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Luxor · Theban West Bank
The burial valley of almost all the kings of Egypt's 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, in the hills behind Deir el-Bahari on Luxor's West Bank.
The Valley of the Kings is a long, narrow valley in the hills just west of the Nile, behind Deir el-Bahari, in what was ancient Thebes. It was the burial site of almost all the kings of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, from Thutmose I to Ramses X, and holds 62 known tombs.
The New Kingdom kings hid their tombs deep in the mountain to protect their rich burials; pharaohs, several queens, a few high officials and many sons of Ramses II were buried here. Almost every tomb was emptied in antiquity. Only Tutankhamun's small tomb survived intact, and its treasures, found in 1922, are now in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. UNESCO inscribed the valley as part of Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis in 1979.
A corridor cut deep into the hill descends past pillared rooms to the burial chamber. Walls and ceilings carry painted scenes of the king with the gods, texts such as the Book of Gates, and astronomical figures. The tomb of Ramses VI, shown here, is one of the special tombs with an extra ticket.
KV 62 is small: when Howard Carter's team opened it in 1922, four gilded shrines practically filled the burial chamber, around the stone sarcophagus and a nest of three coffins, the innermost of solid gold.
| Summer | 6:00 am · last entry 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Winter | 6:00 am · last entry 4:00 pm |
| Ramadan | 6:00 am · last entry 4:00 pm |
The Ministry's monuments website gives 6:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities ticketing portal, checked August 2026
| Adult | Student | |
| Valley of the Kings, general admission | EGP 750 | EGP 375 |
Prices in Egyptian pounds, as of August 2026
| Luxor hotels to the Colossi of Memnon | 14.9 km · about 18 min |
|---|---|
| Colossi of Memnon to Hatshepsut Temple | 4.3 km · about 8 min |
| Hatshepsut Temple to the valley | 6.3 km · about 16 min |
| From Aswan hotels | 225.2 km · about 2 h 52 min |
Without traffic, from our tours' map routing
Our West Bank tours drive from your Luxor hotel to the Colossi of Memnon and Hatshepsut Temple, then up to the valley; general admission is included, while Tutankhamun's tomb and the other special tombs are optional extras. The valley is also on our full-day Luxor tours and on day trips from Aswan and from Sharm El Sheikh by plane (flights not included).
The coolest months are December to February.
World Meteorological Organization climate normals (monthly averages, not forecasts)
The Valley of the Kings holds the tombs of almost all the kings of the 18th to 20th dynasties. The Valley of the Queens, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Medinet Habu, holds more than 90 tombs of queens and some royal children of the 19th and 20th dynasties, Nefertari's among them; its ticket is EGP 220 for foreign adults.
General admission is EGP 750 for foreign adults and EGP 375 for foreign students, as of August 2026. Tutankhamun's tomb and the other special tombs cost extra.
Yes. Tutankhamun was buried in KV 62, a small tomb on the floor of the valley that Howard Carter's team found in 1922. His treasures are now in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
Britannica counts 62 known tombs; Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities counts over sixty, plus twenty unfinished ones that are little more than pits.
From 6:00 am, with last entry at 5:00 pm in summer and 4:00 pm in winter and Ramadan, per the Ministry's ticketing portal.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities; UNESCO World Heritage Centre; World Meteorological Organization.
Guides
Valley of the Kings: tickets and tombs for a day visitThe general ticket, the tomb tickets our tours leave out, and where the valley falls in each day.
West Bank or East Bank: how to split a Luxor dayWhich sites sit on each bank of the Nile, and how our Luxor day tours divide them.
Luxor hot-air balloon: what the morning looks likePickup before sunrise, the ferry, the flight over the West Bank, what is included and how cold it gets.
Day tours from a Nile cruise boat in Luxor and AswanWhich Luxor and Aswan day tours pick you up from a Nile cruise boat, and how to fit one in.