8 hoursPickup includedFree cancellation
Reflections Travel
Luxor Day Tour: Valley of Kings & Queens & Hatchepsut Temples
fromUS$89.24
See dates on ViatorThe Valley of the Queens: open tombs, ticket and Nefertari
Valley of the Queens
Photo: Google Maps- Type
- Historical place
- Address
- PHHV+368, Luxor, Luxor Governorate 1340410
- Area
- Valley of the Queens
- Entry fee
- The Valley of the Queens ticket costs LE220 and covers the 3 open tombs, but not Nefertari's, which needs its own ticket.3
- Google rating
- 4.5 (2,391 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026
- On the map
- Open in Google Maps
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Tuesday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Wednesday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Thursday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Friday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Saturday | 06:00–17:00 |
| Sunday | 06:00–17:00 |
Before you cross the river
Valley of the Queens tickets and opening hours
Valley of the Queens sells one general ticket at its own ticket office3, and you’ll need a bank card to pay. The ticket costs EGP 2203 (about US$4) (checked October 2026).
General entry EGP 2203
Google Maps lists the valley as open Mon–Sun 06:00–17:005 (checked October 2026). Far and Beyond Travel, a licensed Luxor tour company, gives the same 6am to 5pm, though no official source6 for those hours was found.
Valley of the Queens and nearby West Bank tickets
| Ticket | Adult |
|---|---|
| Valley of the Queens general entry | EGP 220 |
| Tomb of Nefertari (old November 2024 price, not on sale) | EGP 2,500 |
| Medinet Habu | EGP 230 (student EGP 110) |
| Temple of Hatshepsut | EGP 440 (student EGP 220) |
Wikivoyage; Nile Empire (tour company); Far and Beyond Travel (tour company); egymonuments.gov.eg (official)
Inside the valley
The open tombs on your ticket
Your ticket covers 3 open tombs3. The table shows who each was built for, how you get in and what you’ll find inside.
3 open tombs on the ticket3
| Tomb | Built for | Way in | Inside |
|---|---|---|---|
| QV 55, Amun-her-Khepeshef | Eldest son and heir of Ramesses III | Stairs, then a long ramp with cement steps | Glass barriers; two side chambers closed off; low-ceilinged rear chamber |
| QV 44, Khaemwaset | A son of Ramesses III | Short, slightly descending ramp; shelter by the entrance | Glass barriers, wooden floors; small step up into a side chamber |
| QV 52, Titi (Tyti) | Queen Tyti | Short ramp down to the entrance | Wooden floors throughout; a side chamber fenced off but visible from the burial chamber |
Wikivoyage; Theban Mapping Project (encyclopedia)
Spellings differ between sources: the Theban Mapping Project writes Amenherkhepshef and Tyti, while Wikivoyage uses Amun-her-Khepeshef and Titi. They’re the same tombs.
Access and timing
Steps, ramps and heat: who the valley suits
Summer highs above 40 °C10
The way into each tomb decides which ones suit you if walking is hard. QV 447 and QV 528 both open with short ramps, while QV 559 starts with stairs and then a long ramp.
The bigger challenge is the sun, so plan your timing:
- Summer: average highs in June, July and August are above 40 °C10.
- Go early: arrive at the sites early in the morning2, especially in summer.
- Cooler months: the best time to visit is November to early March2.
- Winter dawns: winters are warm but can get cool at night2, so a layer helps for an early start.
The famous tomb
Tomb of Nefertari (QV66): what to expect
The Tomb of Nefertari was closed as of January 2026, and Wikivoyage says it is often closed for restoration for long periods3.
Closed as of January 20263
QV66 is the tomb of Nefertari, the Great Wife of Ramesses II11, and UNESCO notes she is buried in this valley12. Egypt’s official tourism site, Experience Egypt, still recommends it for its well-preserved colourful reliefs13.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 190414 | The Italian mission led by Ernesto Schiaparelli finds the tomb |
| March 202414 | Shut to monitor humidity levels14, says the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities |
| January 20263 | Still reported shut3 |
A common mix-up
Nefertari or Nefertiti?
