Luxor’s Arabian Adventures

8 days, 7 nights – £1549 (based on 2 sharing)
null

Located in the Nile Valley, Luxor is known to many as ‘the world’s largest open-air museum’, but to avid horse riders it’s known as home to Ride Egypt HQ.

It is packed with history and cultural authenticity. The land is vast and varied; lush green grazing fed by moisture from the Nile, sugarcane plantations that rise high above the land and open desert space ideal for a high-speed race on horseback. Tall date palms line the streets providing shade, and banana plantations are plentiful, shadowed by Mount Thebes in the background. Traditional feluccas travel back and forth quietly along the Nile and life passes by in a simple and peaceful manner.

As we take you on a guided tour of our home, you’ll meet our neighbours and learn more about Egyptian life; the food we eat, the traditions we follow and the simple, peaceful life we and our ever-growing family of horses and furry friends are so lucky to live. I came to Luxor on a whim but soon made it my home, because once Luxor has your heart you’ll never get it back, and we’ll make sure on this adventure that you have the most memorable of holidays and fall in love with Luxor.

🐎 Farmlands · Villages · The River Nile · Traditional Lunches · Habu Temple · Deserts · Mount Thebes 🐎

Itinerary

A printer friendly version of this itinerary is available here
null

Day 1: Arrive in Luxor

Transfer to Nile House, our authentic and friendly guest house on the West Bank of Luxor. It’s rustic charm will captivate you from the first moment.
Private transfer to your hotel.

Day 2: Prayer Call & Breakfast with bread making lessons – afternoon trail ride

Luxor is home to Ride Egypt HQ, the home of many of our staff, their families and our horses. In Luxor we want to show how we live, farm, grow our own food for our horses, and be part of that is to learn to eat like an Egyptian!

Today you will attend ‘Eid el Fitr’ prayer and come back to our stable to meet the horses, the team, and have breakfast with us at home. Whether you’re Muslim or not, it’s an amazing atmosphere.

You’ll learn to make bread and share local dishes with our Ride Egypt family. Some of the most famous dishes are vegetarian: Foul Medames, Ta’amiyah, Koshari (a mix of rice, pasta, chickpeas, lentils, fried onions, tomato and garlic sauce), Fatta (rice with moistened bread, garlic and tomato sauce) and Molokheyah (you have to try it to know what it’s like), stuffed vine leaves, zucchini (courgette), eggplants (aubergine) and bell peppers. For the sweet toothed, Halawa is the treat.

After a morning of traditions, you’ll have a few hours to relax before our first riding trip in the afternoon. Our first ride is a laidback introduction to life here. We will visit the local villages, canter along the Nile and follow sandy trails through banana plantations with mountain views in the background. It’s not a fast-paced ride, but a lovely mix of paces throughout.

Day 3: Full day trail ride to Qurna village with lunch at a cave restaurant

Gourna or Qurna was a village grown out of tomb raiding, a community of people who lived off of the proceeds of artifacts supplied by the ancient graveyard, on and around which their settlement had established itself, as well as work connected with official excavations. This is a fascinating day out in the saddle!

Day 4: Sail the Nile day on our dahabiya

The name come from the Arabic word for gold: dahab (the earliest form of this boat was golden coloured). This is rather ironic as the dahabiya was the mode of transport, on the Nile, long before the modern day diesels, or the steamers made famous by Agatha Christie’s ‘Death on the Nile’.

The dahabiya is a two-masted sailing boat that relies on wind power: it has no engines except for a generator that makes electricity. This gives it something that is in very short supply nowadays, silence! Sailing on a dahabiya allows the sound of the river splashing against the boat on of the only sounds you will hear, along with the singing of the birds (and the diesels in the distance). You can relax and imagine yourself as one of the aristocrats or elite travellers during the days of the monarchy, or even a member of the monarchy, as this is how they used to negotiate the river.

The history of the dahabiya goes back to the Pharaonic times: there are inscriptions of very similar boats in the tombs of ancient Egyptian Kings and Nobles.

This is an indulgent day out and one you’ll never forget.

Day 5: Full day trail ride

From al Bharat village through the sugar cane fields across the back of the desert to Ashray village with bbq lunch at a traditional old house overlooking Valley of the Kings. Emma’s house is a traditional old. There is also a swimming pool to have a dip and relax for a couple of hours whilst the horses graze in the shade next to the house.

Day 6: Sunrise trail ride to Mount Thebes

Passing Ramaseum temple and The Colossi of Memnon (Arabic: el-Colossat or es-Salamat), which is two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who reigned in Egypt during the Dynasty XVIII. Since 1350 BCE, they have stood in the Theban Necropolis. Lunch at Nile House. Weaving lessons & demonstration with bbq dinner in the desert.

Day 7: Trip to Aswan

Once the ancient town of Swenett, Aswan was historically the southern outpost of the Egyptian lands. It sits on the Nile, the river that has been the lifeblood of Egypt for thousands of years.

At Aswan you will still find traditional dhows and feluccas sailing along the river to the north. Along the riverbanks are the stone cliffs and quarries that provided the Pharaohs with the material for their great monuments. Sights to see in Aswan include the old souk and Kitchener’s Garden, an island in the Nile gifted to Lord Kitchener after the Sudan campaign of 1898 that is now home to the Aswan Botanical Gardens.

By felucca and camel, we can reach the beautiful abandoned monastery of St. Simeon and the brightly colored villages of the Nubians that surround Aswan. Also there is Phillae Island by boat, we will attempt to see as many places as we can during this driving day tour before returning late evening back to Luxor.

Day 8: Morning ride and check out at 11.30

Any guests wishing to extend and stay for lunch or a late check our are most welcome to. This is payable locally. There is also an optional extension to Abu Simble from Aswan, overnight in Aswan, driving early in the morning to Abu simble arriving mid morning. Departure can be from Aswan airport or Luxor, depending on requests.

Please ask for more information.

Accommodation

null

Your stay is at Nile House, with an optional upgrade to our Dahabya that hosts up to 6 people in 3 bedrooms. Full details and pictures are here:

Information

null
  • Price & Duration: £1549 per person based on 2 sharing accommodation for 8 days / 7 nights. Single person supplement: £350.
  • Board Type: All meals & water.
  • Type of Ride & Paces: Confident, happy riders.
  • Riding months: October to May.
  • Saddles: English. Western, Arabian and Australian trail saddles are subject to availability.
  • Weight limit: 100kg.
  • Recommended airports: Luxor. Transfers are included.

Our information page has more details on what is and isn’t included as well as useful general advice.

Other Riding Holidays at Ride Egypt

null