival on February 22 draws thousands of visitors who arrive before dawn to secure viewing positions. Many come as early as 3am. The illumination window lasts around 20-25 minutes. If you can time a visit around this date, it is worth doing; if not, the temples are extraordinary on any clear morning.

The Temple of Nefertari

The smaller temple 150 metres to the north was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and to Nefertari, Ramses II’s chief queen. It is unusual in Egyptian temple architecture: two of the six facade colossi depict Nefertari rather than the pharaoh, making it one of the very few Egyptian temples where a queen was represented at equal scale to the king. The interior reliefs and painted chambers are better preserved than in the main temple and arguably more beautiful in their detail.

Visiting Practically

Abu Simbel is 280km south of Aswan by road. Entry fees run approximately $25-30 USD for foreign adults; during Sun Festival dates, prices are slightly higher and you should book through a licensed tour operator rather than attempting the trip independently.

Most visitors arrive by one of three routes: an early-morning convoy by minibus from Aswan (departing around 04:00, arriving at sunrise - the standard tourist approach); a domestic flight from Aswan Airport to Abu Simbel Airport, 20 minutes flying time; or as the final stop on a Lake Nasser cruise, which combines several temple sites along the lake.

The minibus convoy is the cheapest option, around $70-100 per person including entry. The flight is faster and more comfortable but costs more. The cruise is the most immersive and gives you the site early in the morning before the day-trip crowds arrive.

Where to Eat and Stay

The Seti Abu Simbel hotel sits on the lakeshore and has the best position: the view across Lake Nasser at sunrise is excellent, and staying overnight means you can see the temples in the late afternoon and early morning light when the day-trippers have gone. At that point you frequently have the Great Temple nearly to yourself, which is about as close to a private audience with Ramses II as you will get.

The Abu Simbel village has several small restaurants serving Egyptian standards - ful medames, grilled chicken, rice and lentils. Nothing remarkable, but adequate for a midday meal between site visits.

The Sound and Light Show

An evening son et lumiere runs at the temples after dark. It projects light onto the facades and plays a recorded narrative about the temples’ history. The production quality is uneven, but the experience of seeing the colossi illuminated against a desert sky with Lake Nasser black beyond the site is genuine. Worth attending if you’re staying overnight.

The practical reality is this: Abu Simbel is a long way from everywhere and demands deliberate travel to reach it. That distance is part of the point. Ramses II placed it at the southern boundary of his empire as a statement to Nubian kingdoms further south. You arrive after a long journey across flat desert, and the colossi appear without warning around a bend in the shore road. Whatever you think you know about temple architecture, the first sight is still a shock.