Valley of the Queens — Attraction in Al Baairat Village

Fantastic. One of the defining moments in an Egyptian tour. No words, books, photographs will prepare you for this experience.

The tomb of Nefertiti is the most stunning one, most fragile as well.

But really worried about the lasting impact of tourism here. No other culture will open their treasures in such a careless manner. This may not last much.

The dusty, sweating, water bottle carrying, camara armed tourists are altering the micro climate inside the tombs. Please minimise the damage as much as you can. This is the treasure of humanity.

On any given day one principal tomb and 3 other tombs will be opened.

300 EGP ticket for taking photographs in any three tombs except that of Nefertiti. It's not worth it since all of them are available in print and soft copy at a much smaller rate. They are professional as well.

Should reach by 7 AM to see the tombs without a crowd. Cross to West Bank by the People's ferry and negotiate a taxi drop and pick up for about 30 EGP. (Bargain hard) Need 3 to 4 hours to see the tombs in detail.

Don't take unauthorised photographs or enter areas barred with barricades, even if the keepers will ask you to do so. It's a trap and once you do, they will demand payment. And once trapped it's very difficult to get out!

The best way for multiple access is to buy a Luxor pass from the office adjacent to Luxor museum which will give you unlimited access for five days to all archeological sites and museums for 160 USD per person. If you buy a similar Cairo pass at 80 USD from Cairo museum, you will get a 50% reduction in Luxor.

For persons below thirty with a valid student identity card, there is a reduction of 50% as well. You will get either of the reductions only.

The omnipresent Egyptian culture of "Baksheesh" is here. Even for showing a painting they will ask for it.

Worst part is that they are not satisfied, whatever you pay, they will ask for more.

Don't entertain people offering voluntary information and even if they ask for Baksheesh, firmly reject it. Nothing...

The Valley of the Queens seemed, to me at least, better than the Valley of the Kings.

The Valley of the Queens is where the tombs of the queens and young, royal male children where located. It has almost twice as many known tombs as the Valley of the Kings (91-110 versus 63). Due to tour group time constraints we only visited two of the tombs, other than Nefertari’s, but the paintings in both of these were in a much better state than what we saw in the Valley of the Kings.

Nefertari’s tomb is in a class all its own. It is a must see. It is huge and the paintings are so vivid that the paint almost looks like it is wet. It is amazing.

Yes, the Valley of the Queens is a valley in a desert. Pee before you set off and bring water and sun screen. The paths are not too bad, but are uneven in areas with a lot of slopes and stairs—not necessarily wheelchair friendly.

The ticket includes entrance into three open tombs, keep it handy as the guards will punch it as you enter each tomb. You will have to buy a separate ticket for Nefertari’s tomb. You will have to buy a separate ticket to take photographs, and that does not include Nefertari’s tomb (no pictures there, unless you bride the guards, it costs us $6 but I recommend having $20 USD handy). Keep the camera ticket out in the valley, the guards will ask for it.

The only thing that I really did not like about the tombs in the Valley of the Queens is that they over did it with the Plexiglass in many areas. I appreciate the need to protect the paintings, but the lighting created such a glare that it was hard to see the paintings...

The tombs in the Valley of the Queens, on the West Bank, mostly belong to the 19th and 20th dynasties.

A total of almost 80 tombs are now known, most of them excavated by an Italian expedition led by E. Schiaparelli between 1903 and 1905.

Many of the tombs are unfinished and without decoration, resembling mere caves in the rocks. There are few incised inscriptions or reliefs, with much of the decoration consisting of paintings on stucco.

Only four tombs are open for public viewing, but one of the group is the famed Tomb of Queen Nefertari, only reopened in 2016, making a trip here well worth it.

The Tomb of the Queen Nefertari, Wife to Ramses II, is regarded as the finest of the West Bank's glut of tombs. The walls and ceilings of the chambers here are covered with dazzling, highly detailed and richly colored scenes, which celebrate Nefertari's legendary beauty.

Of the three other tombs that can be seen here, the Tomb of Prince Amen-her-khopshef is the best, as the wall paintings of its chambers have well-preserved colors. A son of Ramses III, Amen-her-khopshef died while still a teenager.

If you have time, or simply just like tombs, the Tomb of Khaemwaset (another son of Ramses III) and the Tomb of Queen Titi both contain some interesting preserved scenes, though those in the Titi tomb are more faded than Khaemwaset. There is no consensus in the archaeology world over who Titi's...