Why this ride
On the way it passes Amada, Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae and back through Amada. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wadi Sebua and Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 410 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 12
- 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. 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
Wadi Sebua 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 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.
3. Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
Everything at Abu Simbel is a rescue story. Ramesses II had the two rock temples carved into the cliff above the Nile in the thirteenth century BC, with four colossal seated figures of himself guarding the larger one. Then, in the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam was about to drown the whole valley, and an international UNESCO campaign cut both temples into huge blocks and rebuilt them on higher ground, inside an artificial hill. It is one of the great engineering efforts of the twentieth century, and it is the reason a rider can stand here at all, with Lake Nasser glittering off to one side.
Read the complete Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae 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 Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae. 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 Wadi Sebua.
5. Wadi Sebua
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Wadi Sebua. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Wadi Sebua to Amada
Wadi Sebua → Amada is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Amada to Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae
Amada → Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae is 164 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae to back through Amada
Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae → back through Amada is 164 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Amada to Wadi Sebua
back through Amada → Wadi Sebua is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.