Dendera

Dendera (also commonly spelled Denderah) is an archaeological locality in Egypt just outside the town of Qena (62 km north of Luxor) in the region of Middle Egypt.

Understand

Dendera is the site of the remarkably well-preserved Ptolemaic Temple of Hathor, the sole practicable reason for visiting the town.

Get in

Dendera is situated some 5 km southwest of Qena township on the opposite bank of the Nile from the main settlement. Most travelers now arrive in Dendera on an overpriced day-tours out of Luxor (up to LE900 per vehicle, but including Abydos). However, it is totally possible to arrive the budget way using the train and local taxi. (Strangely though, there are no inexpensive tuk-tuks available in Qena.)

By taxi

Service taxis can be hired in Luxor for the round trip. Expect to pay about LE140-160 and to travel in a police convoy, which can mean some delays.

From Qena centre or the railway station a return trip should be no more than LE50. The official taxi meter price is between LE15-20 one-way.

By boat

A number of Luxor hotels, such as the Novotel, organise day excursions to Dendera by coach or Nile cruiser (lunch usually included, journey there and back takes most of one full day, with a short visit only at the actual temple).

By train

Train travel from Luxor is between 40-55 min. There is a local trains at 12:30 (LE4.50)—trains after that one will arrive too late to get in Dendera before closing hours. Otherwise, the regular trains to Cairo also stop in Qena, see Egypt#By train.

Get around

The site is small enough to reach everything by walking.

See

• 1 Temple of Hathor (7.6 km southwest of Qena railway station, LE50 return trip by taxi from Qena). daily, 8AM-5PM. Beautiful interior and no restriction on picture taking. LE80. (updated Dec 2017)