Private Tour: Philae Temple, Aswan High Dam and Unfinished Obelisk

Aswan, Egypt

Take a private tour to explore three of Aswan most popular and well known sites. Walk on the High Dam which separates Lake Nasser from the Nile, be astounded at the size of the Unfinished Obelisk, and enjoy the beauty of Philae Temple's island location.

Depart your Aswan hotel or cruise ship and travel to the High Dam of Aswan, an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. From the top of the High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nasser to Kalabsha temple in the south and the huge power station to the north.

Continue to the Unfinished Obelisk in the granite quarries of Aswan where much of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from. The Unfinished Obelisk still lies where it was carved when a crack was discovered as it was being hewn from the rock. Your qualified Egyptologist guide will explain how the 1 tonne obelisk was carved, and why the crack caused it to be abandoned.

The last of the 3 famous Aswan sites you will see today is generally regarded as the best. Philae Temple was carefully moved to its current location (around 500 meters from the original site) when the construction of the High Dam caused surrounding Nile waters to rise. A short motorboat ride takes you to the island where your guide will take you on a walking tour through the temple before allowing you free time to explore further on your own.

Dedicated to the goddess Isis, Philae Temple has a beautiful setting on an island in the river which has been landscaped to match its original site.

This is a private tour allowing you to determine the amount of time spent at each of the sites during the tour.

USD $50.00

Review by:   john g,    May 2015
Nice easy tour of the sites, great

Review by:   Prabhu Kannan,    January 2012
Philae Temple has such a great location and the whole tour was very relaxing. Unfinished obelisk was awesome. But the high dam is just a dam...

Review by:   NKR Prabhu,    January 2012
Philae Temple has such a great location and the whole tour was very relaxing. Unfinished obelisk was awesome. But the high dam is just a dam...

Review by:   Jusvant L,    February 2011
Stunning, our guide Dina was wonderful. she knew what she was talking about and explained it in a way that we understood. Dina was brilliant by far the best guide we had (that is saying something as Nana in Cairo was pretty good too).

Review by:   Jusvant L,    January 2011
Stunning, our guide Dina was wonderful. she knew what she was talking about and explained it in a way that we understood. Dina was brilliant by far the best guide we had (that is saying something as Nana in Cairo was pretty good too).

Review by:   Anonymous,   United States of America, March 2010
On-time pick-up. Guide treated us like we were idiots.

Review by:   Scott P,    March 2010
On-time pick-up. Guide treated us like we were idiots.

Review by:   ,    March 2010
On-time pick-up. Guide treated us like we were idiots.

Review by:   William Z,    May 2009
Good overview of the Aswan, although the High Dam is a little anticlimatic. Philae Temple caps the trip, after seeing Giza, Sakkara, Luxor, Karnak, Abydos, and Dendara. Would have liked a little more time to explore on the island. Obelisk is incredible, although our guide gave us a short introduction and then left us to wander. We enjoyed the freedom, but did have additional questions and were immediately targeted by baksheesh-hungry tourist police. Well worth it.

Review by:   William Z,   United States of America, April 2009
Good overview of the Aswan, although the High Dam is a little anticlimatic. Philae Temple caps the trip, after seeing Giza, Sakkara, Luxor, Karnak, Abydos, and Dendara. Would have liked a little more time to explore on the island. Obelisk is incredible, although our guide gave us a short introduction and then left us to wander. We enjoyed the freedom, but did have additional questions and were immediately targeted by baksheesh-hungry tourist police. Well worth it.

Review by:   Anonymous,   United States of America, January 2009
The guide was below average.

Review by:   Hongyu G,    January 2009
The guide was below average.

Review by:   ,    January 2009
The guide was below average.

Review by:   ,    August 2008
Our guide was excellent and we loved Philae - a peaceful oasis after Abu Simbel.

Review by:   David Z,    August 2008
We could have passed on the High Dam, but the Philae Temple is a must-see if visiting Aswan.

Review by:   Carolyn M,    August 2008
Our guide was excellent and we loved Philae - a peaceful oasis after Abu Simbel.

Review by:   Anonymous,    August 2008
Our guide was excellent and we loved Philae - a peaceful oasis after Abu Simbel.

Review by:   Anonymous,   United Kingdom, June 2008
Our guide was excellent and we loved Philae - a peaceful oasis after Abu Simbel.

Review by:   Carolyn M,    June 2008
Our guide was excellent and we loved Philae - a peaceful oasis after Abu Simbel.

Review by:   David Z,   United States of America, November 2007
We could have passed on the High Dam, but the Philae Temple is a must-see if visiting Aswan.

Review by:   Eamonn O,   Australia, September 2007
High Dam not that interesting unless you are into engineering, but Philae Temple has such a great location and the whole tour was very relaxing. It's the least hassle to buy dodgy souvenirs you will get at any of the big sights in Egypt.

Review by:   Kerrie O,   Australia, September 2007
As a native to Aswan our guide loved showing us around the area. The Dam is just a dam but its pretty big and the history is interesting. The mind boggles at how anyone expected to move the unfinished obelisk and Philae Temple is one of the best temples in Egypt.

Review by:   Anonymous,    September 2007
High Dam not that interesting unless you are into engineering, but Philae Temple has such a great location and the whole tour was very relaxing. It's the least hassle to buy dodgy souvenirs you will get at any of the big sights in Egypt.

Review by:   Anonymous,    September 2007
As a native to Aswan our guide loved showing us around the area. The Dam is just a dam but its pretty big and the history is interesting. The mind boggles at how anyone expected to move the unfinished obelisk and Philae Temple is one of the best temples in Egypt.

Review by:   ,    September 2007
As a native to Aswan our guide loved showing us around the area. The Dam is just a dam but its pretty big and the history is interesting. The mind boggles at how anyone expected to move the unfinished obelisk and Philae Temple is one of the best temples in Egypt.

Review by:   ,    September 2007
High Dam not that interesting unless you are into engineering, but Philae Temple has such a great location and the whole tour was very relaxing. It's the least hassle to buy dodgy souvenirs you will get at any of the big sights in Egypt.

Review by:   Joanne D,   United Kingdom, December 2006
Guide was excellent and very knowledgeable & friendly.

Review by:   Gretchen B,    December 2006
It was great to see the unfinished obelisk, and the temple was awesome. But the high dam is just a dam.

Review by:   Gretchen B,   United States of America, October 2006
It was great to see the unfinished obelisk, and the temple was awesome. But the high dam is just a dam.