Aswan High Dam and Unfinished Obelisk: how to see them in half a day
4 min read
You can see the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae in about four hours on a private tour, and most visitors should do exactly that. The High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philae private tour is listed from €62.40 per person with 436 reviews. Add the Nubian village and the day grows to six hours; add lunch and the Botanical Garden and it grows to eight.
The obelisk is the part worth understanding before you go. UNESCO’s Nubian Monuments listing includes the stone quarries with the unfinished obelisk and says they are the basis of knowledge of ancient Egyptian quarrying technology. The tour pages add that it is believed to have been commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut for the Temple of Amun at Karnak and that it still lies in the bedrock.
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | What the page lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Dam, obelisk and Philae private tour | 4 hours | €62.40 | 4.5 · 436 | Private group, English guide, Philae motorboat |
| Philae, obelisk and High Dam tour | 4 hours | €62.40 | 4.7 · 41 | Private, one hour at each site, entry fees and water listed |
| High Dam, obelisk, Philae and Nubian village | 6 hours | €87.35 | 4.6 · 174 | Guide in five languages, adds the village |
| Private all-inclusive highlights tour | 8 hours | €114.09 | 4.6 · 68 | Lunch, Nubian village, Botanical Garden |
The four-hour tours
Both four-hour tours cover the same three places, but their pages list different things. The first lists the Philae motorboat, yet gives its entrance fees only “if option selected”, so check the total at checkout. The second tour lists entry fees, a bottle of water and private transport; ask whether the boat fare to Philae is included. Its itinerary shows one hour at each site and 30 minutes by car on either side, and it can pick you up from your hotel, a Nile cruise or the airport.
The six-hour version
The six-hour tour starts with a motorboat to Philae, then the obelisk, the High Dam and finally the Nubian village. Its page lists entrance fees, the Egyptologist guide, transport and the boat. It adds the village without taking the whole day; the eight-hour tour below also fits in lunch and the Botanical Garden. Our Nubian village guide explains what the last stop is like.
The eight-hour private day
The private highlights tour gives Philae an hour, the obelisk 45 minutes and the High Dam an hour, then stops for a 45-minute lunch at a local restaurant and spends an hour each in the Nubian village and the Botanical Garden. Lunch is listed among the inclusions, although the itinerary marks the lunch stop as optional. The page says the guide is a private Egyptologist.
Things to check
- Entrance fees: the first four-hour page says “if option selected”; confirm what you are paying for.
- Pickup from Gharb Soheil, the Island, Nagaa al-Mahatta or New Aswan is listed at US$10 per person extra on the six-hour and eight-hour tours.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start applies to all four.
Which to book
Take a four-hour private tour if your time is short and you want the three headline sights. Take the six-hour tour if you also want the village. For a slower look at the temple itself, read our Philae guide, or see all options on the Philae Temple and High Dam tours page.
