With 63 tomb sites discovered to date, and excavations ongoing, the Valley of the Kings is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with the rest of the Theban (ancient Luxor) Necropolis. Even with all the hype, the Valley of the Kings exceeded my expectations. Prepare to be wowed by the incredible construction of the tombs dug deep into the mountain, and their brightly colored and well-preserved decorations! Admission includes access to three tombs (by the way, not all 63 tombs are open to the public). At the suggestion of our Gate 1 guide, I visited the tombs of Ramses IV (KV 2), Ramses IX (KV 6), and Ramses III (KV 11). I also purchased a separate ticket for King Tutankhamun’s tomb (KV 62). The treasures from King Tut’s tomb are on display at the Cairo Museum, but his mummy is in the tomb. Purchase tickets at the Visitor’s Center before getting on the tram that takes you to the actual valley entrance. Cell phone photos are permitted, but cameras are not allowed in. I had to leave my camera at a booth near the entrance which made me nervous, but I got it back without a problem. You don’t need a guide for the Valley of the Kings. In fact, guides are not allowed to enter the tombs. With a good guidebook, you could explore on your own. It did help that I had already visited the Cairo Museum and several temples, so I had a basic understanding of what I was looking at. Our tour group was given less than 2 hours at the Valley of the Kings, and I would have preferred more time. Egyptologists use the acronym KV (standing for Kings' Valley) and the tombs are given a sequential number in the order in which they were discovered.

Valley of the kings is a must see. I absolutely loved it the tombs were not what I expected but in a good way. They are like a really long corridor that surprised me I expect short but some of them were quite a hike. The inscriptions on the walls and the colours are gorgeous. With your standard admission you are allowed in 3 tombs of your choice and there is normally 10 or so open on rotation so you can choose. My favorite was the ladies tomb number 14 just spectacular!! Drinks and food inside are so expensive and even the toilets were pricey to use 5 Egyptian pound. Even in winter it is so hot inside the gates and so many tourists the first tomb I went into there were so many ppl it was push and shove. We found most people tend to go into the tombs closest to the bottom of valley hense why they are so cramped but if you head to the tombs up hill at the back they are quite and not half as many people. I don't think people like to walk that far in the heat. If you want to go inside king Tuts tomb that one costs oh and if your taking your camera they are very strict in the tombs found it best to use phone camera no charge for that. There are some nice market stalls on the way out prepare to be harassed by the market people. Overall great experience at valley of the kings

On my visit to the valley, our guide told us which of the tombs were worthwhile to see. Most tourists visit the ones close to the front gate and the kiosk. All of the tombs that are close to these two areas tend to be crowded with long lines of people. We revisited one of the same tombs we saw in 2010, Ramses IV. This time we also did Merenptah and Ramses III. I was going to view Tutankhamen's tomb but my guide told me that Ramses VI was better and cheaper. Ramses III's tomb is often called the Tomb of the Blind Harpists and is a large tomb in the same fashion as Ramses II and Merenptah which is one of the longest tombs with two descending corridors. I chose to do four tombs in the time most people view three; two of the tombs were huge but they were well worth the effort. The day itself was cold and wind gusts blew and and dust everywhere; visiting the tombs got us out of the dust storm. I even got into a conversation with a couple of the tomb guardians (they look after the tombs and check and punch tickets) who asked me about the Australian bush fires once I told them that I was Australian. No matter which tomb you enter, the paintings on the wall are vivid and thought provoking. One point made by visitors that I have heard is that, apart from the tomb decoration, there wasn't too much else to see. The visitor should take into their mind that the Valley of the Kings is foremost a cemetery. A number of tombs contain sarcophagi which in 2010 I found one of them being used as a garbage bin This visit when I shone a torch into sarcophagi I found no rubbish. Visitors used to be warned that there is no photography allowed yet, on my 2020 visit I was able to take photographs using my mobile phone without a flash. One of the tomb guardians said he would take some photographs of us and areas off limits in his designated tomb. And he did using the flash on my phone. Tips: Have a map that shows where each of the tombs are located. Take along a hat and plenty of water (I went in early winter, yet, my wife and I went through 2 litres of water). Take a torch: Some of the recesses of the tombs can do with extra light. Additionally, there are some sarcophagi still in place: Use your torch to illuminate the inside of these.

