Nile

The Nile is history itself made navigable — a river cruise along its upper reaches between Luxor and Aswan is an immersion in one of the world's greatest civilisations. For more than 4,000 years, the annual flooding of the Nile sustained ancient Egypt, and the temples, tombs, and monuments that line its banks represent the most extraordinary concentration of antiquities anywhere on earth.

At Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes reveals the staggering Karnak Temple complex and the Valley of the Kings, where Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great were laid to rest in painted tombs. Downstream, the twin temples of Abu Simbel — hewn from living rock on the orders of Ramesses II — are among the most awe-inspiring structures ever built.

Nile cruises typically sail between Luxor and Aswan, calling at the temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo en route, with the unhurried pace of river travel allowing guests to absorb the timeless rhythms of riverside villages and desert light that has barely changed in centuries.