The Nile River

Nile River Ports

Cruise the Nile River of Egypt to access a world of ancient history

UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the Nile River

Along the Nile River in Egypt and nearby you can find these amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some will be included in your river cruise itinerary, but some may require some creative travel planning by your River Cruise Artist in order to visit. Learn more below about these UNESCO Sites and the history you can experience when you visit them. Let River Cruise Your Way take you away to the history around the Nile River.

Historic Cairo

Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new center of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century. You will have the opportunity to visit Historic Cairo on a city tour included with most Nile River cruise itineraries.

Memphis and its Necropolis – The Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur

The spectacular capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt has some extraordinary funerary monuments, including rock tombs, ornate mastabas, temples and pyramids. In ancient times, the site was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today the site is clear testament to the extraordinary ingenuity of the civilizations that lived here centuries ago. Enjoy this site as you cruise on the Nile River.

Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley)

Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time.

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis

Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, Thebes is a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height. Enjoy a visit to Thebes during your Nile River cruise vacation.

Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae

This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by UNESCO, in 1960 to 1980. Abu Simbel is on the shores of Lake Nasser south of the Aswan Dam of the Nile River. Many Nile River cruise itineraries include Abu Simbel either on a second cruise on Lake Nasser or with a full-day excursion via plane.

Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region

These five archaeological sites, stretching over more than 20 miles in the Nile valley, are testimony to the Napatan (900 to 270 BC) and Meroitic (270 BC to 350 AD) cultures, of the second kingdom of Kush. Tombs, with and without pyramids, temples, living complexes and palaces, are to be found on the site. Since Antiquity, the hill of Gebel Barkal has been strongly associated with religious traditions and folklore. The largest temples are still considered by the local people as sacred places.

Your Nile River Cruise Awaits!

Are you ready to start planning your Nile River Cruise Vacation Your Way? A River Cruise Artist at River Cruise Your Way is ready to be your vacation concierge. Contact us today at 1-800-259-7612 or use the form below and let us know when it is most convenient to call you, we will confirm via e-mail, and then reach out at the agreed upon time and date.