# Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor

> The Avenue of Sphinxes is a 2.7 km ancient processional road from Luxor Temple to Karnak, lined with sphinxes and ram-headed statues. There is no separate ministry ticket: stretches are free to see from the street, and the first one sits inside Luxor Temple. No official hours are published. Walking it all takes 35–45 minutes; go towards sunset.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/avenue-of-sphinxes

- City: [Luxor](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor), Egypt
- YesGo score: 43/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 40 min
- Entry: Free to view (unofficial)
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Avenue access: No separate ticket; stretches can be seen and walked from public streets for free (unofficial)
- Luxor Temple at the south end: EGP 500, students EGP 250, last entry 19:00
- Karnak end: EGP 600, students EGP 300, last entry 16:00
- Temple of Mut: EGP 200, students EGP 100
- Hours: Not published; unofficial sources disagree
- Lit at night: Yes, according to unofficial guides
- Length: 2.7 km, 35–45 minutes on foot
- Paying at the temples: Visa and Mastercard on every sales channel
- Coordinates: 25.70800, 32.64800
- Facts checked: 03.11.2026

## Key facts

- **2.7 km** — from Luxor Temple to Karnak (source: English Wikipedia; The National)
- **25 Nov 2021** — the full avenue reopened after decades of excavation (source: English Wikipedia; NBC News)
- **Opet Festival** — the yearly procession that carried Amun's statue from Karnak to Luxor Temple (source: NBC News; English Wikipedia: Opet Festival)
- **Nectanebo I** — 30th Dynasty pharaoh who completed the road; the sphinxes bear his face (source: English Wikipedia; University of Memphis Egypt colour tour)
- **1949** — Mohammed Zakaria Ghoneim found the first eight statues by Luxor Temple (source: English Wikipedia; NBC News)
- **1,057 statues** — 807 sphinxes and 250 ram-headed at the reopening; NBC gives 'over 600' (source: English Wikipedia; Egypt Museum; NBC News)
- **About 2,000 m** — the length estimated in the Description de l'Égypte (1809), while still buried (source: English Wikipedia; Egypt Museum)
- **Rams Road** — Tariq al-Kibash, its Arabic name (source: English Wikipedia; Egypt Museum)
- **The ram** — Amun's sacred animal — hence the ram-headed statues (source: Egypt Museum; English Wikipedia: Karnak)

> **Access rules aren't published** Egypt's antiquities ministry sells no ticket for the avenue and doesn't list it on its official ticketing site. At the 2021 reopening, reports mentioned separate tickets for each half; current travel guides say stretches can be seen and walked from public streets for free. Nothing official confirms either, so ask the guards which sections are open on the day.

## Avenue of Sphinxes tickets and opening hours

There is no Avenue of Sphinxes ticket on Egymonuments, the ministry's official booking site, and no published opening hours. The Explore Luxor guide calls it a public walkway with free access; treat that as unofficial. Guides disagree on hours, from daytime 6:00–17:00 to evening walks under the floodlights.

What you do pay for are the temples at each end and along the way. The first stretch of sphinxes in front of the pylon lies inside **Luxor Temple** — EGP 500, students EGP 250, last entry 19:00. **Karnak** costs EGP 600, students EGP 300, last entry 16:00. The **Temple of Mut** beside the avenue is EGP 200, students EGP 100. Children under 6 go free everywhere.

Ticket desks officially take **Visa and Mastercard** on every channel, and you can also book on Egymonuments or the Experience Egypt app. Carry small Egyptian pounds in cash for taxis, horse carriages and tips — drivers usually want cash, and card terminals do go down.

## Where is the Avenue of Sphinxes?

It runs in a straight line on the East Bank of the Nile, from the north gate of [Luxor Temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/luxor-temple) in the city centre to [Karnak](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/karnak-temple), passing the precinct of the goddess Mut. Most maps label it Avenue of Sphinxes; locals also call it Rams Road, Tariq al-Kibash in Arabic.

The road sits below today's street level: it was dug out from under centuries of later building, and the city grew up around it. So the avenue alternates between open stretches among the houses and points where modern roads cross it. Along it stand sphinxes — a lion's body with a human head — and ram-headed statues, though many survive only as empty pedestals.

Think of it less as a museum and more as an archaeological street linking the city's two great temples. It works best as the bridge between them: Karnak in the morning, Luxor Temple in the evening, and the sphinxes in between.

## How many sphinxes are there?

It depends what you count. English Wikipedia and Egypt Museum give 1,057 statues at the 2021 reopening: 807 human-headed sphinxes and 250 ram-headed ones. NBC News reported 'over 600' statues. Many are just bases, so you will see far fewer complete figures than either number suggests.

