Five days under sail from Luxor to Aswan on the Iris dahabiya, visiting Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo, the High Dam and Philae.
You board the Iris at Luxor and settle into a cabin with panoramic windows onto the river. Lunch is cooked on board, then out to the East Bank: Karnak first, a complex of pylons, shrines, halls and sacred lakes that took centuries to assemble, and then Luxor Temple, joined to it by the ancient Avenue of Sphinxes. Dinner back on board.
Across to the West Bank after breakfast for the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs' tombs are cut into the hillside, then Hatshepsut's temple rising out of the desert cliffs, and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch on board as the Iris sails for Edfu and passes through the Esna Lock.
Edfu Temple first thing, built for Horus and among the most striking and best-preserved in Egypt. Back on board for lunch while sailing to Kom Ombo, whose temple has twin sanctuaries and a Crocodile Museum beside it holding the mummified animals and objects found there. Dinner on board as the boat continues towards Aswan.
The High Dam after breakfast, then the Temple of Philae, which for setting alone is among the most photographed monuments in the country. The rest of the day is on board, and the last dinner is served on the river.
Breakfast, then you leave the Iris.
Optional: A visit to the Abu Simbel Temples, which can be arranged for anyone with time in Aswan