Valley of the Queens in Luxor Egypt | Facts, History, Map, entrance fee Ticket Prices, What is The Best Tombs, List Royal Pharaohs Tombs and more…
is one of the spectacular places you can visit while you are in Luxor Tours, Egypt. is famous for its 75 royal tombs inside the mountain on the west bank of the Nile River.
the royal necropolis of the wives of Egypt’s pharaohs throughout five hundred years of their The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt power. In this article, we will try to cover most of the questions.
When the valley of the Queens starts to be the burial place for the New Kingdom Queens?
When the valley of the Queens was discovered?
Who is buried in the valley of Queens?
What is the Valley of the Queens famous for?
What is the most famous tomb?
Who robbed?
List of the tombs
Price for the extra tombs, Nefertari Tomb
Tomb Digging and Cutting Techniques
Tomb Numbering Systems
Foundation Deposits
Tomb robbers, treasure hunters
Here we are
Valley of the Queens in Luxor Egypt
The location
is located on the West Bank of the River Nile, a few kilometers to the south of the Valley of the Kings and close to the city of the workers or Deir El Madina. The Valley is also located to the west of the Madinat Habu, Ramses III mortuary temple.
Valley of the Queens Names during history
is was known as Ta-Set-Neteru, which means “the place of beauty”. Seems they meant the place of beautiful wives as Kings were buried in the valley of the kings. is has another name in Arabic Wadi al-Hareem.
How many Valleys of the Queens in Egypt?
is divided into two valleys
- The Main Wadi (Valley) with 91 tombs
- The Subsidiary Wadi (Valley) with 19 tombs (the Valley of Prince Ahmose, the Valley of the Rope, the Valley of the Three Pits, the Valley of the Dolmen).
Are All New Kingdom Queens buried in the Valley of the Queens?
The answer to that question is not sure. We are still not sure if all the wives of the New Kingdom Pharaohs are buried in the Valley of the Queens or not. is was not only for the royal wives but also for princesses, princes, and some of the VIP characters of the royal palace as those with Ahmose.
Who was the first Queen’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens?
As long as we know now, the first Queen who was buried was Sitre, wife of Ramses I. but we have another tomb that dates back to the XVII dynasty for princess Ahmose, daughter of Sekenere Taa, the father of the founder of the XVIII dynasty.
Why did they choose the site of the valley of the Queens?
The reasons why they chose the Valley of the queens are similar to the reasons why they chose the valley of the Kings. Pure places, never used before, on the west bank of the Nile River, Hot, Dry, and it rain rarely then. Above all, the quality of the stone was soft limestone, so it makes the mission of the workers easy.
For how much time valley of the Queens was used as a burial place?
is was used as a burial place for the wives of the pharaohs and their princesses and princes from the 18th dynasty till the end of the 20th dynasty.
When the Valley of the Queens was discovered?
The Valley of the queens was hidden for a very long time like the Valley of the Kings but archeologists discovered the place in 1904 by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli. Surprisingly, many tombs were found till 1979, when UNESCO listed the valley of the queens on the World Heritage list alongside the Valley of the Kings.
Who Built? Workers or slaves?
We have much evidence that the workers of Deir El Madina, those who built the Valley of the King’s tombs, also built the Royal tombs for the wives. The workers and their families were not slaves but free citizens. They were working, getting salaries, free days, and housing for themselves and their families. Workers of Deir El Medina received care for their health problems through medical treatment, prayer, and magic.
Who robbed?
The main purpose of the tombs in ancient Egypt is saving the corpse and possessions of the deceased for eternity. Djoser (c. 2670 BCE), the founder of the third dynasty put his burial chamber at the end of a 28m deep shaft. The builders of the Giza Pyramids did their best to keep their corpses and possessions saved.
New Kingdom Kings put their tombs inside the cliff to protect them from the tomb robbers. Also, their wives did the same and they dug their tombs very close to the Valley of the Kings to save their corpses for a second life. Unfortunately, all tombs found were robbed in 1904.
Tombs layout
The tombs of the Valley of the queens are very simple tombs compared to the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. All the tombs started with an entrance as normal then a long corridor with several side chambers then an antechamber and the tomb ended with the burial chamber where we were supposed to see the sarcophagus.
