Aswan: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

Now in Aswan--:--:--

--°

Aswan was the southern border of ancient Egypt, at the First Cataract, where granite boulders break the Nile into rapids, and beyond it began Nubia. On its island stood a frontier garrison — and in it, two and a half thousand years ago, lived a community of Jewish soldiers with their own temple. Half a day; cross by the local ferry. Check the travel warning for Egypt before you go.

A short history of Aswan

Aswan, called Syene by the Greeks, was the southern frontier of ancient Egypt and the source of the red granite used in the temples. Around 240 BC Eratosthenes used the sun's shadow in the town to calculate the circumference of the Earth. On the island of Yeb, Elephantine, in the river, there was a Jewish military colony in the 5th century BC with its own temple, and the papyri it left behind are among the most important sources on Jewish life in that period. The first dam was built in 1902, and between 1960 and 1970 the High Dam, which created Lake Nasser and led to the Abu Simbel temple being moved to higher ground.

The ten best sights in Aswan

1
Nile Corniche
Feluccas wait along the river
2
Elephantine Island
Ancient town, Nubian villages and a Jewish temple site
3
Aswan Museum
Finds from Elephantine
4
Nilometer
Stairs that measured the flood
5
Kitchener’s Island
A botanical garden on an island
6
Tombs of the Nobles
Rock tombs above the west bank
7
Aga Khan Mausoleum
A tomb on the hill; seen from the river
8
Monastery of St Simeon
A desert monastery reached by camel
9
Nubian Museum
The story of Nubia and the flooded villages
10
Fatimid Cemetery
Domed tombs a thousand years old

sleepntripFree with every roomThree audio walks in every city

A guide in your headphones, stop after stop.

To the walks

What is an audio walk?

Tours in Aswan →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Aswan:

Free walking tours in Aswan

Elephantine and the Jews of the Nile

Nile Corniche · Around 240 BCE the Greek scholar Eratosthenes heard that at Syene, as Aswan was called, the sun at noon on midsummer day shone straight down a well. Measuring the shadow in Alexandria on the same day, he worked out the size of the earth, and came remarkably close.
Elephantine Island · In the fifth century BCE a garrison of Jewish soldiers served the Persian empire on this island, with their families and a temple to the God of Israel, YHW. Their letters in Aramaic on papyrus survive — marriage contracts, loans, and a letter of 419 BCE about keeping Passover.
Elephantine Island · Around 410 BCE the priests of the local ram god Khnum, whose temple stood beside theirs, had the Jewish temple destroyed. The community wrote to the Persian governor of Judah in Jerusalem asking for help to rebuild it; a copy of that letter was found here, and the temple was later rebuilt.
Nilometer · A stairway down to the river marked with levels, where officials measured the height of the annual flood. A high flood meant a good harvest — and higher taxes, which were set by what the nilometer showed.
Aswan Museum · The small museum of Elephantine holds finds from five thousand years of the island’s town, including a mummified ram, sacred to Khnum, buried with a gilded mask.
Kitchener’s Island · An island given to the British general Kitchener in the 1890s, which he filled with plants from India, Asia and Africa. It is now a botanical garden reached by felucca, full of birds.

The west bank and the desert

Across the river the desert comes straight down to the water: rock tombs of the governors of the frontier, a ruined monastery, the tomb of a Muslim leader and the colours of the Nubian villages. A full day, by felucca and camel.

Tombs of the Nobles · The governors of the southern frontier were buried in the cliff here about four thousand years ago. On the tomb of Harkhuf is a copy of a letter from the boy king Pepi II, excited that Harkhuf was bringing back a dancing pygmy from the south, telling him to guard him day and night.
Monastery of St Simeon · A fortified Coptic monastery of about the seventh century in the desert, abandoned in the thirteenth. Its walls of stone and mud brick still stand high, with the monks’ cells and stone beds inside; the way up is by camel or on foot.
Aga Khan Mausoleum · The tomb of Aga Khan III, the leader of the Ismaili Muslims, who loved Aswan and was buried here in 1959. For decades his widow had a fresh red rose laid on his tomb every day. It is closed to visitors but seen from the river.
Sehel Island · An island among the granite rocks of the cataract, whose boulders are covered with hundreds of inscriptions left by travellers and officials. One, the Famine Stele, tells of seven years of drought and hunger under an ancient king.
Gharb Soheil · A Nubian village of houses painted in bright blues, yellows and pinks, where families welcome visitors for tea; some keep baby crocodiles. The Nubians have their own languages, music and architecture of domes and vaults.
Old Cataract Hotel · A grand hotel of 1899 on a rock over the cataract. Agatha Christie stayed here and is said to have written part of Death on the Nile on its terrace; afternoon tea there at sunset, over the feluccas, is an Aswan tradition.

