Aswan is on the River Nile and is known for its beautiful Nile Valley scenery.

Dating back over 4,500 years, Aswan is known as the gateway to Africa. Being the southernmost city, it served as a link to parts of Africa for ancient Egyptians.

Aswan is one of the driest cities in the world. The summers tend to be long and experiences below 10mm of rain a year.

Originally I thought about getting the overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan. But having endured a 12 hour coach journey from Siwa to Cairo, I didn’t want to wait the whole day for the train.

I spoke to people who experienced the sleeper journey and they said you hardly get any sleep because the driver doesn’t hesitate to use the horn, and with the trains being so old you feel it shake. I’ve always wanted to experience a sleeper train and will eventually get that checked off the list.

With all that considered a 90 minute flight was an ideal choice.

Nubian Village

Set along the banks of the River Nile, the Nubian Village is known for its colourful houses, rich culture and warm hospitality. Guests welcomed with open arms. Nubian Village life tends to revolve around family and agriculture. Many families live within close proximity of one another.

My accommodation was in a Nubian Village so I can vouch for the amazing hospitality and colourful buildings. It was a unique experience staying in an area I wouldn’t normally have the option to stay in.

There’s street art depicting Nubian history to enjoy while you walk through the village.

So good was the hospitality at our accommodation that I only eat there. I didn’t really get a chance to explore the food scene more here, but I’m sure you get the picture of how good it likely is.

The only place I couldn’t walk to within the Nubian Village was a place I was recommended for a view of the Nile during sunset. I got a tuk tuk ride and only realised after looking at a selfie I took that the driver spent a bit of time on his phone while driving. I’m glad I didn’t notice at the time.

Philae Temple

The Philae Temple is an island based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Dam.

After being built by the last dynasty of ancient Egypt the Ptolemaic, the Philae Temple has been welcoming tourists since the late 19th century. It has served multiple religions, and at one point was at risk of flooding. A campaign saw monuments relocated, and Philae Temple deconstructed and reassembled block by block.

To get there, you need to go by boat. You’ll need to go to your first stop to pick up your ticket and then to Philae Temple.

The boat journey part turned into a bit of a shit show. The boats are lined up in order and one boat operator was ready to take me on board.

Another operator cut the line, grabbed me and put me on his boat and it turned out he was trying to charge me double. He was just about to set off while the other guy was trying to get me on his boat. I ended up having to do a bit of a leap to get away.

Anyway, the original guy, Achraf ended up skipping the ticket office stop and took me straight to Philae Temple. I was confused, I assumed I was just going to get turned away for not having a ticket. He told me it’ll be fine and just to walk through. At that point I had no choice. It’s not like I could simply make my own way. It was as Achraf said, there was barely anyone checking for tickets.

I wouldn’t have had a problem paying for a ticket. I found the situation bizarre.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the complex. It’s hard to know where to start or end. There’s no real order for exploring a temple. This place is a must for history buffs who can find details on isis mythology.

On the way back, I’m chatting with Achraf and after trying to sort the money to pay for the boat transfer, he’s asked for double the original price. I was miffed and he tried justifying it by saying he helped me save money by skipping the ticket office. I didn’t even ask him to skip it. He’s then gone on about having to pay for maintenance and fuel etc which wasn’t a justification, the price operators charge should have this factored in.

The sad thing is I enjoyed chatting with him on the way but it is what it is. At one point he passive aggressively said if I didn’t enjoy the trip, don’t pay him, which I wasn’t going to do because that would be a shit house thing to do. I just gave him what he originally asked and left it at that.

It didn’t ruin the experience of visiting Philae Temple but I was glad to be off and away from boat operators.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is a historic site with two huge rock cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel which is 20km from the Sudan border.

The temple was originally located on the banks of the River Nile. However, due to the construction of the High Dam in Aswan in the 1960s, it needed to be relocated to a higher ground. This was an engineering feat involving dismantling the entire complex and relocating it piece by piece.

We arrived before 8am and the queues the tickets was big and the car park was packed. Our minibus driver told us we had 4 hours to explore and be back promptly for departure. We managed to explore the complex in that time without the need to rush. You could do it in under 3 hours if it wasn’t crowded.

It was hot exploring the temple in April so if you’re in Egypt during the summer months, it wouldn’t be a good idea visiting.

Abu Simbel is 3 hours and 30 minutes from Aswan so it’s an early start if you book transport to get there early. The minibus journey we booked was the most convenient way getting there even with a couple of stops to pick up other people, and an extra stop for a comfort break.

You can book transport or a tour from Luxor as well but it’s nearly 6 hours for a one way journey so you’ll have to be up even earlier than if you go from Aswan.

Sunset Boat Trip

The perks of staying in a Nubian accommodation right next to the Nile was the convenience to do excursions on your doorstep.

I can’t imagine there are many opportunities to do a sunset boat trip on the Nile around a village of historical and cultural significance.

We got views of colourful buildings and mountainous desert.

We got to have the excursion to ourselves which was an extra bonus. It’s didn’t last long, maybe 45 minutes. There wasn’t really much of a loop they could do but worth it nonetheless.

One place I didn’t have the chance to explore was Elephantine Island, an island on the River Nile which forms part of Aswan.

The name means both elephant and ivory as a reminder of the important role the island had in the ivory trade.It’s an island full of archaeological sites and ancient ruins, and is the site of two Nubian villages.

It made for a good defensive site for a fort and a cargo transfer point for river trade.

If you enjoy experiencing something different to what you’re use to, Aswan is a place to do this. I enjoyed being in an environment I wasn’t use to.

Getting out of our comfort zone isn’t for everyone, there are people out there who are happy with their comforts and that’s completely fine. Each to their own.

Once you push through that fear, it feels good surrounding yourself in a different culture.

A new thing I could tick off was being transported by a small boat across the River Nile. The boat came to the garden of our accommodation and took me across so I could walk 5 minutes to catch a train to Luxor.