Deir el-Bahari

Deir el-Bahari is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor (ancient Thebes), dominated by the terraced mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. The cliff-backed setting and multi-level colonnaded terraces make the Hatshepsut temple one of Egypt’s most distinctive New Kingdom monuments.

The site also preserves an earlier Middle Kingdom mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II and later additions and repairs by subsequent pharaohs, so it presents multiple phases of ancient Egyptian funerary architecture in one place. The terraces, ramps and relief-covered walls attract visitors for their scale and state of preservation.

Major construction phases include Mentuhotep II’s temple from the 11th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom, roughly 21st century BCE) and the New Kingdom temple of Hatshepsut built in the 18th Dynasty during Hatshepsut’s reign (c.1479-1458 BCE). Later pharaohs altered or reused parts of the complex.

Deir el-Bahari sits on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor city, immediately north of the Valley of the Kings within the Theban necropolis on the Nile’s west bank.

• Main attraction: The terraced temple of Hatshepsut features long colonnades and relief programs carved into the limestone cliff face and is the site’s most visited monument.
• Location tip: The site lies immediately north of the Valley of the Kings on Luxor’s west bank and is commonly combined with visits to nearby Theban mortuary complexes.

What to See#

• Temple of Hatshepsut: Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple - a terraced, colonnaded temple of the New Kingdom (reign c.1479-1458 BCE) with extensive reliefs and a three-tiered facade built into a cliff at Deir el-Bahari.
• Mentuhotep II complex: Mentuhotep II’s mortuary complex - an earlier Middle Kingdom funerary temple (11th Dynasty, c. 2055-2004 BCE) located at the same cliff base, representing an important step in Egyptian royal mortuary architecture.

Deir el-Bahari (the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut) sits on Luxor’s West Bank. From central Luxor take a taxi or join a West Bank tour that crosses the Nile; the road to Deir el-Bahari is the same West Bank archaeological route used for the Valley of the Kings/Queens. There is on-site parking and the temple is reached on foot with a short downhill walk from the roadside parking/entrance area.

• Go early in the morning when the light is softer on Hatshepsut's terraces and before the large cruise-ship groups arrive on Luxor's West Bank.
• Enter via the main approach ramp from the car park so you can work your way up the terraces in order; the central ramp gives the best sequence of views and interpretive panels.
• Spend extra time on the lower terraces and the flanking chapels - many visitors focus on the central façade and miss inscriptions, reliefs and side chambers that reveal original coloring and ritual layout.