Valley of the Kings from Above: Why the Aerial View Changes Everything

Valley of the Kings from Above: Why the Aerial View Changes Everything

For most tourists, the image of Valley of the Kings comes with the picture of touring the underground tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings, passing through long ladders, looking up at hieroglyphics that have been brightly kept for thousands of years.

But touring the Valley of the Kings just does not complete the picture.

To really understand why these kings selected this particular stretch of rough desert to bury themselves eternally, one needs to tour from the sky. Touring the West Bank by hot air balloon early in the morning gives a whole new dimension to your experience, transforming the historical places into a huge map of ancient Thebes.

Here is how viewing the Valley of the Kings and its surroundings from the sky makes all the difference.

1. The Shocking Contrast of Life and Death

Valley of the Kings is usually associated with the idea of visiting the underground graves of the kings of ancient Egypt, going down many ladders and gazing at hieroglyphics that were vividly preserved throughout the thousands of years.

However, visiting the Valley of the Kings is not the end of the story.

In order to fully appreciate the reason why these kings chose precisely this rough strip of the desert as their eternal grave site, it is necessary to visit this place from above. Visiting the West Bank by hot air balloon in the early morning provides a totally new angle of perception, turning historical sites into a map of the ancient Thebes.

This is what visiting the Valley of the Kings from the sky brings about.

2. Spotting the Landmarks That Tie History Together

However, when you drive through the West Bank roads, the buildings, trees, and tourist buses obstruct your vision. All monuments appear separately and one-by-one. Flying over them you may see how all those architectural pieces connect, creating the huge historical puzzle.

While floating slowly and quietly above the West Bank, your pilot will try his best to make you see the greatest works of architecture of that area:

The Hatshepsut’s Temple: This huge construction, called the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, can be seen from the air as an amazing geometrical construction which was carved directly into the huge and steep cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Its colonnaded terraces imitate the natural lines of the desert, merging manmade constructions and nature.

The Colossi of Memnon: Two enormous stone statues may seem tiny against the huge background of agricultural fields. But thinking about how long they are sitting here, monitoring over the floodplain since 3,400 years ago can make you feel scared.

3. Understanding the Engineering Mystery of the Tombs

When inside such tombs as those of King Tutankhamun and Ramesses IV, one forgets the real place they are at.

Observing from high up the landscape of the valleys, one is able to understand the incredible secrets that the royal burials held. The pharaohs did not choose any ordinary locations; they ensured that the tombs were located in valleys carved by water in secret locations beyond steep mountainous regions. From above, one can appreciate how difficult it was for the ancient tomb raiders to be able to locate the openings of such tombs.

4. Why the Early Morning Light Matters

This is why balloon flights are conducted only at the crack of dawn. When the sun just peeks over the eastern skyline, it throws a set of magnificent shadows on the rough terrain of the West Bank canyons.

All the ridges, all the ancient trails, and all the rocky slopes stand in clear contrast to each other. The limestone rock takes up the color of warm amber which later becomes dazzling gold.

The Bottom Line

The experience of walking through the ancient sites of Luxor cannot be compromised in any way; you have to see for yourself how beautiful it is. Walking is just not enough, and you need to combine your experience with an air balloon ride over this part of Egypt.

Observing the Valley of the Kings, the Nile, and the temples from the top of an air balloon gives you an idea about the unity of the great civilization that knew how to control life and death.