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Beyond Luxor

Dendera and Abydos Day Trip from Luxor: the Temples of Seti I and Hathor

North of Luxor in a day: Seti I's temple in the holy city of Osiris, then the house of Hathor at Dendera.

Full day · about 8 hours · Luxor · Private

Starting priceUSD 80Per person at the lowest group rate; solo travellers and couples pay more.Your written quote confirms the price for your party, dates and choices.
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Columns crowned with the face of Hathor inside the great hall of her temple at Dendera, under a painted ceiling.
Duration
Full day · about 8 hours
On the road
Long drives north: Dendera is about 70 km from Luxor, and Abydos lies further on
At the sites
The rest of the day inside the two temples, Abydos first
Format
Private
Pace
Moderate

Before you choose

Is this the right tour for you?

This private day trip goes north from Luxor to two temples that most visitors never see. The first is Abydos, the holy city of Osiris, god of the dead, where Egyptians from all over the country wanted to be buried or remembered. Seti I built his temple here, and his son Ramesses II finished it. Its raised reliefs rank with the finest in any Egyptian temple, it has seven chapels at its heart, and in a narrow passage Seti and the young Ramesses honour a carved list of their royal ancestors, one of the few king lists to survive. Behind the temple lies the Osireion, a symbolic tomb of the god.

On the way back you stop at Dendera, the temple of the goddess Hathor and one of the best preserved of its age in Egypt. Its great hall stands on columns crowned with her face, under a painted ceiling that charts the sky. Each New Year her statue was carried up a staircase to the roof to meet the rising sun, and pilgrims waited up there for signs from the goddess.

A guide and driver take you from your Luxor hotel and back, with entrance to both temples included. Dendera's roof and crypt have their own tickets, which your quote can add. Expect a long day: most of it is on the road or inside the two temples.

Our advice

Visit Abydos first and Dendera on the way back. At Dendera, buy the roof and crypt tickets: they hold what the temple was for.

Consider instead: On a Nile cruise? Some cruises stop at Dendera, so check your itinerary before booking.

6 stops

How the day runs

Two chapters of how Egypt kept reimagining eternity in one day. Seti I, whose tomb lies hidden in the Valley of the Kings, was remembered in his temple at Abydos beside the god Osiris. At Dendera, more than a thousand years later, Greek and Roman rulers still built for Hathor in the old way.

  1. Morning

    Hotel pickup in Luxor

    An early start with your guide and driver, heading north along the Nile.

  2. Morning

    Temple of Seti I, Abydos

    Seven chapels for the deified king and six gods, reliefs from Seti's own reign among the finest in Egypt, and in a narrow passage the list of 75 royal ancestors that leaves out the rulers Seti's court preferred to forget.

    Temple of Seti I, Abydos: A king's temple in the holy city of Osiris, with a carved list of every ancestor he chose to remember.

  3. Midday

    The Osireion

    Behind the temple and on its axis, Seti's cenotaph built like a royal tomb: a granite hall where a false sarcophagus stood on an island ringed by water, standing for the first waters of creation.

  4. Afternoon

    Temple of Hathor, Dendera

    The great hall of 24 Hathor columns under a ceiling charting the sky goddess Nut, then the staircases the New Year procession climbed to the roof.

    Temple of Dendera: The house of Hathor, where the goddess was carried onto the roof each New Year to meet the rising sun.

  5. Afternoon

    The roof, the crypts and the back wall

    With the extra tickets: the roof chapels and the copy of the famous zodiac, and the crypts where the goddess's statue was hidden. Outside, Cleopatra and Caesarion on the back wall, and the false door worn away by pilgrims.

  6. End of day

    Return to Luxor

    Back to your hotel in the evening.

The story behind these places

The details

What is included

Highlights

  • Seti I's temple at Abydos, with some of the finest reliefs in Egypt
  • The Abydos king list and the Osireion behind the temple
  • The Hathor columns and star ceiling of Dendera
  • Dendera's roof chapels, crypts and the scraped false door

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Luxor
  • Air-conditioned transport with driver
  • Professional guide
  • Entrance to the temples of Abydos and Dendera
  • Taxes and service charges

Not included

  • Dendera's roof and crypt tickets, unless added to your quote
  • Lunch
  • Tips
  • Insurance
  • Personal spending

Places you visit

  • Abydos
  • Temple of Seti I
  • Abydos king list
  • Osireion
  • Dendera
  • Temple of Hathor
  • Dendera zodiac
Group
Private: your party only
Transport
Air-conditioned vehicle with driver
Departure
Early morning pickup
Meeting point
Your hotel in Luxor
Guide languages
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Best time to go
An early start in any season: the drive is long and the afternoons are hot
Entrance tickets
Included: entrance to both temples. Dendera's roof and crypt tickets are extra
Optional extras
Dendera's roof and crypt tickets; lunch
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour.
Your price
Set in your written quote for your party, dates and pickup, with the payment and cancellation terms.

Details checked

Add to the day

Experiences nearby

A few hours of something different, placed around this tour in your quote.
All experiences

Local tips matched to this route

Complete this day

We place these around the tour’s real timing. Anything that cannot fit cleanly stays an untimed request until we confirm it.

  • Seti I relief on a wall inside the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, palms beyond.

    Karnak and the West Bank

    A photoshoot in Luxor's temples

    A photographer who knows Karnak's columns and quieter corners, and the hours when the light comes through them.

    Late afternoon · About 2 hours. At opening time or in the last hours before closing.

    We confirm the photographer and their portfolio, temple permissions, the edited set and the delivery date.

    Add as a request
Build this day and choose your additions

Photo: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0

Questions

Before you ask

Which temple comes first?

Abydos, the furthest from Luxor, then Dendera on the way back.

What is the Abydos king list?

A carved scene in which Seti I and the young Ramesses II make offerings to 75 royal ancestors, each named in a cartouche, with Seti as the 76th. It begins with Menes, but leaves out kings of weak or divided times and the kings of the Amarna Period.

Are Dendera's roof and crypt included?

Not in the main ticket. The Ministry sells separate tickets for the roof and the crypt (EGP 100 each for foreign visitors, read 29 September 2026). We recommend both, and your quote can add them.

Can we see the Dendera zodiac?

A copy is in its roof chapel. The original was removed to France in the 1820s and is in the Louvre.

What should I bring?

Water, sun protection and comfortable shoes. Light clothes that cover shoulders and knees are the safe choice at every site.

Pairs well with

Same places, or the same kind of day, to build around this tour in one quote.
All tours

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Send your dates and party size here. We reply with a written quote: the price for your party, what is included and the terms. Nothing is booked until you accept it.

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Tour: Dendera and Abydos Day Trip from Luxor: the Temples of Seti I and Hathor

Nothing is booked until you accept a written quote.

Starting priceUSD 80
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Photography credits (6)

Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0; Merlin UK, CC BY-SA 3.0; Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0; Zezinho68, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0; Ovedc, CC BY-SA 4.0