| Duration | About 7 hours (full day) |
| Pickup | Your Aswan hotel or cruise berth, around 8:30 AM |
| Tour Type | Private Day Tour |
| Availability | Daily |
| Price | From 105 USD per person |
| Destinations | Aswan High Dam – Temple of Mandulis at Kalabsha – Beit el-Wali – Kiosk of Qertassi |
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Overview
Aswan has a handful of sites everybody sees and one almost nobody does. This private kalabsha temple tour takes you across the water to a rocky promontory below the High Dam where three rescued Nubian monuments stand together — and where, on most mornings, you will be the only visitors.
Kalabsha is the largest free-standing temple in Nubia. It is not on the cruise-ship circuit, it takes a boat to reach, and that combination keeps the crowds at Philae instead. What you get is a complete Ptolemaic and Roman temple, an intact rock-cut chapel of Ramses II, and a Roman kiosk on the shoreline — with time to stand still in all three.
You travel in your own air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed Egyptologist, cross by private motorboat, and are back at your hotel by mid-afternoon.
Why Book This Kalabsha Temple Tour with Nile Travel Machine?
Because the empty temple is the product. Aswan in high season means queues at Philae and a crowded launch; this kalabsha temple tour goes the other way, to a site with no coach park and no ticket line, twenty minutes from the same hotel.
The temple honours Mandulis, a Nubian sun god the Egyptians absorbed rather than replaced. Building began under the Ptolemies and continued under Augustus, so the walls carry Egyptian gods, Greek inscriptions and Roman emperors dressed as pharaohs, one on top of the other. Your guide untangles which is which.
Its second story is the move. When the High Dam raised Lake Nasser, a German archaeological team cut the whole temple into roughly thirteen thousand blocks between 1961 and 1963 and rebuilt it on higher ground — the same rescue campaign that saved Abu Simbel and Philae. All three belong to the UNESCO-listed Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.
Five minutes on foot brings you to Beit el-Wali, cut into rock for Ramses II, where the battle reliefs still hold their paint. Then the Kiosk of Qertassi: four columns, a Hathor-headed capital and open water on three sides.
Building a longer Aswan stay? Add the Philae temple tour and the Unfinished Obelisk, browse everything in Aswan tours and excursions, sail north on our 3 night Nile cruise to Luxor, or build a wider route with our Egypt Tour Packages.
Good to Know Before You Go
The promontory is open rock with almost no shade, so the morning start matters — by noon in summer it is punishing. Bring a hat, sun protection and closed shoes; the ground between the three monuments is uneven.
Bring your passport for the dam checkpoint. Entrance tickets to all three monuments and lunch are already included, so there is nothing to buy on site. Photography is permitted; a separate camera ticket occasionally applies.
This pairs naturally with Philae rather than competing with it — both are rescued Nubian temples reached by boat, and seeing them on consecutive days makes the whole salvage story land. Tell us and we sequence them. For current opening hours see Egypt’s official monuments portal.
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Kalabsha and the Nubian Temples Saved from Lake Nasser
Like Abu Simbel, the Kalabsha temple complex was moved stone by stone to higher ground when the Aswan High Dam was built, saving it from being permanently submerged under Lake Nasser. That history is part of what makes a visit here feel different from Egypt's more famous temple sites — far fewer visitors, and a strong sense of Nubian history rather than pharaonic Egypt alone.
Combine With Other Aswan Temples
Kalabsha pairs well with a visit to Philae Temple on the same stretch of the Nile, or with a full day trip to Abu Simbel if you want to see all of the region's relocated Nubian monuments. For a wider view of what else is worth seeing in the area, see our guide to what to see in Aswan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Kalabsha temple tour?
About seven hours door to door. Pickup is around 8:30 AM and you are back at your hotel or cruise berth by mid-afternoon.
Where exactly is Kalabsha Temple?
On a rocky promontory in Lake Nasser just south of the Aswan High Dam, reached by motorboat. It is about twenty minutes from central Aswan plus a short crossing.
Why do so few people visit Kalabsha?
It needs a boat and it is not a standard cruise-ship stop, so most itineraries skip it. That is exactly why it is worth going: the largest free-standing temple in Nubia, usually empty.
Was Kalabsha Temple moved?
Yes. Between 1961 and 1963 a German team dismantled it into roughly thirteen thousand blocks and rebuilt it above the new waterline, part of the same UNESCO campaign that saved Abu Simbel and Philae.
What is included in the price?
Private air-conditioned transfers, the return motorboat, entrance tickets to Kalabsha, Beit el-Wali and the Kiosk of Qertassi, your Egyptologist guide, lunch and bottled water.
What is not included?
Drinks with lunch, gratuities, and personal expenses.
Can I combine it with Philae?
Yes, and we recommend it. Both are rescued Nubian temples reached by water, and together they tell the whole story of the salvage campaign. We can run them on consecutive days or, for a long day, combine them.
How do I book?
Contact us by email, phone or WhatsApp. We confirm availability and send a quote with no obligation.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Kalabsha pylon by Dennis G. Jarvis (CC BY 2.0); Temple of Mandulis by Carole Raddato (CC BY-SA 2.0); Beit el-Wali relief (CC BY-SA 2.0); Aswan High Dam (CC BY 3.0).
