Your Egyptologist guide meets you at your Luxor hotel or Nile Cruise and transfers you across the river in a private air-conditioned vehicle. The journey to the West Bank offers early views of the Theban hills that form the natural backdrop to the necropolis.

Holding 63 known tombs, this valley served as the royal burial ground for pharaohs of the New Kingdom period. Your guide explains the mythological scenes painted across tomb walls and the significance of figures such as Tutankhamun, whose tomb here sparked one of the most celebrated archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century.

The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, built into the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari, showcases a colonnaded design unlike almost anything else in Egypt. Afterward, you stop at the Colossi of Memnon, twin seated statues that once guarded the entrance to Amenhotep III's now largely vanished temple complex.

Medinet Habu is among the best-preserved temple complexes on the West Bank, built by Ramses III to document his military campaigns and ensure his legacy. A break for lunch follows, giving you time to rest before the afternoon visits.

This ancient workers' village housed the artists, stonecutters, and scribes responsible for creating and decorating the royal tombs over generations. The site includes tombs belonging to the workers themselves, many of which contain vivid painted scenes that reflect their beliefs about the afterlife.

The final stop is the Valley of the Queens, resting place of royal consorts and children of the pharaohs. The highlight is the tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, whose interior paintings are regarded as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Egyptian funerary art. Your guide then transfers you back to your hotel or Nile Cruise.