Your standard ticket gets you into three tombs. There are more than sixty in the valley, the best of them cost extra, and one of those extras runs to about 2,000 Egyptian pounds on its own. Working out where that money should go is most of the skill in visiting the Valley of the Kings, and the answer is not the tomb everyone has heard of. This is the burial ground of the New Kingdom pharaohs, cut into a desert valley on the west bank at Luxor, chosen precisely because it was remote enough to hide a king.
A Brief History of Thebes & the Valley of the Kings
During Egypt’s New Kingdom (around 1550–1070 BC), Thebes was the religious and political heart of an empire that stretched from Nubia to the Levant. Rather than build conspicuous pyramids, the pharaohs of this era chose to hide their tombs in a remote desert valley on the West Bank, the Valley of the Kings, hoping to foil the tomb robbers who had plundered earlier royal burials. More than 60 tombs have been found here, belonging to rulers such as Seti I, the various Ramesside pharaohs, and the boy-king Tutankhamun, whose near-intact tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, the most famous archaeological find in history.
The West Bank also holds the elegant terraced Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the towering Colossi of Memnon. Together with the East Bank temples, the whole area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis.
Descending into a painted tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the colours still vivid after 3,000 years, is one of the most moving experiences in all of travel.
What to See in Luxor’s West Bank
- The Valley of the Kings: the royal tombs; a standard ticket includes three, with separate tickets for Tutankhamun, Seti I and others.
- Temple of Hatshepsut, the dramatic terraced temple of Egypt’s most famous female pharaoh.
- The Colossi of Memnon, two vast seated statues that once guarded a vanished temple.
- The Valley of the Queens; including the exquisite tomb of Nefertari.
Best Luxor & Valley of the Kings Tours
Hot Air Balloon & Valley of the Kings Tour — Best Experience
Drift over the West Bank at sunrise by hot air balloon, floating above the temples and tombs, then tour the Valley of the Kings on the ground with a guide.
Luxor West & East Bank 2-Day Private Tour — Best All-Rounder
Cover the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, plus Karnak and Luxor Temples on the East Bank, over two unhurried days.
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How to Get to Luxor
Luxor has its own airport with direct flights from Cairo (about an hour) and other cities. Many visitors also arrive by Nile cruise, which links Luxor with Aswan and the temples in between.
Where to Stay
Stay on the East Bank near Luxor Temple for restaurants and the corniche, or the quieter West Bank for proximity to the tombs and rural calm.
Which Tombs Are Worth the Extra Ticket
This is where most visitors either overspend or miss the best thing in Egypt, so it is worth understanding the structure before you arrive.
- The base ticket is about EGP 750 and includes any three tombs from a rotating list of roughly ten that are open at any time. Egypt cycles them for conservation, so exactly which three you can choose changes.
- Seti I is the extra ticket to buy, and it is expensive. Around EGP 2,000 on top of your entry. It is the longest, deepest and most lavishly decorated tomb in the valley, and by common consent the finest painted interior in Egypt. If you are going to splurge once in your whole trip. This is the place.
- Tutankhamun’s tomb costs about EGP 700 extra, and it is small and plain. The treasures are all at the Grand Egyptian Museum now; what remains is a modest chamber and his mummy. Buy it for the significance, not the spectacle, and know that trade-off going in.
- A correction worth making: Nefertari’s tomb is not here. It is in the Valley of the Queens, a separate site with its own (steep) ticket. Plenty of guides conflate the two.
- Payment is card-based at the ticket office: the cashless rollout now covers the Luxor sites.
- Photography rules change and are enforced tomb by tomb; some require a separate photo ticket. Check at the gate rather than assuming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tutankhamun’s tomb?
In the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s West Bank (tomb KV62), discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. His treasures are now displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza.
How many tombs can you visit in the Valley of the Kings?
A standard ticket includes entry to three tombs (which are open on rotation), with separate tickets required for special tombs such as Tutankhamun and Seti I.
How do you get from Cairo to Luxor?
By a short domestic flight (about an hour), an overnight sleeper train, or as part of a Nile cruise itinerary.
Sources & Further Reading
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
- Britannica, Valley of the Kings
