Why this ride
410 km from Abu Simbel to Abu Simbel, about 6 h 11 of riding. On the way it passes Amada, Wadi Sebua and back through Amada. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abu Simbel and Wadi Sebua
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 410 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 11
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a monument to the vanity of a king and to the stubbornness of engineers. About 1264 BC, the pharaoh Ramesses II ordered two temples to be carved into a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Nile, far south in Nubia, near what was then the border of Egypt. The larger temple, dedicated to Ramesses himself and to the gods Amun and Ra, has a facade with four seated statues of the king, each about twenty metres high, sitting with a calm and slightly smug expression. The smaller temple, dedicated to the goddess Hathor and to his wife Nefertari, has statues of the queen and king standing at the same scale, a rare honour for a royal wife.
Read the complete Abu Simbel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abu Simbel is where the day begins. Next is Amada.
2. Amada
Amada is the smallest of the Nubian temples saved from Lake Nasser, and in some ways the finest. It was built in the fifteenth century BC under Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, and its painted reliefs are among the best preserved in Egypt, with colours still fresh inside the sanctuary. When the High Dam threatened to drown Lower Nubia, the whole temple was lifted onto rails in the mid-1960s and moved a couple of kilometres inland to higher ground, a feat of engineering that is easy to miss when you stand in front of the modest sandstone walls. The famous Abu Simbel temples lie farther south, and Wadi es-Sebua farther north, with Amada in between.
Read the complete Amada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Amada comes up about 164 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wadi Sebua.
3. Wadi Sebua
Wadi es-Sebua means Valley of the Lions, and the name is earned. The temple here, built by Ramesses II, is approached down an avenue of sphinxes, with a colossal statue of the king standing at the front, and then it burrows into the rock behind. The sphinxes have lions' bodies and the faces of the pharaoh, and in the late afternoon their shadows lie long along the sand. Part of the building is freestanding stone, part is cut from the cliff, which makes it feel half temple and half cave.
Read the complete Wadi Sebua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 205 km into the recorded legs you reach Wadi Sebua. Next is back through Amada.
4. back through Amada
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Amada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Amada, late in the day. Next is Abu Simbel.
5. Abu Simbel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abu Simbel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abu Simbel. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abu Simbel to Amada
Abu Simbel → Amada is 164 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Amada to Wadi Sebua
Amada → Wadi Sebua is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wadi Sebua to back through Amada
Wadi Sebua → back through Amada is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Amada to Abu Simbel
back through Amada → Abu Simbel is 164 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.