The River Nile is long, with many ways to traverse her wide flat waters. Boats have been sailing the Nile on the puffs of breezes for centuries, carrying trade and people. The traditional dahabiya, felucca and sandal boats, the ones with the tall graceful sails and bows lying low in the water, and variations of, suit the waters and lack of wind perfectly and create a particularly romantic white-sailed scene, but newer yachts are now mixing in among the paddle steamers that ran her waters in the 19th Century. If you have your own boat to sail be aware that the waters are wide but that the riverbed is scooped and shallow.
The thing about cruising the Nile is that it’s a relatively simple trip, not at all challenging sailing wise, but it’s really the only way to carve through the desert and see the sights of ancient Egypt – this is, after all the way the Pharaohs traveled.
The main sailing route passes between Aswan and Luxor, while some people insist on going upstream towards the dam, the sailors route would always be downstream leaving Aswan and arriving in Luxor. Advice would be to see Abu Simbel before you take to your boat. The temples here, carved magnificently out if the rosy orange cliffs are a fantastic taster for what’s coming. If you have a guide they’ll tell you the temple had to be moved when the dam was built so it didn’t flood. Camel caravan would be nice, but if you don’t quite have time to really play Pharoh, you can fly. Aswan as a city is so much cleaner that Cairo. It’s a fusion of African and Egyptian design and culture.
Dock at Kom Ombo for the Temple of Sobek and Horus, which has beautifully tactile carved stone columns, and the Chapel of Hathor containing, to my children’s delight, the mummified remains of hundreds of crocodiles. At Edfu for a more famous Temple of Horus and at Esna the silt covered (or sunken as it’s often called) Temple of Khnum. But these are just leading up to the glory of Luxor, from where you visit the temples of Luxor and Karnak. On the other side of the Nile is the Valley of the Kings. When you’re walking amongst the temple pillars and see the Nile beyond, lined with farmers, this just feels like one the most amazing journeys imaginable.
Life on board isn’t as leisured and luxurious as an Agatha Christie novel. The desert is pretty impossible during the middle of the day, especially for people not used to it, so you have to time your temple visits for the mornings or afternoons. If you can manage it, mornings were less crowded in my experience.
A dahabiya is my recommendation if you’re renting a boat. Most often you’re renting them with a crew and other guests, but some companies will allow you to rent without, or else get something smaller if you want to sail it yourself. A dahabiya is a great for the wide, flat open deck, a perfect additional space for meals and picnics under the desert stars. The relaxed lifestyle of alfresco dining and living above deck really topped off the experience, which was always going to be amazing for the history and the desert, the crazy markets and the desert scenery.
October through February are the best months. The sand storms start up in late march.