Nefertiti was a different queen: an 18th Dynasty queen and the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten15. If you came looking for Nefertiti’s tomb, the queen buried here is Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II.
Where Nefertiti lies is still unsettled:
- In 2015 Nicholas Reeves proposed that voids behind the walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb were her burial chamber, but later radar scans showed no hidden chambers15.
- One of two female mummies found in tomb KV21 has been suggested as Nefertiti, but DNA analysis did not give enough data15 for a definite identification.
Ferry, then wheels
Getting to the valley from Luxor’s East Bank
Cross the Nile by ferry or motorboat, then take a taxi, tuk-tuk or bicycle to the valley. Your hotel and the trains are on the East Bank2, and the burial grounds are on the West Bank, reached by ferry13.
Local ferry EGP 202
-
Cross the Nile
Take the blue local ferry or a motorboat launch from the East Bank to the West Bank.
-
Get a ride to the valley
Hire a taxi or a slightly cheaper tuk-tuk, or rent a bicycle at your hotel or beyond the ferry jetty.
-
Buy your ticket at the valley
The valley has its own ticket office. The central office, at the end of the main road from the ferry port, sells tickets for most other West Bank sites.
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Blue local ferry (foreigners) | EGP 202 (under US$1) |
| Motorboat launch, one or two people2 | EGP 80–1002 (about US$1–2) |
| Taxi round trip from the East Bank | EGP 2002 (about US$4) |
| Taxi for the day from the West Bank | EGP 500–1,0003 (about US$9–18) |
| Tuk-tuk | A little less than a taxi3 |
| Bicycle from a hotel | EGP 10–203 (under US$1) |
| Bicycle beyond the ferry jetty | EGP 30–403 (under US$1) |
Taxi prices depend on haggling3, so agree the fare before you set off. If you’d rather leave the ferries and drivers to someone else, this private West Bank day tour with an Egyptologist includes the valley.
Visiting the East Bank too? Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple2 are on that side, and the guide to the Luxor Temple ticket office explains how tickets work there. Arriving by river from further north? The Cairo to Aswan cruise guide covers the long route.
- Deir el-Medina: the workmen’s village of Deir el-Medina was home to the artisans who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings16. Their own tombs are considered some of the most beautiful on the west bank16.
- Valley of the Kings: the burial ground of the rulers of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties17, in the hills just behind the West Bank18. The Valley of the Kings visitor guide has the details.
- Medinet Habu: the mortuary temple of Ramses III, open 6AM to 5PM19, and it gets relatively few visitors3.
- Temple of Hatshepsut: the temple of the queen who became pharaoh, at Deir al-Bahari20, with its own ticket office3.
- Ramesseum: it has a page of its own, the Ramesseum reconstruction guide.
With the valley open from 06:005, a dawn start pairs well with a balloon flight, which runs at sunrise2: see the Luxor sunrise balloon flight guide. For the rest of the city, browse Luxor things to do, from temples to balloons.
Questions people ask
What did Egyptians call queens?
The pharaoh's principal wife was the Hemet Nesut Weret, in English the 'Great Royal Wife' or 'Chief King's Wife'. Nefertari was the Great Wife of Ramesses II.
What was the valley called in ancient times?
Ta-Set-Neferu, which can mean 'The Place of Beauty'.
How many tombs are in the valley?
Wikipedia counts 91 tombs in the main wadi and another 19 in the side valleys. The general ticket covers 3 open tombs.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits
Checked against 24 sources · last checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
- Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
- Central Bank of Egypt (official, via Frankfurter) · checked October 2026
- Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
- Far and Beyond Travel (tour company) · checked October 2026
- Theban Mapping Project (encyclopedia) · checked October 2026
- Theban Mapping Project (encyclopedia) · checked October 2026
- Theban Mapping Project (encyclopedia) · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- whc.unesco.org (official) · checked October 2026
- Experience Egypt (official) · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- Nile Empire (tour company) · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 23 October 2026
- First written
