I agree w/the previous posting - thought I was suffering from "pharoah's phatigue" after a two week 'run" thru Egypt on an Eclipse Tour.

This site was our last and well worth it. The 2:30 wake up call, 4am convoy thru the "Mars-like" landscape of Abu Simbel was worth every last bit of sleep deprivation.

You do need to arrive way before noon, because they day we visitied, arriving around 7:30am, it was already at least 85-90 degrees fahrenheit. There is no shading really, until you reach the temples near Lake Nassar.

When you walk around the right side of this structure and round the bend to see Ramses in all his glory, goosebumps run up and down your arm; it is that awe-inspiring.

I could have spent all day, just gazing up at Ramses. If your tour agent tells you the run down as I have described above; don't miss out...even if you are literally on your last leg. This is the best of Egypt!

I thought I might be "templed out" after the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Luxor and Karnak but nothing is as amazing as Abu Simbel.

The site is close to the Sudanese border, so be warned, it is a three-hour each way journey by coach from Aswan, and most leave at 4.00am to get there by 7.00. This is not an ancient Egyptian torture but a sensible precaution. You don't want to be in Abu Simbel (except in an air conditioned hotel) in the midday heat. So the coaches are on the road back to Aswan by about 10.15. And it is important to see the site soon after dawn.

Do not despair. If you are lazy (like me) there are regular flights from Aswan. The journey then only takes half an hour each way, and there is a big bonus if you sit on the left hand side of the plane because there is an incredible first glimpse of the temples (yes, two of them) as you make the final approach for landing.

I won't give the full history lecture about the temples or how they were moved to avoid flooding by Lake Nasser. Simply they were the most awesome sight I have seen in my 60 years. Imposing, majestic, staggeringly beautiful, nobody visiting the Upper Nile should miss them, it would be like visiting London without seeing the Tower or Rome without going to the Sistine Chapel. You'll always kick yourself if you get so near and then don't see Abu Simbel.

If you are lucky enough to be cruising Lake Nasser or staying at Abu Simbel, the son et lumiere show ought to be incredible.

Well done UNESCO for saving this amazing piece of history.