valley of the nobles

We made a brief visit to the tomb of Ramose in the Valley of the Nobles. Quite small by kingly standards, the carvings in the tomb are exquisite. The quality and beauty of the carvings is far more technically refined than that of tombs from an earlier day. Our guide pointed out the advancement of culture through the sophistication of the art, and you can see that in this tomb. The government is in the process of "restoring" parts of this tomb, which raises alarm among preservationists, but the restorations do seem to be true to the original. One drawback to this tomb is that it is a bit of a walk from the road. There is no ticket office, bazaar, hawkers, or anybody around. In other words, the place is more isolated, and if that makes you feel uncomfortable, you might skip this tomb. There is also a bit of a climb down to the entrance, so anyone with a mobility issue is probably not going to make it safely to the tomb. If you do have the time, it is worth the stop.

The number of small tombs here are well worth seeing both for the decoration and also being away from tourists. My average rating is based on the hassle factor. The tombs are spread out and finding your way from one to the other without being grabbed by one of the self appointed 'guides' is an effort. The guardians also need to unlock most of the tombs which is another excuse for tips. All in all I thought the tombs were interesting but visiting independently my feeling as I left was thank heavens that's over.

During our time spent in Luxor, we were fortunate to be able to visit the Valley of the Nobles, all I can say is, it was a fascinating and incredible experience. To have witnessed 5,ooo years of Egyptian history 1st hand, and to have had an indepth history lesson explained to us, by Mac the guid from Truly Egypt Tours, has made us want to visit the Valley of the Nobles, again, and continue learning more about ancient Egypt, thanks Mac.

Less popular with tourists but well worth a visit. Find tombs with stunning colours, ceilings covered in grape vines, and uncover the mystery of the afterlife. There are many tombs to see here - Ramose and Rekhmire are popular favourites.

We were either the only tourists or nearly the only tourists around.There were three tombs of 33 open when we were there.They were all very well preserved. Everywhere you went it said no photos inside the tombs, but when you went in the 'guardians' said it was ok to take pictures and then they demanded cash for the privilege. I think this should be addressed. I know the guys are only trying to supplement their living, which we were told was very little, but be open about it. Why not just make a charge for taking your camera onto the site, and stipulate no flash photography, as at other attractions.I'm glad we were there in the winter as it was cooler and it's quite a hike up to some of the tombs. It's very hot inside the tombs and quite claustrophobic. We were shown one tomb where they use mirrors to reflect the light in, very clever.Really enjoyed the visit, but felt each tomb looked very similar to the others.Well worth a visit though.

Since the Village of Querna was relocated (as the local were prone to excavate and sell relics to tourists from this site) this area has, and continues to be excavated with the result that every year more Tombs are being opened to the public. Whilst not on such a grandiose scale as those in Kings Valley they are none the less very impressive and well worth a visit. These are off the beaten track for many tourists in groups and it is a good idea to avail yourself of a local (qualified) guide to take you on a tour. A hillside collection of dozens of tombs overlooking the Rammesseum

The tombs are almost empty just with some inscription but the climbing up and view is really amaizing. From the top is possible walk down to the Simeon monastery. Take a lot water with you.

the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Nobles are for all intents and purposes the same place. You can specifically choose to see specific tombs of queens, but more noble officials are actually buried here.

most impressive tombs here , much better than those in the valley of the kings as the tombs were for the entire family and had more detailling / painting / colour mirroring their entire families life . very interesting mirror to understand the life of the social elite in the times of the pharos . unfortunately only three tombs were open during our visit but well worth it !

During our visit we were either the only tourists or nearly the only tourists around, so you would show up to a tomb and someone would race down to unlock it. This also created quite a huge hassle factor with the person opening the tomb wanting to give you a tour or suggesting you can take a picture or walk behind the glass cases for a tip. The sites were very impressive, but the hassle made it so that I would not want to go back again.

I far prefer these tombs to the royal tombs - the decoration is far more interesting. Wouldn't you rather see lively scenes of parties and daily life than complicated religious symbolism? The most charming is the newly-conserved and just re-opened Tomb of Menna. Bright colors, and the charming scenes of 2 girls having a hair-pulling match in the field, or a mother breastfeeding her baby beneath a tree. Tomb of Rekhmire for the fascinating scenes of foreign visitors with gifts, and craftsmen at work. Tomb of Kheruef for gorgeous reliefs of Amonhotep III's Jubilee Festival.

We visited 6 of the tombs during our recent visit to Luxor.It is quite a hilly terrain, so not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties.The tombs are well sign posted, but we used a guide who approached us when we arrived on the site, and paid him £4, apparently you could have bartered him down to £2, but I chose not to.Nakht (52) and Mena (69) would be my favourites, as both contained very vivid wall paintings.Amenemopet (41) has recently been opened, as is not as colourful as the other two tombs, but worth a visit. The illustrations are in relief rather than colour.Ramose (55) was interesting, as it contained a Hippostyle Hall.We visited Userhat (56) and Khaemhat (57) as they were close to Ramose, but there was little to recommend them.We had to buy two tickets each for around £5, at the main ticket office for all the West bank attractions, each giving access to three of the tombs.Each tomb has a guide who will point things of interest out in broken English. You do not have to give a tip, but I gave £1 each whih was appreciated.

The tombs we saw in the valley of the nobles were amazing. Especially the tomb of Ramos. The carvings are very intricate and must have taken the workmen a very long time. It is also interesting to see where the priests carved out the faces of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.

It is certainly worth visiting several of the tombs of the nobles if given the chance, but the tomb of Ramose is the best. It has some of the best relief carving in Egypt, better even than in the tombs of the Pharaohs themselves. And there also is a painted scene of a funeral procession that is quite beautiful. Make the effort to see it!

You could easily get distracted by the main tourist areas and miss this gem. Get a guide to take you and you will not be disappointed by the small but beautifully decorated tombs here. Have change to give the guards 10 le as this is expected. Remember tourism has taken a hard hit lately and things are tough here for ordinary folks!