Sunrise Hot-Air Balloon

Floating over Luxor's West Bank at first light is one of Egypt's great experiences — a silent dawn ascent as the sun breaks over the Theban hills and the whole landscape of temples and tombs unfolds beneath you.

You lift off in the cool dark, and as the burners fall quiet you drift above sugarcane fields, the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the Ramesseum and the folds of desert hiding the Valley of the Kings, with the Nile a silver ribbon to the east.

The flight lasts around an hour and the light in that first half-hour is unforgettable. It is a bucket-list highlight of any Luxor stay and worth the very early alarm.