Aswan is as far south as you can go before embarking into desert, and to Nubia and Sudan. It is effectively, where Egypt ends.

Aswan offers the visitor many different activities and sights, and is also the launch pad for excursions across the desert to Abu Simbel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is quite a different feel to Aswan, when compared to Luxor. The pace is a little slower, it is a little warmer, and you will notice the Nubians, with their darker skin and often taller in height.

From Aswan, it is easy to board a Felucca and sail over to the Botanical Island or Kitcheners Island. It makes for a pleasant break from the busy streets, and the shade from the trees is a welcome respite from the sun in the warmer months.

Philae Temple is a popular excursion from Aswan. Almost ruined by the annual rise and fall of the Nile, Philae was saved and is now located on Agilqiyyah Island. Everything has been replacated perfectly, even the topography of the land, and the sites are placed in corresponding positions.

One of the main highlights of Egypt is Abu Simbel. Originally the rock temples of Abu Simbel looked down from sandstone cliffs, which rose like gigantic temple pylons over the narrow Nile. Following the construction of the Aswan Dam in the mid 1960s the waters of Lake Nasser rose threatening to engulf the ancient temple. The original site of the temples was protected momentarily behind a coffer dam while the friable sandstone was injected with synthetic resin and then hand-sawn into 1,050 blocks. The first block was cut in 1965 and by 1967 the magnificent site had been moved 61 metres higher and 210 metres from the old site. The $42 million operation was organized and funded by UNESCO. The temples were saved, the dam was breached, and the sacred site, which had known human activity since pre-historic times, was swallowed by the lake.