Luxor West Bank: Valley of the Kings, Temples, and Tombs

The West Bank of Luxor — ancient Thebes — is where Egypt buried its greatest pharaohs. For three thousand years, the Egyptians chose this side of the Nile because the setting sun disappeared behind its cliffs every evening, and death was always associated with the west. The result is the largest concentration of ancient monuments anywhere on earth: tombs cut into limestone cliffs, mortuary temples built on the desert edge, and the remains of the workers’ village that housed the people who made all of it.

No single day can cover everything here. Budget at least two full days on the West Bank if you take Luxor seriously.

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings contains 63 known royal tombs from the New Kingdom period (roughly 1550–1070 BCE). A standard entry ticket (EGP 360 for foreigners as of 2026) includes access to three tombs of your choosing — which three is the decision that shapes your morning.

The most visited tomb is Tutankhamun’s (KV62), and it costs extra: EGP 300 on top of the standard ticket. Given its small size and relatively modest decoration compared to other royal tombs, this is a legitimate question — the tomb is historically significant because it was found largely intact in 1922, but the tomb itself is not the most spectacular in the valley. If Tutankhamun’s golden treasures are your priority, the actual collection is now at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

The three tombs included in the standard ticket that we recommend as a baseline: Ramesses IV (KV2) for its enormous sarcophagus and astronomical ceiling, Ramesses IX (KV6) for its scale and well-preserved painted programme, and Ramesses VI (KV9) for its extraordinary astronomical ceiling — one of the most complete in any Egyptian tomb. None of these require an extra ticket.

Photography inside the tombs is not permitted. This is enforced, and the reasoning is genuine: flash and heat damage ancient pigments. Outside in the valley itself, photography is fine.

The valley gets crowded quickly. If you arrive at opening time (7am), you will have the tombs to yourself for the first hour. By 9am, coach tour groups are filing through. By 10am, the combination of crowds and rising heat makes the visit significantly less enjoyable.

Valley of the Queens

Two kilometres south of the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens contains around 90 tombs, most belonging to royal wives and children. It is far less crowded than the main valley and the atmosphere is quieter.

The standout here is the tomb of Nefertari (QV66), wife of Ramesses II. The painted programme inside is exceptional — the colours are preserved to a degree almost without parallel in Egyptian funerary art. The access is expensive: approximately EGP 1,800 for foreigners as of 2026. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on your interest level. For anyone with a genuine interest in ancient Egyptian art, the answer is yes. The standard Valley of the Queens ticket (EGP 100) covers the other tombs but not Nefertari’s.

Hatshepsut Temple (Deir el-Bahari)

Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple is the most architecturally distinctive monument on the West Bank — three colonnaded terraces rising in steps against the sheer cliff face behind it. Built under Hatshepsut’s reign in the 15th century BCE, it was later partly defaced by Thutmose III after her death, though much of the original decoration survives.

Entry costs EGP 180. The temple is approximately 10 minutes by vehicle from the Valley of the Kings. The colonnaded upper terrace gives views across the Theban plain to the East Bank — one of the better vantage points in Luxor. Come in the morning; by midday the cliff face reflects heat directly into the temple.

Medinet Habu

The mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu is consistently undervisited — most tour groups skip it — which makes it one of the West Bank’s better experiences. It is the second-largest temple complex in Egypt after Karnak, and it is in remarkable condition: the outer walls still carry painted polychrome relief, the hypostyle hall is largely intact, and the complex includes a small sacred lake and royal palace.

The north external wall carries the Sea Peoples battle reliefs — the most detailed record of an ancient naval battle in existence. Entry is included with the Luxor Pass (see below). Without it, a separate ticket applies (EGP 100 as of 2026).

Colossi of Memnon

Two quartzite seated statues of Amenhotep III stand on the road between the ferry terminal and the West Bank temple sites. Each stands 18 metres tall. Entry is free. They are worth a brief stop — five minutes, perhaps ten if you want photographs — but they are not a destination in themselves. The surrounding area has ongoing excavations that occasionally reveal new finds from the mortuary temple complex that once stood behind them, now largely destroyed.

