The best time to visit the Valley of the Kings is an hour, not a month

What those temperature figures are, exactly

A mean daily maximum is the average of a month’s daily peaks, taken here across the 1991–2020 normals. July’s is 41.4 °C; June and August both sit at 41.2 °C. Two independent climate sources agree on those to within 0.3 °C. Because it is an average of peaks rather than a ceiling, a day hotter than that figure is unremarkable rather than exceptional, which is the part people misread.

The records are higher again: 49.2 °C in July 2000, 48.2 °C in June 2010, 47.8 °C in August 2002. Those are single days out of decades and not a forecast for yours. They are worth printing because they mark what the place is capable of.

Every figure above is ambient, for the city of Luxor. Conditions in the valley and inside the tombs are described by travellers in general terms rather than as figures.

Why the hour beats the month

The valley opens at 6:00 AM and closes at 5:00 PM, daily, including Fridays, per the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Five independent sources say the crowds arrive between 10 am and 2 pm and that an 8 am arrival is comfortable.

Three tombs at a comfortable pace takes about two hours; three to four hours if you add the separately ticketed tombs. Start at opening and the whole of that sits before the crowd window and before the worst of the day. Start at eleven and it sits inside both. The time page works through what those hours do and do not include.

The month question, answered with the data held

This site holds monthly climate figures for June, July and August, and what follows from them is clear: three consecutive months carry mean daily maxima above 41 °C, so the summer is not a marginal call, and a visit in those months has to be built around the 6:00 AM opening rather than a leisurely start.

There is no seasonal split in the published opening hours: the Ministry publishes 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM year-round, and that is what appears here.

The heat rule worth knowing

You may not take food or water into the tombs. Two independent sources state it. So on a 41 °C day your drinking is done outside, between descents, and the bottle waits. Water is sold on site at one small café, at prices three sources describe as inflated. Bring your own from town and drink before you go down. What to bring has the rest of the list, and it is short.

What the season does to the rest of the day

The crossing from Luxor is not weatherproof either. The ferry has no fixed schedule and leaves when it fills, typically within ten to fifteen minutes, so an early start means standing somewhere before 6:00 AM rather than catching a scheduled boat. The tram from the visitor centre up to the tombs is EGP 20 per person round trip for a ride of about three minutes, and on a hot morning most people find that EGP 20 easy to justify even though it is optional. Getting to the West Bank sets out the crossing in detail.

Frequently asked questions