When to Go

Traditionally, high season begins at the end of September, peaks around Christmas, and lasts until the end of April. The heat kicks in as early as March in Upper Egypt—a dry, pollution-free heat that you can get used to. Evenings are always cool in the desert. And Luxor is typically cooler than Aswan, though the sun beats down on the Nile's West Bank, and the Valley of the Kings can seem like a furnace—which means early-morning starts are a must. A season of mulids(religious feasts) occurs about a month before Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Life slows down (but never stops) during Ramadan.