You can read about the Valley many times, even watch movies, but still the impression when arriving there is as if you knew nothing neither about the Valley nor the tombs. Until you visited, it is impossible to imagine the scope of the place, of the underground buildings, of the ancient paintings. It is one of the absolute musts in everyone’s life. Of the practicalities: the general ticket includes the entrance to three tombs which has to be selected. However, several of the tombs are exclusive (e.g., Tutankhamun‘s) and buying separate tickets is required. When buying a ticket, check it at the counter: it isnot unknown that half-price tickets are given for the regular price and if you show this ticket at the entrance, it is not valid, you have lost your money. Photography is in fact forbidden inside, so do not take your cameras unless prepared to pay a considerable photo fee. With phones it may be various. We have visited just before the closure, so the keepers were lenient, but other times it may lead to unpleasantness.

The tombs here are rotated to protect them but the walls are bare allowing people to touch the walls and the paintings which was very surprising. The extra ticket tomb of Ramses was well worth the fee and the murals inside are stunning. The other extra ticket tomb of Seti 1 at $1000LE is stunning but after having been to Queen Nefetari tomb I wouldn't have spent the extra. Tickets for all timbs including the extra ticketed ones need to be purchased at the entrance which is a long way from the tombs themselves if you forget one. Having said this they are a not to be missed site that will give you memories for life.

My friends and I visited the Valley of the Kings as part of a two week itinerary prepared by Botros Travel BTS. The tour was called The Magic OF Egypt Tour, and for my first trip overseas that's what it was. I was able to take a sunrise balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings as an option on the tour, and it was literally out of this world. Arriving in the Valley of the Kings was totally an emotional experience, so desolate but full of ancient history. Just walking in the paths of the ancients was unbelievable A must see when visiting Egypt. There are several tombs to go into and it is amazing to see all of the artwork on the walls. They are still excavating the area and finding new things all the time. With your entry ticket you are allowed to go into 3 tombs but there are two that you have to pay extra for. Our tour guide then walked around explaining construction, history, and special views. I can not recommend Egypt enough as a destination and totally recommend booking a tour,  Egypt is not easy to get around or book things. The guys at BTS Botros Travel really did look after us,  the whole itinerary was so well thought out and can't believe how much was in the tour for what we paid... highly recommend!!

This was my favourite tourist attraction in Luxor We had a really good tour guide who studied Egyptology and was full of knowledge. We booked this tour through “ I Like Egypt “ We only did 3 tomb visits out of the 64 and that was perfect for our visit Was about 250-300 Egyptian pounds each Bring extra cash to use the restrooms and if you ask the people working there to take a picture with your camera they will ask for a tip You cannot bring video cameras in or big DSLR cameras. Wear comfortable shoes as it’s gravel and rock paths

It's a must see for sure. Make sure to take am umbrella if you can't handle the heat haha. I would also say please avoid a tour guide by name of 'Mahmoud' he pretends to show you reviews left from other tourists, scams you with inflated costs and then offers a 'secret' discounted entry rate for another tomb for which he splits the costs with the tomb guards. He is tall, big build and even has his own drinks shop there where he will tell you to avoid other drink shops as they have 'inflates prices' when in turn his own prices for water were inflated. Completed ruined our expierance so please avoid your guide 'mahmoud', short hair, tall build.

Our guide from Memphis Tours, Yasser, encouraged us to get a move early in the morning, at every site. We arrived at the Valley of the Kings when there were only about 5 buses on site. The three tombs we visited had a range of preservation of colour. The designs and motifs were lovely. You need to pay to take a real camera into the tombs - no charge for a smart phone.

For the period of 16th to 11th century BC, rock tombs were excavated in a valley near Luxor. The tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. This place is known as the Valley of the Kings even if about only 20 of the tombs actually contain the remains of kings. The other tombs contain favorite nobles as well as the wives and children of both nobles and pharaohs. The tomb of Tutankhamun is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. Howard’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb reignited the world’s fascination for ancient Egyptian history. Tut’s golden mask and the other artifacts of this tomb can be seen at the Egyptian Museum. The sensational discovery of this tomb is very recent compared to the tomb raiding and ransacking of valuables and mummies that occurred as far back as the 20th Dynasty. Ironically, even during those days tomb raiding was done with disregard for royalty. Most of the royal tombs were decorated with religious texts and images. The early tombs were decorated with scenes which describes the journey of the sun god through the twelve hours of the night. Fortunately, we had a guide to explain the meaning of these symbols or we would just have been looking at well preserved colorful Egyptian drawings inside the 3 tombs we visited. Even if we came early, the popular colorful tombs were already crowded with tourists. You need to pay extra to be allowed to take photos. The fee was worth it. There are Egyptian men inside the tombs to watch photographers who did not have the permit.