egyptjourney.com/files/2009/03/tombvalleyofthekings.jpg" alt="Inside a tomb at the valley of the kings" width="300" height="225" />The Valley of the Kings is one of the most memorable places we visited in Egypt. It is a secluded valley which houses the tombs of the pharaohs great and small. Sadly the location was not secret enough and before archaeologists could get in on the act most of the tombs had already been thoroughly ransacked by thieves. When you consider that the only tomb found completely intact was Tutankhamun’s and he reigned for a very short time and had one of the smallest of all the tombs we can only imagine what treasures and wonders may have been buried in some of the larger tombs.

The valley is situated on the west bank of the Nile across the river from what was Thebes but is now Luxor. In total they have discovered over 60 tombs and chambers there and many are open to the public for a spot of exploration. The site is incredibly popular and so it gets very busy indeed, it is also far enough from the river that the heat can be unbearable. When you descend into the tombs themselves, sometimes quite a distance underground, the heat and dust can make you very uncomfortable.

We set off so early that it was still dark. We were eager to get there before the crowds and the heat. We were staying on a small cruise ship docked on the east bank of the river at Luxor and we took a wee boat across the river in the early morning breeze before the city behind us was awake. It felt like a real adventure and definitely added to the excitement.

There is a visitor centre as you enter the valley where you can get food and drink and I strongly recommend you take water with you. You are not allowed to use cameras in the tombs, specifically flash photography and this is because the light will fade the ancient artwork over time.

The choice of tombs to visit is limited and the ones that are open are the more impressive examples with large series of chambers and beautiful painted scenes on the walls. Accessing most of the tombs involves a prolonged walk down claustrophobic tunnels and as you reach the bottom it can be quite hard to breathe although an air supply is piped in. The paintings are amazingly vibrant considering their age and some of the colours are impressively bright. They did find various bits and pieces in many of the tombs, mostly the remains of canopic jars which would have contained the organs of the pharaohs.

The tombs that are open at any give time are changed to minimize damage and to allow for restoration and preservation work so you never know which ones you will be able to access. There is a quite a distance between some of them and the pace inside the tombs is very slow because of the lack of space so you can spend half a day just looking round three or four.

It is a fascinating place to visit and descending into these ancient tombs gives you a real flavour of exploration which we found thrilling. No visit to Egypt is complete without a stop here.