Cruzeiro Royal Esadora pelo Nilo

After breakfast, cross to the West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs were buried beneath the Theban hills in tombs still vivid with afterlife scenes (entry to three tombs included; Tutankhamun and Seti I optional). Visit the dramatic terraces of the Temple of Hatshepsut and the towering Colossi of Memnon. An optional sunrise hot-air-balloon flight over the necropolis is available. Lunch is served as the ship passes through the Esna Lock; dinner and overnight cruising toward Edfu.

Take a horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best-preserved temple in Egypt, dedicated to the falcon-headed god of kingship. Back onboard, relax on the sun deck as the Royal Esadora glides to Kom Ombo. There you discover the unique double temple shared by Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus the Elder — complete with carved surgical instruments, an ancient calendar and the Crocodile Mummification Museum. Dinner and overnight sailing to Aswan.

Spend the morning in Aswan visiting the High Dam, the modern engineering feat that tamed the Nile and created Lake Nasser, then sail by motorboat to the island Temple of Philae, dedicated to the goddess Isis and rescued stone-by-stone by UNESCO. See the colossal Unfinished Obelisk lying in its ancient granite quarry. The afternoon is free for a felucca sail or an optional visit to a colourful Nubian village. Dinner and overnight in Aswan.

Enjoy a final breakfast onboard before disembarkation in Aswan. For an unforgettable finale, add the optional excursion to the Abu Simbel temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari — monumental rock-cut monuments facing the rising sun and relocated above Lake Nasser in one of history’s greatest rescue efforts. Transfer to Aswan airport, the train station or your hotel.