Temple of Kom Ombo

Temple of Kom Ombo tickets and tours: which one to book

Tickets for Kom Ombo are sold at the gate by the riverside and are paid on the spot; prices for foreign visitors are set by the antiquities authorities and change from time to time, so check the current figure before you go. The ticket covers the temple and the small museum of crocodile mummies next to it. Most people never buy one themselves, because the visit is included in a Nile cruise or a tour. Kom Ombo lies on the east bank of the Nile about 45 km north of Aswan, between Aswan and Edfu, so the options reflect that position. Nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan moor right below the temple and include a guided visit.

Overland, there are day tours from Aswan that take in Kom Ombo and Edfu, sometimes ending with a drop-off in Luxor so the day doubles as a transfer; and long private days from Luxor in the opposite direction, occasionally stretched to Aswan or even Abu Simbel. A slower alternative is a felucca trip of one or two nights from Aswan, sleeping on deck and stopping at Kom Ombo before continuing by road. Private tours normally include an air-conditioned car, an Egyptologist guide and sometimes lunch; check whether entrance fees are covered, as offers differ. If you are not on a cruise, the most efficient choice is the Aswan to Luxor day with stops at both temples.

Visiting Temple of Kom Ombo: what to see and how to behave

Kom Ombo is a double temple, and that is what makes it unusual. The whole building is split along its central axis into two identical halves, each with its own gateway, halls and sanctuary: the southern half belongs to the crocodile god Sobek, the northern half to the falcon-headed Haroeris, Horus the Elder, each worshipped with his own divine family. Standing in the hypostyle halls, you can see the two parallel processional routes leading back to twin sanctuaries. The temple you see is Ptolemaic, begun under Ptolemy VI in the second century BC and extended by later rulers, with the halls of columns added in the first century BC and further decoration in Roman times.

The Nile, earthquakes and stone robbers took much of it, so the front is roofless and the sanctuaries are reduced to their foundations, but the reliefs are sharp and many columns keep traces of colour. Look on the inner face of the rear enclosure wall for the panel often described as a set of surgical or ritual instruments, find the carved calendar of festivals, and see the deep well and the stairway once used to measure the river level. Next door, the Crocodile Museum shows mummified crocodiles found nearby and explains the cult of Sobek. Some reliefs were defaced when the temple served as a church in later centuries. The site is close to the river landing in the village below the town, about an hour by road from Aswan. Bring a hat and water, and expect persistent souvenir sellers at the entrance.

Temple of Kom Ombo: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple is open from morning into the evening, and it is one of the few Egyptian sites where an evening visit is normal: cruise boats often arrive in the late afternoon, and the reliefs are floodlit after dark. That means the quietest time is usually the morning, before the boats, while sunset over the Nile from the temple terrace is the most beautiful. The best season is from October to April, when the days are warm and dry; December and January are the busiest months, and nights can be cool on the river.

From May to September, temperatures in Upper Egypt regularly exceed 40 degrees, and visits are best kept to early morning or after sunset. Several cruise boats can moor at once in high season, so the hour after they arrive is crowded. Allow about an hour for the temple and the crocodile museum. Kom Ombo combines naturally with the Temple of Horus at Edfu to the north and with Aswan, the Philae temple and the Nubian villages to the south.