The tourist village of Abu Simbel is a relatively small settlement catering basically to the needs of visitors, providing food, accommodation and transport services for those attracted by the magnificent Temples of Abu Simbel. These well known temples, which have become one of Egypt’s best known iconic structures, are the second most popular tourist destination within the country after the Great Pyramids of Giza. Although the temples are fairly isolated, being located 300 kilometres south of Aswan, they attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, most of whom are only day-trippers. The small settlement of Abu Simbel provides 5 hotels for overnight visitors who generally stay to enjoy the ‘Sound and Light’ show.
For visitors wishing to see the temples it is interesting to note that travelling to Abu Simbel can be taken by road, boat or plane (no rail available), with road travellers usually having to join an escorted convoy or catch a bus which can take up to 3 hours each way. While boat travellers sail from Aswan across Lake Nasser, which takes approximately 4 days for the round trip, but usually includes visits to other lakeside attractions. However air travel provides frequent services from Aswan to Abu Simbel which takes about 30 minutes, and the local airport of Abu Simbel, although basic, serves over 600,000 passengers each year.
Abu Simbel is an archaeological site located on the western shores of Lake Nasser in southern Egypt, approximately 300 kilometres south of Aswan and 50 kilometres from the border with Sudan. The site was originally in the heart of the Nubian territory of Upper Egypt and consists of two massive rock temples, the Great Temple of Rameses II and the Temple of Nefertari. These temples were carved into a solid sandstone cliff over 3,200 years ago and are considered to be the most imposing structures of Egypt’s greatest Pharaoh Rameses II and his wife Nefertari. The temples were originally constructed on the western banks of the River Nile, but due to the creation of Lake Nasser, these marvelous temples were subject to complete flooding as the dam filled up. Due to the significance of these monuments and many others which lay within the area, it was decided to re-locate them to higher ground. With the aid of U.N.E.S.C.O., work began during the 1960’s with the temples of Abu Simbel being totally dismantled and moved 200 metres to a new location which stood 65 metres higher than their original location.
Please be advised that cameras cannot be used inside the temples.
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