Two Weeks Itinerary for Backpacking Egypt: Old World Wonder at Pyramid of Giza & Beyond!

Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was “Did you bring joy?” the second was “Did you find joy?”

Leo Buscaglia

In this blog post on Egypt travel, I will elaborate on the two week long itinerary we enjoyed in this country tucked away at the Horn of Africa. We backpacked in Egypt in August, during Eid al-Adha. Independent backpacking to Egypt was safe, indeed and rewarded us with some of the most beautiful experiences in Africa. Egypt is an ideal destination for family travelers, cultural travelers, honeymooners, history buffs and those with a penchant for experiencing the historical evolution of mankind. I will also elaborate cost of traveling in Egypt, how to control budget for traveling in Egypt, saying hello in Egyptian, getting around in Egypt etc.

The closest experience of traveling to Egypt was when we traveled to Ethiopia, another country from the horn of Africa with an extreme landscape and ancient past. 

I have written this post with a few useful travel tips on Egypt, advice on scoring an Egyptian visa on Indian passport and a few sample 14 days travel itinerary for Egypt that covers the pyramids and other offbeat destinations of this old ancient country!

Seek peacefully, you will find.

Egyptian Proverb

It was a balmy afternoon in Bankura, my uncle got me a paperback full of ghost stories to be read during the endless summer holiday. I forgot most of it except the story that told about the curse of a mummy, stolen from the ancient pyramids from Egypt. What would I not give to recollect the Bengali author and the name of the story? My vague memory fails to recall all but one intriguing part of the book, that Neela (blue diamond) may bring an intense twist of destiny to one’s life. 

In my mind I painted an obscure Egypt, filled to the brink with mystical antiquity and endless adventures! There, under the dust and sand of Sahara, buried is a secret world waiting to be unearthed. Strangely, I never accounted for the intriguing culture and beautiful customs of Egypt’s contemporary and compelling society. I can not pinpoint one single reason but I suppose it has got a lot to do with the portrayal of Egypt in popular media. Hollywood and Natgeo had been overtly obsessed with the mystical profound sepulchers dating back to 5000 years, often rumored to be built by the aliens.

When we alighted at the Cairo International Airport at the crack of the dawn, gushing hot wind slapped my face. I realized this is Cairo, capital of Egypt, home to the Nile civilization, an effort by mankind to set up a prologue to modern day and also home to one of the most important political and economic powers of the region of Middle East. Suddenly, I felt an urge to be present at the Tahrir Square, more than the pyramids of Giza! The epicenter of Arab Spring, Tahrir Square, played a key part of Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and shaped the political aspirations of a generation.

Egypt was the last stop during our month-long trip to Africa. We were traveling to Africa for the first time. Not knowing much, we planned our trip like this: Kenya- Zambia- Zimbabwe- Egypt. This was August, we leaped from east of Africa to South and then bounced back to the Horn of the continent. My love for Africa was an instantaneous affair, despite all the challenges it threw at me: food, transport, expensive tours, costly airfare, dangerous alleyways and extreme weather conditions!

With this two weeks trip to Egypt, my love for Africa transcended into reverence! 

Our planned trip to Egypt involved a lion’s share of the days spent at Cairo and exploring surroundings areas (say, 5 days) and the rest of the time, we headed down to south of Egypt, to experience the best of ancient Egyptian artifacts at Luxor and Aswan.

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Suggested 14 days Itinerary for Egypt (at a glance)

Alternate two weeks itinerary to Egypt, this one will be especially loved by the divers and those who want to get a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea!

Suggested 7 to 10 days Itinerary for Egypt, those who are pressed for time yet want to experience the best of Old World wonder of this ancient sub-Saharan land!

These itineraries are typical tourists routes of Egypt, with a few variations thrown in to accommodate interesting places people might like to add to their itinerary.

