Day Trip to ABU SIMBEL from ASWAN, EGYPT!

Abu Simbel is one of those places that I never thought I would get to.
When you’re planning an itinerary for Egypt, and you look at all of the places to see, Abu Simbel always comes up as a recommendation-and for good reason. The problem is that it is so far from the other places you want to see.
It begins with a trip to Aswan which we showed you in the previous video. From there, you should hire a car service with a guide which will take you 3 hours to the south to Abu Simbel (which marked the souther portion of the ancient Egyptian empire) which is actually not very far from the Sudanese border.
Once you’re there, Abu Simbel does not disappoint! You will spend about 6 hours in a car, and the scenery does not vary much, but in the end it is worth it. Once you arrive to Lake Nasser, your guide will explain to you that this manmade lake now covers the original location of the temples. Each temple was moved stone by stone to the current location in advance of the construction of the Aswan High Dam-an impressive feat to say the least.
We had just over a week in Egypt, and spent 3 days in Aswan before heading back north to Luxor. If you have that much time, I would definitely recommend the trip to Aswan, and Abu Simbel with a stay at the Sofitel Legend Cataract Hotel. Contact Mustafa if you’re interested. His information is included below.
Next up- a train ride to Luxor, followed by an exploration of Luxor and Karnak Temples. Be sure to turn on notifications to be reminded when that posts!
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📝 COMMENTS ► Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

[@kevinratcliffe1717]

Hi. Would you recommend the trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan? I am thinking of renting a car to be more economical. Is it safe for driving in this area or would you recommend a tour guide?

[@SidGolan]

The Abu Simbel project was a global effort where experts and governments from multiple countries came together to save the temple. It was funded by other countries and was a multi million dollar project. It wasn't just about moving it "stone by stone" as the temple was a monolith carved into the side of the hill. So experts had to figure out how to cut the temple into pieces and relocate it. They used hand saws to painstakingly cut the temple into pieces like a jigsaw puzzle and then transported it. The hill it was relocated to is a fake hill created out of a dome made of concrete with stones over and around it to make it resemble the original hill.
The Abu Simbel project was one the most complex and costliest large scale projects of its kind. It's one of the most well known mega projects. There are multiple documentaries on TH-cam which show how it was all figured out and done. Seems like your guide didn't do as good a job at explaining to you the sheer scale of what was done to enable these temples to be moved.