Aswan Day Tour: Unfinished Obelisk, High Dam & Philae Temple Adventure

Start your Aswan tour through transferring to visit the unfinished obelisk, commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh (1490–1468 BC). The unfinished obelisk gives an excellent idea about the mason work techniques in ancient Egypt. If finished it would have been the largest and heaviest obelisk ever attempted, measuring around 42 metres and weighing nearly 1,200 tons.

Move on to visit the high dam, a rock fill dam built across the Nile in Aswan, between 1960 and 1970. The dam is a marvel of modern engineering that boasts some truly epic dimensions. It is almost 4000 meters long, 980 meters wide at its base, 40 m wide at the crest and 111 meters high. With the aim to regulate the Nile flood to store the water for agriculture and to generate hydro-electric power.

Enjoy a short motor boat ride to Philae Temple complex, originally situated on the island of Philae. The temple complex was dismantled and transferred to the nearby island of Agilika after the construction of the Aswan High Dam to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. The UNESCO and the Egyptian authorities organized a massive operation (1972–80) to relocate the complex on nearby Aglika Island, which was landscaped to match the original site. Explore the three principal monuments on the island all date from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, the Kiosk of Trajan, the Temple of Hathor and the Temple of Isis, then enjoy free time at leisure. After finished, you will then be transferred back to your hotel in Aswan.