For example, for a diver enthusiast, a visit to Dahab is incumbent. For a history buff, a visit to Saqqara is highly encouraged. For an adventure lover, visit to the white desert of Egypt could be a prized experience. For the romantic couple, sailing on the Nile on an extended cruise could be an experience of a lifetime. I am noting down all the possible options of traveling to Egypt and a flexible time frame of travel which is loosely 14 days. 

Two weeks are a decent time spent in Egypt when you can experience a plethora of things!

Egypt is full of dreams, mysteries, memories

Janet Erskine Stuart

Best Things to do in Egypt in Two Weeks beyond the Great Pyramid of Giza

Most popular tourist itineraries to Egypt feature a visit to Cairo with customary visit to the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Many club the trip to Egypt with a visit to Jordan and Jerusalem, undoubtedly important stops for the pilgrim route in the region. I will list down my favorites things to do in Egypt, sort of my own bucket list. I complied this after months of research and reading and watching multiple travel content available on the world wide web, and after visiting the country at the peak of summer.

Words fail to describe the thrill and romance when you first meet Nile. One of the seven major rivers of the entire world, the Nile is also the birthplace of a great thriving civilization whose history can be traced back to the dawn of mankind!

Many tourists opt in for the week-long luxury cruising through the course of Nile which brings you closer to the royal blue waterbody reflecting the clear azure sky! The pharaohs did this, ages back. So did the Ottoman rulers. 

A Nile cruise is one of the rarest ways you can treat yourself to regality, not just in the scale of exuberant luxury but also considering the historic value of the activity. Imagine floating by the massive Karnak temples under a full moon night as the mute statues of Pharaoh Ramesses stand afar, gently nodding in mute approval! Egypt is magical, but with a Nile cruise you become a star dust and be transported back to the time, ever shrouded in the mist of charm and glory! 

At the crack of the dawn, you have a chance to wing it onto the Egyptian sky at Luxor. The golden sun of Sahara kisses your cheeks mildly at sunrise while the ancient Thebes with Karnak temples, valley of kings and queens wait for you underneath! 

I was overwhelmed and elated to have witnessed the immense ancient treasures of Egypt! For a history lover, Egypt is an never ending treasure trove. However it could be challenging to make field visits everyday under the harsh sun (unless you are an explorer at heart!).

To learn history, I trusted the countless museums of Egypt. Priceless artefacts, mummies, scripted panels, death masks, deities carved out of hippo teeth and more! The Egyptian museum of Cairo, the Nubian Museum of Aswan, the Luxor museum are some of the important museums of Egypt. newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has been a major landmark reveal in recent history of Egypt!

Cairo is an old city. Dusty, very middle east in appearance, excruciating hot, with countless friendly faces ready to flash a warm smile for the uninitiated, Cairo unveiled her face like a charm! However, even if you set aside the great Necropolis and the towering pyramids of Cairo’s outskirts, it is home to a few important pockets of historic destinations. The Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo are the obscure parts of the ancient city that hold countless important relics, mausoleums, ethereally beautiful mosque, religious architectures… my words fail to justify the beauty of these places but imagine Old quarter Hoi an, or Stone town of Zanzibar or Varanasi! You need to be there. soak in the atmosphere, breath in the heavy old air and feel the beauty, even when you know next to none about the historical importance of these places!

Khan e Khalili was a crucial trade point of Middle East since ages. Now the stores are often inundated with Chinese made tourist souvenirs but walking on those narrow lanes leading to dead ends heaped with colorful products is quite an experience! A traditional souq, Khan e Khalili flaunts typical Islamic architectural style. Traditional Arabic crafts, spices and beautiful souvenirs are sold here. An evening is not enough to explore all of Khan e Khalili!

Visiting Abu Simbel temple is a memorable experience but cherry of the top truly was the Early morning drive through the desert, in a convoy led by Egyptian armed police vans! A few instances of attacks of tourists had alerted the government resulting in close monitoring of tourist vans. The desert looked astonishing, specially when the orange ball rose at the horizon, marking the eastern sky red in alert! Enjoy the ride and do not fall asleep! That sunrise is worth sacrificing a night’s sleep!

