Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

The Valley of the Kings lies in a n unassuming sun-scorched desert valley surrounded by steep rocky hills on the west bank of the Thebes, the political and religious capital of the New Kingdom.

King Tut's Tomb, just one of 62 in the Valley of the Kings

Tickets can not be bought at the site and must be purchased at the West Bank Ticket Office - individual tickets are required for each tomb, temple or group of tombs

Visit in winter from October to March is recommended. the desert is hot in summer. Tombs open at 6am so go early to beat the crowds.

Take a taxi over the bridge 6km (4miles) upriver from luxor to the west bank of the Nile or cross the river by public ferry or private motorboat

Women should cover their knees and shoulders in public. In mosques, shoes should be removed and women should be completely covered. If you're invited to a local's home take an expensive gift since they're sure to roll out the red carpet.

The last king known to have built a tomb in the Valley was Remises XI the last King of the New Kingdom, although it is doubtful that he even used it. A total of 62 tombs have been discovered to date. although not all of them belong to pharaohs, despite the name of their location.

Accessed through a single entrance the thumbs were crested to preserve the pharaoh's mummies for eternity. Each of these located deep within the ground were designed to resemble to underworld with a descending corridor leading to an antechamber or hall and connected to a burial chamber.

Mesmerising floor-to-ceiling images inspired by the 'Book of the Dead' the 'amduat' and the 'Litany of Ra' decorate the chambers to offer a guide to the afterlife. Lavish jewels, papyrus scrolls, furniture, ritual objects, statues of various gods and effigies of the king filled the spaces as all these items would be needed in the afterlife by the king.

The most famous tomb in the Valley is that of Tutankhamen, discovered nearly intact in 1922 by British archaeologist, Howard Carter. This was a particularly noteworthy discovery as almost all of the other tombs in the valley had already been looted long ago.

The Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt contains many of the tombs of pharaohs from the New Kingdom, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.

The Valley actually has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found. The West Valley has only one remote tomb open to the public, that of Ay who was Tutankhamun's successor.

The Valley was selected as the royal cemetery for 62 Pharaohs. This was a secret place, where sentries guarded the entrance of the Valley in the hopes of discouraging tomb robbers who had in the past plundered all royal tombs including the treasures of the Pyramids.

The Valley of the Kings

The earliest known tomb of the New Kingdom within the Valley of the Kings is that of Thutmoses I who started to use the place as a royal burial site. It is located in a dissolute valley that is supposed to add greater protection as it was small enough to be closely guarded, and the good quality of stones gave the ancient Egyptians the chance to cut many tombs close to each other.