Deir el-Medina

The workers’ village of Deir el-Medina housed the craftsmen, painters, and scribes who built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings for generations. It is a rare thing in Egyptian archaeology: a settlement that illuminates ordinary life rather than royal life. The ostraca (pottery shards used as writing material) found here record wages, disputes, love poetry, workers’ strikes, and daily complaints — an unusually human record from an ancient civilisation.

The tombs at Deir el-Medina are small but decorated to a standard that rivals the royal tombs. The craftsmen who painted pharaohs’ tombs applied the same skill to their own. Three tombs are typically open (the selection rotates): Senedjem’s tomb (TT1) is particularly well preserved. The site is not crowded. Entry costs EGP 100 as of 2026.

The Luxor Pass: Is It Worth It?

The Luxor Pass covers most major West Bank sites and is sold at the Luxor Museum and the ticketing offices near the sites. Two versions:

• Standard Luxor Pass (EGP 1,100 for foreigners): covers the Valley of the Kings (including three tombs), Hatshepsut Temple, Medinet Habu, Karnak, Luxor Temple, and most other sites on both banks. Does not include the Tutankhamun tomb surcharge or Nefertari’s tomb.
• Premium Luxor Pass (EGP 2,500): adds Nefertari’s tomb and the Mummies Halls at Luxor Museum.

The standard pass pays for itself in under a day if you visit the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, and Medinet Habu. The premium pass makes financial sense only if you specifically want Nefertari’s tomb. Both passes are valid for five days, which is useful if you plan to spread the West Bank across multiple mornings.

Getting Around the West Bank

Hire a driver for the day: The most practical option for most visitors. A driver with a vehicle costs approximately EGP 400–600 for a full day, can cover all sites efficiently, and waits while you are inside. Negotiate the rate before you start and be clear about which sites you plan to visit.

Bicycle: The West Bank terrain is flat. Bicycles are available for hire near the ferry terminal for around EGP 50–80 per day. The distances between sites are manageable — perhaps 5km between the northernmost and southernmost major monuments. The main constraint is heat, which makes cycling difficult after 10am in spring and summer.

Donkey: Available near the ferry terminal. Slower than bicycle, more useful on unpaved paths between sites. Rates are negotiable; establish a price and return arrangement before you start.

Guided tour from Luxor: Numerous operators run West Bank tours from East Bank hotels. GYG listings for Luxor offer full-day guided tours that typically cover the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon, and Medinet Habu. A guide with genuine Egyptological knowledge adds real depth — the iconographic programmes in the tombs and temples are not self-explanatory.

Guided vs. Self-Guided

Self-guided is cheaper and gives you full control over timing. The limitation is context: the painted programmes in the royal tombs follow theological logic — they are not simply decorative — and a guide who can explain the Book of the Dead, the Amduat, or the relationship between the temple reliefs and the political moment makes the difference between looking at beautiful paintings and actually understanding what you are seeing.

For the Deir el-Medina workers’ village specifically, a guide familiar with the ostraca records and the social history of the community transforms the visit from a site stop to something genuinely engaging.

Our recommendation: hire a qualified guide for your first full day on the West Bank, then return independently on a second morning to the sites that interested you most.

Timing

The West Bank faces west, which means the afternoon light — golden on the cliffs and temple pylons — is beautiful. It is also extremely hot. The practical morning/afternoon breakdown:

• 7am to 11am: Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple. These are the most physically demanding sites and should be covered before the heat peaks.
• 11am to 1pm: Deir el-Medina or Medinet Habu. Both are shaded inside and manageable in late morning.
• Afternoon: Colossi of Memnon for photographs in the low light, then the ferry back to the East Bank.

The Valley of the Kings in particular needs an early start. By 10am, the queue for popular tombs is long and the enclosed passages get warm from body heat and breath in addition to the ambient temperature.

Combining East and West Bank

Budget two days for Luxor if possible:

• Day 1 (East Bank): Karnak Temple in the morning, Luxor Temple in the evening
• Day 2 (West Bank): Valley of the Kings from 7am, then Hatshepsut Temple, Medinet Habu, and Deir el-Medina

If you have only one day in Luxor, prioritise the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank and Karnak on the East Bank. Accept that you are seeing the highlights rather than covering the site comprehensively.