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Karnak
Ancient Egyptian temple complex

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak, comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt.

Plan a trip to Karnak→From Suhaj

Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut and the main place of worship of the 18th Dynastic Theban Triad, with the god Amun as its head.

Get in

Getting to Karnak

The East Bank of Luxor represents the central part of Luxor as a locality, the part of the town that the vast majority of tourists will first arrive in, whether by land, river or air, and where many will find accommodation. Arrive in Luxor, you've essentially got to the East Bank.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Temple of Luxor

    Largely the work of Amenhotep III and Ramsses II the Great (whose colossi and obelisk stand at the entrance).

  2. 02
    Church of Archangel Michael

    Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings.

  3. 03
    Precinct of Amun-Re

    Very crowded during sunset, when the sun is very low.

  4. 04
    Karnak Open Air Museum

    The same working hours as in Karnak temple.

  5. 05
    Precinct of Mut

    Contains at least six temples: the Mut Temple, the Contra Temple, and Temples A, B, C, and D.

  6. 06
    Precinct of Montu
Do

Things to do

Pay a visit at the Brooke Hospital for Animals - and leave a donation! Visit ACE - Animal Care Egypt - it has new premises, and operates free for Egyptians. Donations are always accepted - but consider buying their clothing range or books, as a charity, they totally rely on such things.

Eat

Where to eat

  1. 01
    Chicken Broast

    Tasty chicken dishes in this Egyptian fast food chain.

  2. 02
    El Zaeem

    Salah El-Din Square (Main road bordering the market, bright lights, two levels (sitting upstairs)).

  3. 03
    McDonald's

    Provides cheeseburgers and a safe haven from the nearby souk.

  4. 04
    Sofra

    Specialises in Egyptian food with a groovy decor of Egyptian antiques (and antique-like furnishing).

  5. 05
    Jamboree Restaurant
How locals move

Getting around Karnak the local way

  • Get inMost of the Airlines in Egypt including: Nile Air, ALMasria Universal Airlines, Air Arabia and Petroleum Air Services (PAS), which charter services flights to Cairo or Egyptian destinations, including Hurghada etc.
  • Get inNile boat cruises regularly call at Luxor, but these are package itineraries and not available to book as point to point ferries.
  • Get aroundBikes can be rented on both the East and West Banks of Luxor (the latter near the local ferry landing), though prices can be a little over-inflated on the more isolated West.
  • Get aroundIf you look for high quality bicycles, you can find Dutch bikes (gazelle/batavus) at the Dutch Rental Agency in Sheraton Street (East Bank) and, on the West Bank, at Mohammed Setohe bicycle (5 min walk from the ferry) which has quite good and almost brand new mountains bikes.
  • Get aroundBikes can be taken on board the local ferry (be considerate though), so perhaps hire on the East, then transport your bike over yourself.
  • Get aroundMinibuses are the transportation of the locals in Luxor, and the cheapest way to get around for the adventurous tourist.
  • Get aroundThey have fixed routes, with different routes marked by a different colour on the side of the minibus.
  • Get aroundThe blue local ferry is a very basic boat between East and West that costs LE20 for foreigners (as of October 2025).

From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.