The best-preserved row is right by Luxor Temple, where the sphinxes of Nectanebo I stand shoulder to shoulder. Towards the middle the lines thin out — not surprising for a road that spent more than two thousand years under sand and houses.

## The Karnak end and the ram-headed statues

The avenue doesn't reach Karnak at the main gate by the Nile. It arrives from the south, past the precinct of Mut, Amun's wife. On this stretch the statues have rams' heads, because the ram was Amun's sacred animal — hence the road's Arabic name.

Don't confuse it with the short row of rams at Karnak's main entrance, which you walk through anyway between the ticket office and the First Pylon. The long road to Luxor Temple is a separate monument. If you took a taxi to Karnak, walking back into town along the avenue takes about 40 minutes without stops.

## History: who built it and why

The road joined the two chief sanctuaries of Thebes and served the **Opet Festival**, when Amun's statue was carried once a year from Karnak to Luxor Temple. Building began in the New Kingdom and was completed under **Nectanebo I** of the 30th Dynasty in the 4th century BC; the sphinxes near Luxor Temple carry his face.

Then the road vanished under sand. The scholars of the Description de l'Égypte (1809) put its length at about 2,000 m and wrote of hundreds of sphinxes. In 1893 Georges Daressy judged the Luxor end impossible to dig because it lay below the water table. In 1949 **Mohammed Zakaria Ghoneim** uncovered the first eight statues in front of Luxor Temple.

The full route was traced by 2000, and stretches between the houses were cleared and restored over the following years, with pauses during Egypt's political upheavals. The whole avenue reopened on 25 November 2021 with a night-time parade modelled on Opet: costumed processions, a symphony orchestra, lights, boats on the Nile and three gilded barques for Amun-Ra, Khonsu and Mut.

## What to see along the avenue

- **The sphinxes of Nectanebo I** at Luxor Temple's north gate — the most complete stretch, statues in a tight row.
- **The view down the avenue to Luxor Temple** — pylon, obelisk and floodlit columns at the end of a straight line.
- **Empty pedestals** midway — a measure of how many statues once stood here.
- **Ram-headed statues** on the northern stretch by Mut and Karnak.
- **The Temple of Mut** — a separately ticketed site beside the avenue that few tourists visit.
- **Evening lighting** — unofficial guides say the avenue is lit after sunset, the best time for photos.

## How to get to the Avenue of Sphinxes

1. The avenue starts at the north gate of Luxor Temple on the Corniche — 5–20 minutes' walk from most East Bank hotels.
2. From Luxor railway station: about 1 km west towards the Nile, 15 minutes on foot or a couple of minutes by taxi.
3. From Luxor International Airport (LXR): about 7 km — taxi, inDrive (cash) or a pre-booked transfer. Taxis have no meters, so agree the fare before you get in.
4. From the West Bank: take the public ferry across the Nile to the landing on the Corniche next to Luxor Temple.
5. Walk north along the streets beside the avenue — 2.7 km and 35–45 minutes to the Temple of Mut and Karnak.
6. Back from Karnak: 10 minutes by taxi or by horse carriage (calèche); settle the carriage price first.

## Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor Temple or Karnak?

|  | Avenue of Sphinxes | Luxor Temple | Karnak | Temple of Mut |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Foreign adult | No ticket (unofficial) | EGP 500 | EGP 600 | EGP 200 |
| Last entry | Not published | 19:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 winter, 17:00 summer |
| Time needed | 40 min – 1 h | 1–1.5 h | 2–3 h | About 1 h |
| Best time | Before sunset | Evening, floodlit | At opening | Morning |

The avenue is a free extra between the two great temples, not a substitute for them. With one day, do Karnak in the morning and follow the avenue down to Luxor Temple for the evening.

## Is it worth walking the whole avenue?

Yes, if you're visiting Luxor Temple or Karnak anyway: it costs nothing and ties them into one walk. It isn't worth a separate trip. The most striking part is by Luxor Temple, so if you're short on time, walk the first 300–500 m and turn back.

For the full length, walk north to south towards sunset, so you finish at a floodlit Luxor Temple rather than walking away from it. There's almost no shade, which is hard going in summer. After dark the middle section is quiet and empty — stick to the lit stretches near the temples or take a taxi for that part.

## Before you go

Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser.

- [ ] Going late in the day, not in the midday heat
- [ ] Comfortable shoes — 2.7 km of stone and tarmac
- [ ] Water and a hat
- [ ] Visa or Mastercard for the temple tickets
- [ ] Small Egyptian pounds in cash for taxis, carriages and tips
- [ ] Reaching Karnak before its 16:00 last entry

## Luxor's historic sites compared

Every historic place in Luxor rated by YesGo.

