Valley of the Kings

Opening hours: Summer daily 6AM–5PM; Winter daily 6AM–4PM.

Admission: LE260 (Dec 2022) for three tombs of your choice (those wishing to view more than 3 tombs must purchase additional tickets).

• 🌍 Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62). KV62 may be the most famous of the tombs in the Valley, the scene of Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of the almost intact royal burial of the young king. Compared to most of the other royal tombs, however, the tomb of Tutankhamun is barely worth visiting, being much smaller and with limited decoration. Anyone interested in seeing evidence of the damage to the mummy done during attempts to remove it from the coffin will be disappointed as only the head and shoulders are visible. The fabulous riches of the tomb are no longer in it, but have been removed to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Visitors with limited time would be best to spend their time elsewhere. LE250 extra ticket. (updated Jan 2019)

• 🌍 Tomb of Thutmose III (KV34). One of the most remote tombs in the Valley, at the far end of the Valley and up several flights of steps to gain entry. The climb is worth it though. The tomb is of the typical, early curved plan with a large oval burial chamber. The decoration is unique, being in a simple, pleasing style that resembles the cursive writing of the time. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Thutmose IV (KV43). High in the cliffs above the valley floor, it had been spared the extensive flood-water damage suffered by other tombs, and its wall decorations are consequently very well preserved. The pharaoh's outer stone sarcophagus is also still in place in the burial chamber. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (KV46). The tomb of Yuya and his wife Tjuyu, the parents of Queen Tiye, the wife of Amenhotep III, and King Ay. It was discovered in February 1905 by James E. Quibell. Until the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, this was the richest and best preserved tomb found in the valley, and the first to be found with major items in situ. (updated Jan 2019)

• 🌍 Tomb of Horemheb (KV57). The tomb of Tutankhamon's and Ay's successor, the last king of the 18th Dynasty. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Seti I (KV17). It is the longest, and one of the best decorated tombs in the valley. LE 1000, no discounts for students. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Merneptah (KV8). The son of Ramesses the Great, Merneptah's tomb has suffered greatly from flash flooding of the Valley over the millennia. Those paintings and reliefs that have survived, however, are generally in good condition. (updated Jan 2019)

• 🌍 Tomb of Seti II (KV15). Relatively little is known about the history of the tomb. Seti II was buried there, but he may have originally been buried with his wife Twosret in her tomb in KV14 and subsequently moved to the hastily finished KV15 tomb, perhaps by the later pharaoh Setnakhte, who took over KV14 for his own tomb. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 KV14 (The Joint Tomb). A joint tomb, used originally by Seti II's wife Twosret, and then reused and extended by Setnakhte, the father of Ramses III. It has been open since antiquity, but was not properly recorded until Hartwig Altenmüller excavated it from 1983 to 1987. It has two burial chambers, the later extensions making the tomb one of the largest of the Royal Tombs, at over 112 m. The original decoration, showing the female Twosret, was replaced with those of the male Setnakhte. Even later, the name of Setnakte was replaced by those of Seti II. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Ramesses VI. The KV9 tomb was started by Ramesses V, but usurped after his death by his successor Ramesses VI, who enlarged the tomb and had his own image and cartouches carved in over his predecessor's. The tomb is one of the most interesting in the Valley, with one of the most complete and best preserved decorative schemes surviving. LE100/50 extra ticket. (updated Jan 2019)

The Western Valley is adjacent to the main Valley and contains a number of remarkable pharaonic burials additional to the main one. The Western Valley is also known in Arabic as the Wadi al-Gurud (the "Valley of the Monkeys"), on account of the representations of baboons in several tomb paintings found within the wadi.

It is nowhere near so commonly accessed by tourist parties as the Valley of the Kings, being located somewhat 'off the beaten track'. The Valley is nonetheless well worth a visit by the determined traveller: its relative quiet and isolation help to evoke the silent and haunting atmosphere at one time characteristic of the main King's Valley (believed by ancient Egyptians to have been watched over by the protective goddess Meretseger, whose name translates as "she who loves silence").

Only the Tomb of Ay (out of 16 available tombs) is open to the public.

Getting there: the Western Valley is accessed by a winding dirt and stone road that begins at the car park of the Valley of the Kings. Visitors must walk for some 2 km between massive boulders, under towering rock cliffs, in order to reach the tombs; although some taxis will take you all the way into the valley. The road is not suitable for cycling.

• 🌍 Tomb of Ay (WV23). The same working hours as Valley of the Kings. The tomb dates from the very end of the 18th Dynasty and is the burial place of the vizier (chief minister) Ay who gained the throne after the extinction of the line of succession within the ruling 18th Dynasty family of pharaohs. As such, WV23 was the last tomb to be established in the valley. Scenes from the tomb decoration, bearing close resemblance to the style seen in the tomb of Tutankhamun (Ay's predecessor), include a depiction of Ay hunting in the marshes (unique amongst royal depictions in the Theban necropolis) and an assemblage of twelve baboons. The sarcophagus has been restored and re-installed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, though its orientation is now reversed from the original. Admission LE 60, by means of ticket from the Valley of the Kings' Ticket Office. (updated Jan 2019)
• 🌍 Tomb of Amenhotep III (WV22). Closed to public view while a Japanese expedition undertakes cleaning and conservation work. (updated Jan 2019)