MONUMENTMonument
Karnak & Luxor Temple
25.7188, 32.6573
Karnak and Luxor are the two great temples of ancient Thebes, linked in antiquity by a long avenue of sphinxes and together forming the ceremonial heart of the East Bank.
Karnak is staggering in scale — its Great Hypostyle Hall crowds 134 giant columns into a stone forest, alongside obelisks, a sacred lake and precincts built over some two thousand years. Luxor Temple, more intimate, guards a soaring pylon, colossal statues of Ramses II and a lone standing obelisk, and is at its most magical floodlit after dark.
Do Karnak in the cooler morning and save Luxor Temple for the evening, when the lit columns make it unforgettable.
Know before you go
See Luxor Temple after sunset when it is illuminated, and hire a guide at Karnak to make sense of its vast, layered sprawl.