MyWorldReviews.com

Valley of the Kings

Egypt

I simply could not believe how touristy the Valley of the Kings was. Whenever you watch a TV documentary about Egypt, they always show the Valley of the Kings as some desolate place out in the middle of nowhere that is rarely visited. That couldn't be further from the truth! The Valley of the Kings was crawling with tourists. There were tens of thousands of people there. That is what surprised me most about the valley.

The other thing that surprised me was how close together all of the tombs were. On average, there was probably only about 10m between each tomb. I thought they would be spread out, and further apart to be more difficult to find.

After arriving at the Valley of the Kings, our tour guide negotiated a tram to take us from the ticket and parking area to the main entrance. Since there were so many tour groups there, this took approximately 15 minutes. The tram ride was short, and soon we were at the valley.

The tickets we had purchased allowed us entrance to three different tombs. Unfortunately, it was not permitted to take pictures or video inside the tombs, although you could take pictures outside the tombs.

We chose to visit the tombs of Rameses IV, Rameses IX, and Tutmoses III. Tutmoses's tomb was cut high into the rock, so we needed to climb some stairs to get there.

All three tombs were spectacular. The tomb of Tutmoses III was just what I expected in a tomb - there were some narrow passageways, and very steep stairs that we had to climb down. It was an earlier tomb, and the walls were painted (but not carved). It was very hot inside the tomb, but the beauty inside was well worth any discomfort.

The tomb of Rameses IX was pretty small - the carvings and colors were nice, but not nearly as impressive as Rameses IV. The tomb of Rameses IV was the most beautiful tomb in the valley. The colors were incredibly well preserved, and the intricate carvings were very detailed. What an experience! Both of these tombs were fairly flat inside, and an easy walk. They were also located near the entrance, so it didn't take long to get to them.

Since there were so many people, there were long lines to get into the tombs - we waited approximately 15 minutes to get into each tomb.

Estimated Visiting Time

We only had an hour at the Valley of the Kings, and our ticket permitted us to see three tombs, so we were very rushed. Since we had to wait 15 minutes in line to get into the tombs, we didn't have very long at all inside each one. I would recommend two hours to have a more leisurely look at all the tombs. If you are able to see more than three tombs (which is also recommended), allow more time.

Cost

We paid 70LE for a ticket that allowed us entrance to three tombs. If you're on your own, you may also need to negotiate a tram to take you from the parking lot to the valley entrance. No pictures of any kind were permitted inside the tombs.

Entrance to King Tutankhamun's tomb would cost an extra 80LE per person, or 40LE for a student ticket.