- [Luxor Temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/luxor-temple) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 15 min · EGP 500, students EGP 250
- [Karnak Temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/karnak-temple) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h 30 min · EGP 600, students EGP 300
- [Colossi of Memnon](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/colossi-of-memnon) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free, no ticket
- [Valley of the Kings](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/valley-of-the-kings) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · EGP 750, Tutankhamun extra
- [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/hatshepsut-temple) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · EGP 440, students EGP 220
- [Avenue of Sphinxes](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/avenue-of-sphinxes) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free to view (unofficial)
- [Ramesseum](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/ramesseum) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · EGP 220, students EGP 110
- [Luxor Museum](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/luxor-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · EGP 400, students EGP 200
- [Medinet Habu](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/medinet-habu) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · EGP 220, students EGP 110
- [Valley of the Queens](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/valley-of-the-queens) — YesGo score 33/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · EGP 220, Nefertari closed

## The East Bank in a day

Karnak in the morning, the museum on the Corniche at midday, then along the Avenue of Sphinxes to a floodlit Luxor Temple. Add it to your route — YesGo sets the timings and transfers.

1. [Karnak Temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/karnak-temple) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h 30 min · EGP 600, students EGP 300
2. [Luxor Museum](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/luxor-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · EGP 400, students EGP 200
3. [Avenue of Sphinxes](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/avenue-of-sphinxes) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free to view (unofficial)
4. [Luxor Temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/luxor-temple) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 15 min · EGP 500, students EGP 250

## Not to be confused with

The Great Sphinx stands at Giza by the pyramids near Cairo, at the other end of the country. Saqqara near Cairo also has an avenue of sphinxes, leading to the Serapeum — a different site altogether.

## Tips

- Start at Luxor Temple's north gate, where the sphinxes are most complete, and decide on the rest as you go.
- With a Luxor Temple ticket, see the first stretch of the avenue from inside the temple.
- After dark, the middle of the avenue is empty — stay near the lit sections by the temples.
- Agree the fare before you get into a taxi or a horse carriage.
- In summer, set off after 17:00; there's almost no shade during the day.
- Keep a separate early morning for the West Bank — the [Valley of the Kings](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/valley-of-the-kings) and [Hatshepsut's temple](https://yesgo.io/egypt/luxor/hatshepsut-temple).

## Questions

### Do you need a ticket for the Avenue of Sphinxes?

The ministry sells no separate ticket, and unofficial guides say stretches are free to see and walk from the street. The first section lies inside Luxor Temple (EGP 500).

### How long is the Avenue of Sphinxes?

2.7 km from Luxor Temple to Karnak — 35–45 minutes on foot without stops.

### How many sphinxes are on the avenue?

English Wikipedia gives 1,057 statues — 807 sphinxes and 250 ram-headed; NBC News says over 600. Many survive only as bases.

### Where is the Avenue of Sphinxes on the map?

On Luxor's East Bank, running north from Luxor Temple on the Corniche, past the Temple of Mut, to the south side of Karnak.

### Can you walk from Karnak to Luxor Temple?

Yes, along the avenue or the streets beside it: 2.7 km, about 40 minutes. Go late afternoon and finish at Luxor Temple.

### Is the Avenue of Sphinxes open at night?

Unofficial guides say it is lit and walkable in the evening, but no official hours are published. The middle stretch is quiet after dark.

### When did the Avenue of Sphinxes reopen?

On 25 November 2021, with a night-time parade inspired by the ancient Opet Festival.

### Who built the Avenue of Sphinxes?

Work began in the New Kingdom and was completed under Nectanebo I of the 30th Dynasty, whose face the sphinxes bear.

### Is the Avenue of Sphinxes worth it?

Yes, as a free link between Luxor Temple and Karnak. It isn't worth a separate trip — the best part is right by Luxor Temple.

## How we checked

The English core comes from search results and suggestions (tickets, how many, map, Karnak, how long, at night, worth it). The avenue is not listed on the ministry's official ticketing site, so free access, hours and lighting come from the Explore Luxor and Travel Dojo guides and are marked as unofficial; The National reported tickets for each half at the November 2021 reopening, which nothing official confirms today. Prices and hours for Luxor Temple, Karnak and the Temple of Mut are from Egymonuments. Sources disagree on the number of statues — 1,057 (Wikipedia, Egypt Museum) against 'over 600' (NBC) — so we show both. Other facts rest on at least two sources. Walking and taxi times are from guides and the map.

## Sources

- Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, official ticketing site Egymonuments: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Mut Temple — prices and hours; FAQ — payment
- English Wikipedia: Avenue of Sphinxes; Opet Festival; Karnak; Wikidata Q6811142
- Egypt Museum: Avenue of the Sphinxes
- NBC News: reopening of the Avenue of Sphinxes
- The National: how to visit the Avenue of Sphinxes
- University of Memphis: Egypt colour tour, Avenue of Sphinxes
- Explore Luxor: FAQ and free things to do (unofficial)

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