Egypt Nile cruises: Now is the time to return to the Valley Of The Kings

Add to My Stories Share Moon the camel shuffled excitedly in the sand, batting his luxuriant eyelashes in my direction and - I swear - giving me his best tombstone-toothy grin. He seemed awfully pleased to see me - but not nearly as pleased as his owner.

As one days ends, another begins: Luxor is quiet at the moment - but its sunsets are still spectacularToday, a couple of dozen Brits arrived in this corner of the Sahara, a short boat ride across the Nile from the city of Aswan, to do what tourists like to do ride a camel across the dunes and make like Lawrence of Arabia.The Nubian Village experience is one of the extra excursions available on the eternally popular Nile cruises surely the best river cruise route - in the world, and great fun too.Egypt has suffered a considerable drop in the number of foreign visitors in the months following the popular uprising of January and February. And it is taking a while for tourists to regain their confidence in the destination.

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Meanwhile, Moon, his camel chums and the many Egyptians who rely on tourism for their income, have to make ends meet somehow.So the visitors who do come are treated like, well, pharaohs.I have been coming to Egypt for 15 years. It is my favourite place a paradise of sensational sightseeing, sunshine galore, and wonderful people. And a seven-night Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan in the south, stopping off at ancient monuments on the way, makes for a great introduction to the country.All the best sights are included in the price Luxor and Karnak temples with their massive columns; the decorated tombs of the Valley of the Kings; the beautiful temples at Edfu, Kom Ombo and beautiful Philae plus, at extra cost, t! he aweso me twin temples of Abu Simbel, which are as impressive as the Pyramids of Giza, especially when you have an expert guide to show you round.

Good moon rising: Wendy meets Moon the 'friendly' camel (left) and (right) jumps aboard for a quick desert tour
There are other treats on offer, too a hot air balloon ride over Luxor to watch the dawn seep over the landscape, or a sound-and-light show among the hieroglyphs and mysterious gods etched into its ancient stone. Or you can book yourself that aforementioned trip to the Nubian Village.Then there is the peaceful Nile itself, lined on each side by green fields. And then beyond them, mile upon mile of golden desert. And not a lot else.Dozing in the sun on the top deck of a cruise boat as it drifts past biblical scenery has to be one of lifes true pleasures. Once upon a time, this experience was only available to the wealthy. But with more than 250 boats now offering these sedate voyages to visitors from all over the world, the cost has come down.And you do get what you pay for. Modern cruise boats, such as Discover Egypts gorgeous Royal Viking or Viking Princess, have every luxury, from plunge pools and flat-screen TVs, to mini-gyms and internet access; some boats even have a spa.Meals are generally included, not to mention entertainment: Nubian dancers, fancy-dress parties and a belly dancer, of course.And on board, an Egyptologist guide will look after you from start to finish. Sightseeing is done as group safety in numbers and all that so its a great choice for single travellers. Younger kids wont enjoy all the sightseeing, but kids 15 and up will have fun learning about mummies and animal-headed gods.And if youve ever dreamed of wandering round Egypts temples, learning about one of the worlds greatest civilisations,! now is the perfect time to book such a trip.

All quiet here: Wendy shops for trinkets in the souk at Luxor (left) - where the hawkers are still pushy, but there are pretty bargains to be had - and the facade (right) of the Eskalah hotel, a comfy hideaway in Abu Simbel
Why? Firstly, with UK tour operators and the Egyptian government keen to push numbers back up, holidaymakers can find some amazing deals and not just on Nile cruises, but sun-and-sand trips to the many Red Sea resorts too.At the moment, the ancient sites are not so crowded. So there no queuing to get into the most significant tombs or bumping onto sweaty people when you are underground, no having to wait to catch a motorboat or get a seat on the mini-train into the Valley of the Kings.Egyptians the odd rogue trader aside are a welcoming people, and never more so now, with fewer tourists arriving. I didnt even have to haggle for my taxi ride. The driver just named the correct price straight away.Everywhere you go, you feel a hint of change on the air. The atmosphere is different, more animated. Egyptians talk with justifiable pride about the events of the past few months, and the elections to come in September.Ill be honest the horse-and-carriage drivers, the hawkers and stallholders, the salesmen in the souks, are always persistent to the point of nuisance. But even at the moment, they are no more annoying than usual. It is just that there are fewer targets, so you might feel a little overwhelmed.Sticking to the well-worn tourist routes, I encountered nothing untoward. Even the two tanks and handful of soldiers I saw in March had disappeared in May.Luxor was in the throes of enormous change before January, with old buildings being cleared away. The ground was being excavated to find statues to recrea! te the a ncient Avenue Of Sphinxes that ran for two miles between the temples of Karnak and Luxor Temples. The corniche the road running parallel to the Nile was also being widened. That work is now at a standstill.But plenty of things about the destination havent changed. The sunsets are still amazing, the sun a fiercely burning orb that seems to drop behind the mountains in seconds.

Still mighty: The face of Rameses II, one of Egypt's greatest pharoahs, still projects regal power at Abu SimbelThe monuments are as spellbinding as ever Karnaks enormous columns; the fascinating tombs of the pharaohs with wall paintings so fresh they could have been completed weeks, not thousands of years, ago.And the fabulous river Nile, the lifeblood of the country, still flows northwards to meet the Mediterranean through the Sahara where Moon and his camel friends wait, and hope, for more tourists.

Travel Facts

Discover Egypt (0844 880 0461, www.discoveregypt.co.uk) offers seven-night Nile cruises on the five-star Viking Princess from 699 for the first traveller and 349.50 for the second.Prices are valid for travel between October 2011 and October 2012, on selected departures from London Gatwick.
Prices for the deluxe Royal Viking start from 899 (second traveller from 450) and the Alexander the Great from 1,399 (and 699.50) respectively.