Explore Egypt

Four 20m colossi of the pharaoh guard a mountain temple carved for eternity — the supreme statement of Pharaonic power.

The smaller temple where Ramesses honoured his queen as a goddess, her statues standing equal in height to his own.

On 22 February and 22 October dawn rays travel 60m to light the sanctuary gods — a 3,200-year-old solar alignment, still exact.

After dark the colossi become a projection screen for the saga of Ramesses, narrated under a Nubian sky of stars.

The vast man-made sea laps right below the temples — sunset over its still water frames the colossi unforgettably.

The small Nubian community by the temples offers vivid painted houses, hibiscus tea and a slower side of the south.

Multi-day cruises glide between Nubia's lesser temples and moor before Abu Simbel for the dawn light show.

A mudbrick Nubian eco-lodge on Lake Nasser whose kitchen serves organic Nubian home cooking — the one real table in Abu Simbel.