Tombs Numbering
Numbering the tombs of the Valley of the Queens is very similar to those of the kings. The tombs bear the QV + number
Q = QUEEN
V = VALLEY
Number = when it was discovered
QV 1 means the first tomb was discovered in the Valley of the queens.
opening hours
is opened daily from 06.00 am to 17.00 pm but ticket windows close at 16.30 pm.
How to get to the valley of the Queens?
If you plan to visit the Valley of the Queens by limousine, taxi, bicycle, donkey, or any transportation method, you will end at the parking lot. Then you will walk between the Bazaars to the entrance of the Valley of the queens.
Tickets
While you visit the Valley of the queens, you will need to purchase an entrance ticket for the Valley of the queens including access to 3 tombs. Tickets window by the car parking entrance or the first shop of the shop’s line in the area.
The Entrance fee for the Valley of the queens
Adult: EGP 100 ($)
Students with valid cards: EGP 50($)
Children aged 6-12 years: EGP 50 ($)
Children under 6 years: FREE
Are there any additional tombs in the Valley of the Queens with an additional ticket?
Besides the standard ticket for 3 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, there is only one extra ticket for the best tomb in Egypt, Nefertari Tomb QV 66
QV 66 – Nefertari Tomb
L.E = 1400
USD = 75
PC:
Same to the Valley of the Kings, they will check the standard tickets for the valley of the queens 4 times, by the entrance and whenever you will enter one of the tombs, they will hole-punch at each tomb entrance. Once you have 3 holes, you are done with the standard tickets. You need to keep them with you all the time.
Best time to visit the Valley of the Queens
is not as busy or crowded as the valley of the Kings, so you can visit the valley at any time. Summer, better visit the Valley of the queen early morning or later afternoon. During winter, whenever you like between 07.00 am till 17.00 pm. Keep in mind to have water, comfy shoes, sun cream, a hat, and sunglasses.
How much it cost a ticket for a Camera?
Nowadays it is allowed to use your camera or Mobil phone for free inside the tombs.
Best tombs to visit in Luxor Egypt
The best-visited tombs in the Valley of the queens are
- QV 44 – Khaemwaset
- QV 55 – Amenherkhepshef.
- QV 52 – Titi
If you like to know about the best tomb you can visit against the charge, here is the only extra ones
QV 66 – Nefertari
List of the most important Valley of the Queens tombs
is not like the Valley of the Kings as the tombs are smaller in size and a lot of them were left unfinished.
- QV8 – Hori and a King’s Daughter
- QV17 – Meryetre and Wermeryotes
- QV30 – Nebiri
- QV33 – Tanedjemet
- QV38 – Stire
- QV42 – Pareherwenemef
- QV43 – Seth-her-khopsef (Ramesses VIII)
- QV44 – Khaemwaset
- QV46 – Imhotep
- QV47 – Ahmose
- QV51 – Iset Ta-Hemdjert
- QV52 – Tyti
- QV53 – Ramesses Meryamen (Ramesses IV)
- QV55 – Amun-her-khepeshef
- QV60 – Nebettawy
- QV66 – Nefertari
- QV68 – Meritamun
- QV70 – Nehesy
- QV 71 – Bintanath
- QV72 – Neferhat / Baki
- QV73 – Henuttawy
- QV74 – (Dua)Tentopet
- QV75 – Henutmire
- QV76 – Merytre
- QV80 – (Mut-)Tuy
- QV81 – Heka[…]
- QV82 – Minemhat and Amenhotep
- QV88 – Ahmose
List of the Opened tombs
There are in total 102 tombs in the Valley of the Queens, 3 of them are included in the standard tickets and you can choose any three tombs to visit. Also, there is 1 more tomb that needs extra tickets
The 4 opened tombs are
- QV 44 – Khaemwaset
- QV 55 – Amenherkhepshef.
- QV 52 – Titi
- QV9 – Nefertari
Tips for visiting the Valley of the Queens
- We advise visiting with an archaeologist guide. The guides will give you more details about the religion of the ancient Egyptians. They will provide you with a detailed explanation of the difference between the Valley of the queens and the tombs in the Valley.
- Read before you go and make up your mind if you are an individual visitor which tombs from the opened ones you like to visit. Make your mind if you like to add the Nefertari tomb to your list.
- Take extra water with you and some snacks, especially in the summer months, and drink at least 5 small bottles of mineral water to not hydrate.
- Small change for the WC
- Do not forget to take your hat, sunglasses, and sun cream with you
- Cotton dress during summer as we Luxor Day Tours make your best services to enjoy with us.
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