The Sinai peninsula is a small land of Egypt, sandwiched between Mediterranean and Red Sea, that belongs to Asia. It is home to the biblical Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine’s Monastery, the oldest Christian monastery in the world. Due to political upheaval, Sinai delta is often off limits to tourists but if you get a chance to visit you must. Usually, many tourists visit Sharm el Sheikh, especially those who love diving, to experience the warm waters of Red Sea and the astounding underwater world of Ras Mohammad National Park.

Often known as the Sahara el Beyda, White Desert of Egypt or Farfara depression is a sparsely populated land of the Bedouins. This place was known to be Middle Egypt during ancient times. The limestone mushroom rock formations of the White Desert are a classic example of ventifact landform and have been existing since millennia. As a part of offbeat tourist attractions of Egypt, many group tours are conducted. I suggest picking your slot for a full moon night to witness the valley illuminated with moonshine! 

Only accessible through the coastal town of Alexandria, Heracleion is an underwater world. Also known as the Egyptian Venice of ancient times, the remains of the city include ship wrecks, statues, gold coins, temple dedicated to Amun Gereb etc. Heracleion was an important trade city of Egypt and Greece and stood in glory for about 2300 years ago!

A UNESCO world heritage site, the Whale Valley (Wadi al Hitan) in Egypt stands in glory with more than hundred massive skeleton of whale fossils, and some more underwater animals including sharks, rays, reptiles, snakes etc. Various sources report the presence of more than 1500 fossils, which is unprecedented in world history. Scientists use this as an evidence of evolution of how whales turned into marine mammals from giant land grazer animals. The area is located 150 off Cairo, on the west of Nile river valley and relatively difficult to access due to non existence of paved highway. This is practically a desert and only curated trips to Wadi al Hitan is possible with experienced guards.

Needless to say, river Nile was the source of life in the vast arid land that sparsely outlined the Sahara desert. Ancient Egyptians observed the annual Opet festival for the greater period of a month as the Nile valley would be swept with flood water, meaning improved crop yield. 

The Nilometers are strategically placed along the course of the river, ideally in a temple sanctum to ensure no one but the ruler and the priest can see the water level and influence politics. The practice of measuring Nile’s water level with a Nilometer dates back to Pheranic times and ceased to be used only after the recent project of the controversial Aswan dam. 

You may visit the Nilometer in Cairo if you missed visiting an ancient one placed at the temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan. Nilometers usually look like stepped wells with a connecting path till the riverbank of Nile. The baolis used in many parts of North India have similar mechanisms. 

Did you know: Historically, upper Egypt indicated the land beyond Nubia, modern day south of Egypt. Cairo was part of ancient Lower Egypt, which is modern day north Egypt. 

Cairo (5 days in the capital of Egypt)

Our first stop in Egypt was at Cairo. The capital city looked like one straight out of the sets of the movies shot in the Middle east. Minarets, periodical call to prayer, stunning mosques, old lanes, cacophony of souks, aroma of kebab and hookah tucked at almost every corner, meows of stray cats, beautiful palatial buildings in rust hue almost always covered under dust,  dazzling golden hour: Cairo resembled a city torn between a past history of grandeur and an as[iration of imbibing and welcoming the modern in everyday life.

Yet, only at a distance of 20 miles from downtown, you have got the ancient pyramids standing, looming large on the city of Cairo, constantly reminding of a history that survived tumultuous 5000 years!

Aswan (2 days)

Many tend to skip Aswan because it is really far from the main attractions of Egypt. besides, most tour guides assume they have had enough of temples from the beautiful elaborate temple complexes of Luxor.

Luxor (3 days)

Alexandria (3 days)

Useful tips for Backpacking in Egypt!

A few offbeat destinations in Egypt

Budget Travel Tips in Egypt

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