Ramesseum, Luxor

How much are Ramesseum tickets?

Foreign adults pay EGP 220 and students up to 24 with a valid student ID EGP 110, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' official Egymonuments ticketing. Children under 6 go free, and phone photography costs nothing. There are no extra tickets inside.

Tickets are dated and non-refundable. The simplest option is to buy online through Egymonuments, which takes Visa and Mastercard. Guides say that on site, Ramesseum tickets are sold at the West Bank antiquities inspectorate office rather than at the gate, and that office keeps shorter hours than the monuments — so don't count on turning up and paying at the entrance.

Older blogs quote EGP 60–160; those prices are out of date. The Luxor Pass reportedly covers the Ramesseum too, but that's unofficial. Ferries and West Bank taxis take cash in Egyptian pounds only, so carry small notes.

Opening hours

The Ramesseum opens every day at 6:00. Last entry is 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter and during Ramadan, and the ministry asks visitors to arrive at least an hour before closing. It keeps the same hours as Medinet Habu, Hatshepsut's temple and the Valley of the Kings.

There's almost no shade, so the best times are the first hours after opening or late afternoon. Midday in the open courts is punishing for most of the year.

The Ozymandias statue

The reason most people come is the fallen colossus. This seated statue of Ramesses II, cut from Aswan granite, weighed around 1,000 tonnes and stood roughly 17–19 m high — the ministry and encyclopaedias give slightly different figures. Its huge fragments, led by the head, now lie by the second pylon.

Greek writers called Ramesses II Ozymandias, from his throne name Usermaatre, and Diodorus of Sicily described this temple as the "Tomb of Ozymandias". Percy Bysshe Shelley published his sonnet "Ozymandias" in 1818, about a traveller who finds a shattered statue of a boastful king in the desert. Shelley never came to Egypt, so the link to this colossus is a tradition rather than a fact on record.

A second statue from the temple did reach Britain: the upper half known as the Younger Memnon, removed by Giovanni Belzoni in 1816 and now in the British Museum.

What to see at the Ramesseum

• The first pylon — inside, reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh, with Ramesses II's chariots charging the Hittites.
• The fallen colossus by the second pylon — the head and broken pieces of the granite giant. Stand beside it for scale.
• The second court and Osiris pillars — the king as Osiris, arms crossed on his chest. This is the classic postcard shot.
• The hypostyle hall — rows of papyrus-stem columns, with ritual and battle scenes on the walls.
• The astronomical room behind it — a ceiling mapped with the stars and constellations of the night sky.
• The mudbrick granaries at the back — long vaulted storerooms that few visitors bother to walk round.
• The temple of Tuya and Nefertari beside the hall — foundations of a shrine to the king's mother and wife.

What is the Ramesseum?

It's the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, built in sandstone in the 13th century BC. The king was buried in the Valley of the Kings; here, on the edge of the farmland, priests kept his cult going. Its ancient name was the "House of millions of years of Usermaatre-setepenre, united with Thebes".

The plan is the classic one — two pylons, two courts, a great hypostyle hall, smaller halls and a sanctuary — wrapped in mudbrick storerooms, bakeries, kitchens and workshops. Ramesses III later copied the layout for his own temple at Medinet Habu. An Egyptian-French mission is still excavating and restoring the site, and in 2025 it announced evidence of a "House of Life" school inside the walls.

Beneath the temple, James Quibell found a much older Middle Kingdom tomb in 1896 containing a box of papyri — medical recipes, spells and rituals now known as the Ramesseum Papyri. They're mainly in the British Museum and in Berlin, not on site.

Is the Ramesseum worth visiting?

Yes, if you like ancient history, know the poem, or want a big temple almost to yourself. An hour gets you the colossus, the Osiris pillars and a peaceful wander through the columns. It slots neatly between Hatshepsut's temple and Medinet Habu, so the detour is tiny.

Skip it if you only have one West Bank morning. The Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut come first, and if you want a single mortuary temple, Medinet Habu is better preserved and still has its paint. Kids tend to love the giant stone head more than the reliefs — bring hats, as there's little shade.

Ramesseum vs nearby temples

Fares and hours from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' official ticketing system. Time needed is YesGo's estimate.

Luxor's historic sites compared

Every historic site in Luxor that YesGo has scored. Tap a column header to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

50

Colossi of Memnon

Luxor, Egypt

20 min · Free, no ticket · 14 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Colossi of Memnon

44

Temple of Hatshepsut

Luxor, Egypt

1 h · EGP 440, students EGP 220 · 21 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Temple of Hatshepsut

36

Medinet Habu

Luxor, Egypt

1 h 30 min · EGP 220, students EGP 110 · 23 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Medinet Habu

49

Valley of the Kings

Luxor, Egypt

2 h 30 min · EGP 750, Tutankhamun extra · 28 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Valley of the Kings

How to do it right

• Start at the first pylon and the Kadesh reliefs, then walk to the colossus — the temple makes more sense from entrance to sanctuary.
• Shoot the colossus head from ground level to show how much bigger it is than a person.
• Walk round the mudbrick granaries at the back; almost nobody does, and ancient mudbrick vaults like these are rare.
• If you're doing Medinet Habu the same day, see the Ramesseum first — it's closer to Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Kings.
• It's pronounced "ram-eh-SEE-um"; West Bank drivers also understand "Ramses temple".
• In the evening, cross back to Luxor Temple to see Ramesses II's colossi still standing.

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