Things to do in Egypt

25 things to do in Egypt

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Climb inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

  Crawl through the narrow, ascending passage into the King's Chamber of the only surviving wonder of the ancient world, feeling the weight of 4,500 years of history.

  Giza

• Watch the Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids

  As the Sphinx narrates, coloured lasers and dramatic music bring the pharaohs' stories to life against the floodlit pyramids under a desert sky.

  Giza

• Dive the SS Thistlegorm wreck in the Red Sea

  Explore the ghostly remains of a WWII British cargo ship, now an underwater museum teeming with coral and schools of barracuda and batfish.

  Sharm El-Sheikh

• Visit the Valley of the Kings in Luxor

  Descend into the ornate rock-cut tombs of pharaohs like Tutankhamun and Ramesses VI, their walls still vivid with scenes of the afterlife.

  Luxor

• Sail on a felucca at sunset on the Nile in Aswan

  Glide silently past granite islands and palm groves as the golden light transforms the river, with only the lap of water and distant calls of birds.

  Aswan

• Explore the White Desert National Park

  Wander a surreal moonscape of chalky sculpture‑like formations shaped by millennia of wind erosion, gleaming white under the Sahara sun.

  Farafra

• Visit Abu Simbel temples at sunrise

  Watch the first rays illuminate the colossal seated statues of Ramesses II in a temple relocated stone by stone to save it from flooding.

  Abu Simbel

• Taste koshari at Abou Tarek in Cairo

  Dig into a layered bowl of lentils, rice, pasta, chickpeas, fried onions and tangy tomato‑garlic sauce at the city’s legendary koshari institution.

  Cairo

• Walk through Khan el-Khalili bazaar

  Lose yourself in a labyrinth of medieval alleys perfumed with incense and spices, where craftsmen hammer brass and merchants hawk silver, leather and glass.

  Cairo

• Snorkel in the Blue Hole, Dahab

  Float over a dramatic coral‑encrusted drop‑off plunging to 130 metres in crystal‑clear water, surrounded by vibrant reef fish and occasional turtles.

  Dahab

• Tour the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

  Stand before the golden death mask of Tutankhamun and examine millennia‑old royal mummies in the neoclassical museum overflowing with antiquities.

  Cairo

• Ascend Mount Sinai for sunrise

  Trek the 2,285‑metre peak in the pre‑dawn cold, witnessing the desert ignite in bands of pink and gold from where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments.

  Saint Catherine

• Visit the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo

  Suspended above a Roman gatehouse, this 7th‑century church glows with icons, intricate ivory‑inlaid screens and a serene palm‑shaded courtyard.

  Cairo

• Explore the Siwa Oasis and the Temple of the Oracle

  Cross a sea of dunes to a remote emerald paradise where the ruined temple once spoke through its oracle to Alexander the Great, still echoing with mystery.

  Siwa

• Attend a Sufi whirling dervish performance at Wekalet El Ghouri

  In a Mamluk‑era caravanserai, robed dervishes spin in hypnotic circles to live chanting and drums, a transcendent glimpse into Egypt’s mystical heart.

  Cairo

• Take a hot air balloon ride over Luxor’s West Bank at dawn

  Float silently above the necropolis as the Theban hills emerge from the mist, gazing down on the Ramesseum, Hatshepsut’s temple and the scattered tombs.

  Luxor

• Walk the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor

  Follow the 2.7‑km processional way lined with ram‑headed sphinxes linking Karnak and Luxor temples, reopened in 2021 after decades of excavation.

  Luxor

• Explore the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

  Descend underground to a fusion of Egyptian, Greek and Roman funerary art, where spiral staircases lead to banquet halls for the dead and eerie statue‑lined tombs.

  Alexandria

• See the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

  Marvel at the tilted disc of this modern library reviving the ancient centre of learning, with a vast reading room, planetarium and manuscript museum.

  Alexandria

• Visit the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the Citadel

  The alabaster‑clad Ottoman mosque crowns Cairo’s skyline, its vast domes and slender minarets framing breathtaking city panoramas from the historic fortress.

  Cairo

• Stroll along the Corniche in Alexandria

  Feel the Mediterranean breeze on the seafront promenade as fishermen cast lines, families wander and the city’s faded grandeur unfolds from Qaitbay to Silsila.

  Alexandria

• Shop for spices at the Aswan Souk

  In this Nubian‑tinged market, inhale the scent of dried hibiscus, cumin and paprika while browsing pyramids of vibrant spices, perfumes and handicrafts.

  Aswan

• Discover the Temple of Philae

  Take a boat to the island sanctuary of Isis, where perfectly preserved colonnades, pylons and kiosks reflect in the blue waters of the Aswan reservoir.

  Agilkia Island, Aswan

• Dive or snorkel at Ras Mohammed National Park

  Drift among technicolour coral walls, sea turtles and giant moray eels at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the Gulf of Suez meets the Gulf of Aqaba.

  Sharm El-Sheikh

• Visit the Nubian Village in Aswan (Gharb Soheil)

  Cross the Nile to a painted village of turquoise and ochre houses where Nubians share fragrant tea, traditional music and stories of their ancient culture.

  Aswan