The dams and the moved temples

In the twentieth century Aswan became the place where Egypt tamed the Nile. The High Dam ended the yearly flood and created one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, and the world came together to save the temples it would drown. Half a day by taxi and boat.

Unfinished Obelisk · In the granite quarry lies an obelisk about forty-two metres long, still attached to the bedrock. Had it been finished it would have been the largest ever raised, weighing about a thousand tons, but it cracked, and the workers left it where it lay — showing exactly how obelisks were cut.
Aswan Low Dam · The first dam across the Nile, built by the British and finished in 1902, then raised twice. Its lake already drowned the temples of Philae for part of each year, so that visitors rowed among their columns.
Philae · The temple of the goddess Isis, the last place where the old Egyptian religion survived: the last known hieroglyphic inscription was carved here in 394. In the 1970s, before the new dam drowned it forever, the whole temple was cut into about forty thousand blocks and rebuilt on a higher island nearby.
Aswan High Dam · Built from 1960 to 1970 with Soviet help, it holds back Lake Nasser, about five hundred kilometres long. It ended the yearly floods and brought electricity to Egypt, but drowned the land of Nubia, and about a hundred thousand Nubians had to leave their villages.
Kalabsha Temple · A temple of the Roman period that stood about fifty kilometres to the south, taken apart into some thirteen thousand blocks and rebuilt here in the 1960s with the help of West Germany, part of the UNESCO campaign to save the monuments of Nubia that also moved Abu Simbel.
Nubian Museum · Opened in 1997, it tells the story of Nubia from prehistory to the flooding of its villages, with a model of a Nubian house and finds saved by the rescue excavations before the lake rose.

sleepntripRoad and rail routesEvery night on the road, our hotel

Whole routes, with a room up to $80 at every stop.

To the routes

Getting to Aswan and getting around

Aswan Airport · Twenty-five minutes south, past the High Dam
Aswan Station · The end of the sleeper line from Cairo

Cheap eats in Aswan

Aswan is the town of karkadeh, the deep red hibiscus that grows in the south, drunk hot in winter and iced in summer, and of dates, spices and Nubian cooking — okra and meat stews, flatbread baked in the village oven. Ful, ta’ameya and koshari in the market streets are the cheap meal.

Aswan Souq · Karkadeh, dates and spices
Gharb Soheil · A Nubian lunch in the village
Nile Corniche · Floating restaurants on the river
Old Cataract Hotel · Afternoon tea at sunset

Museums in Aswan

Aswan’s museums tell of Nubia, the island garrison and the temples saved from the lake.

Nubian Museum · Nubia and the lake
Aswan Museum · Elephantine finds
Unfinished Obelisk · How obelisks were cut
Kom Ombo · The crocodile museum

Nature and day trips near Aswan

At Aswan the desert meets the Nile among granite islands and rapids, the most beautiful stretch of the river.

Kitchener’s Island · The botanical garden
Sehel Island · The cataract rocks
Nile Corniche · A felucca at sunset

Things to do in Aswan with kids

With children: a felucca, a camel to a desert monastery, a colourful village with baby crocodiles, and a boat to an island temple.

Gharb Soheil · Baby crocodiles
Monastery of St Simeon · A camel ride
Philae · A boat to the temple

Holy places in Aswan

In Aswan stood the temple of Isis, a Coptic monastery, a Muslim leader’s tomb — and one of the earliest Jewish temples outside the Land of Israel.

Elephantine Island · The Jewish temple of YHW
Philae · The last temple of Isis
Monastery of St Simeon · The Coptic monastery
Fatimid Cemetery · Domed tombs

Nightlife in Aswan

Aswan’s evenings are quiet: the sound and light show at Philae, Nubian music, and the riverside.

Philae · The sound and light show
Nile Corniche · The evening walk
Old Cataract Hotel · A drink over the cataract

sleepntripFree cancellationEvery room we sell cancels for free

Plans change? Until the date on the card it costs nothing.

Find a room

Frequently asked questions about Aswan

What is there to see in Aswan?

The top sights in Aswan are Nile Corniche, Elephantine Island and Aswan Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Aswan?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Aswan without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Aswan?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Aswan, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Elephantine and the Jews of the Nile.

How do you get to Aswan and get around?

The main ways are Aswan Airport and Aswan Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Aswan, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Aswan that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Aswan for your dates?

Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.

All hotels in Aswan

Plan a trip across EgyptIn the footsteps of the pharaohs→