Begin your shore excursion at the Temples of Karnak on Luxor’s east bank of the Nile River. Walk along the Avenue of Sphinx to enter the complex as your expert tour guide explains how its massive façade was constructed. Learn about the legacy left by each of the region’s various pharaohs who built the complex larger and larger. The deeper you go into the complex, the further back in time you'll travel -- the oldest ruins date back more than 3,000 years! Enter through the Great Court into the Great Hypostyle Hall and marvel at the 134 columns towering above you like an ancient forest. At the rear of the complex lies the Sacred Lake, where pharaohs and their offerings to the gods were once purified millennia ago. Enjoy free time to explore at your leisure before continuing to the next location.

Travel south to the Luxor Temple, once joined to the Temples of Karnak by the Avenue of Sphinx. Dominated by statues of the great warrior Pharaoh Ramesses II, the founding pharaoh of Egypt’s 19th dynasty, this 1400 BC temple has survived countless Nile floods, foreign invasions and thousands of years exposed to harsh conditions. Admire the mysterious inner walls and columns adorned with intricate hieroglyphics, which your guide will help you decipher, and discover the temple’s intriguing history.