The kings of Egypt realized that while the Pyramids were impressive burial places, they were easy targets for thieves. The mountains in Luxor had the same triangular shape, and they hoped digging their tombs into the rock would make them harder to find. The only king's tomb that had been found intact was that of King Tut’s tomb. Though a new tomb was recently discovered intact with 5 sarcophogi and is still being excavated as of this writing. But the tomb isn't of a king, but possibly King Tut's family.

Your entrance fee (20 Egyptian pounds) gives you entrance into three tombs. You are not allowed to take photos inside any tomb, but you can take them outside. No camcorders allowed at all. Your guide can come into the Valley with you, but not into the tombs themselves.

There are plenty to choose from, so I’ll tell you which ones I thought were the best.

The tomb of Tuthmosis III is by far the best tomb in the valley—and is the hardest to get to (isn’t that always the way?) If you’ve got a sense of adventure and some strong thighs, climb up the steep stairs and then climb deep down into the rock to see the magnificent reliefs. They are unique in that they don’t look painted on, they look like they were done with and ancient Sharpie marker. The whole tomb is shaped like a cartouche, and the sarcophagus that has been left in the tomb is also shaped like a cartouche. Shine your flashlight into the sarcophagus and you can see the carved outline of the king where he lay. The eyes of Horrace the protector seem to follow you wherever you go. Bring a tip for the Bedouin, because there is no escaping him. I will say that he knew where to look for certain things, and enjoyed shining the flashlight on many surprises (and wanted to keep it).

I’d say Ramses IX would be the next best tomb that we saw. Different tombs are closed at different times. Ask your guide for recommendations.

Also, pay the extra 70 Egyptian pounds to go into Tutankhamon’s tomb. And yes, do the cheesy tourist thing and wait in line to take your photo with his tomb marker. Cameras aren’t allowed inside the tomb, and you’ll be given a receipt for your camera when you leave it at the entrance.

The sarcophagus has been left inside the tomb, along with Tut’s mummy. The bedouin inside took my flashlight and said "come look over here!" What he failed to say was "there's no floor over here" which resulted in my King Tut bruise. The wall reliefs have been restored, and as the king died unexpectedly and so young, many of the paintings were not finished.

It boggles the mind to think that only 70 or so tombs have been discovered out of the estimated 150-plus that should be buried here.

This was an excellent stop on the trip.

The entrance fee of 20 Egyptian pounds, and cameras are allowed into the Valley, but not into the tombs themselves.

Having been first to the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens was kind of a letdown. There were only three tombs open, and Nefretete’s tomb was closed. Most of the tombs in the Valley of the Queens were destroyed, and the tombs that were open did have paintings in them, but they all seemed very much alike. Unlike the tombs of the kings, these tombs are just a simple antechamber.

One of the tombs is that of Queen Titi (no, I didn't make that up), possibly the queen of Ramses III, though there's nothing in the tomb that would confirm that. The tomb is beautifully painted, but not as spectacular as any in the Valley of the Kings.

There aren’t just queens buried here, but there are other members of the royal family. For example; the son of Ramses III, who died at a very young age. The reliefs on the wall show the father helping his son navigate the afterlife, making offerings to the gods. This tomb has a very interesting mummified baby, which apparently had been born prematurely. Combine the gross and the cool factors and it was kind of interesting.

The Bedouins were at the entrance of every tomb handing out cardboard to use as fans, so again, if you use them, you might want to give them a small tip. And they will follow you in and point out the obvious (and to their credit, the sometimes not obvious). It's their way, give a tip and go with the flow.

I say see it if you have time, but don’t pass up the other sites in Luxor to see the Valley of the Queens.

We were up before the dawn to catch a ferry to the west bank of the Nile. We met up with our donkey guides to go through the pairing process...between human and donkey. I was paired with a white donkey named Chocolate (I'm not sure why) who liked to hang out in the middle of the pack.

Once everyone was on, we headed for the hills, passed the Colossi of Memnon and then up onto the cliffs. By this time we had learned some of the commands and strange noises you make to get your donkey moving! Up, up, up, we had an incredible view of the sunrise over the Nile Valley with hot air balloons rising in the air. The donkeys seemed to like passing each other on the most narrow trails overlooking sheer cliff-faces, but I figured the donkey wouldn't do anything to risk its life, so what the heck!

We made our way over the hills and left our beasts of burden in exchange for a scramble on foot down into the Valley of the Kings. We had views of the Valley you only find in books and a good guide to explain what we would see in the tombs. The colors were absolutely amazing, since they have been protected from the elements for thousands of years.

We did visit the tomb of Tutankhamen for an additional fee, even though we knew it was very small and the reliefs are not impressive. But who knows when we'll go back! We also visited the tombs of Rameses III, Rameses VI, and Merenptah. Although I didn't go, I'd recommend seeing the Valley of the Queens also - some people from our group went and thought it was wonderful and less crowded.

After a brief pause to photograph the working-class village of Qorna, we headed directly for the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepshut. It loomed over the parking lot, nearly a quarter-mile away up a stone ramp. (The guide probably chose this first because the heat would only get worse later.)

To better impress her subjects and rival kings, Hatshepshut posed as a male during her reign. The original carvings, he said, portrayed her as one. Jealous successors later changed her back into a woman. Many of the frescoes and carvings are well-preserved and restored. Though we had only limited access to the interior, we could study, but not photograph, its successions of story-telling hieroglyphs. Photogenic exterior carvings abounded.

The tombs of the Pharaohs were built partially underground, then covered with dirt to disguise them as natural hills and conceal them from marauders. They’re in the form of inverted half-pyramids. The outer or upper rooms hold the remains and relics of lesser family members: in one tomb, the mummy of a stillborn royal child. The remains of the ruler himself lie in an elaborate sarcophagus in the lowest, innermost room.

The trouble with tombs, unless you’re an Egyptologist or archaeologist, is that they tend to resemble each other. The first, especially if it’s one of the more elaborate ones, is a ‘can’t miss.’ By the third or fourth, to me at least, it became ‘Been there, done that.’

The most famous tomb, King Tut’s, required a substantial admission fee not included in the tour price. Since all its treasures had been removed to museums, our guide opined that it wasn’t worth it. We used the time we saved to revisit Luxor Temple, which had been badly lighted the day before but was perfect for photography this afternoon. Less well-lighted, because of the flat mid-day desert sun, were the huge twin statues of Memnon and his queen, on the road between the tomb sites and the Nile River Bridge north of Luxor.

The hotel’s travel agent urged me to hire a private car, driver and guide instead of joining a tour group. It could be booked on short notice and would make far more efficient use of my very limited time. And, it would be blessedly free of competing tourists. Except for the Temple of Hatshepshut, where two people blundered into what would have otherwise been my best photograph, we had many sites almost completely to ourselves.

I paid $66 for car, driver and guide. Well worth it, in my opinion.

The Valley of Kings reminded me of entrances to mine shafts. Of the five there, only one was actually open so that you could see what the entrance lead to. This one had very unique sarcophagus lid. (Basically the lid of a coffin.) It was very ornate with carvings of a pharoah. But if you walked underneath, (it was raised up by pillars)there was the outline of a body and finger indentations. It was as if you pulled the lid down on yourself (buried alive maybe).

The Valley of the Kings is located on the East side of the Nile. It was believed that life began (as sunrise) in the east and the west was for the dead. They believed the kings would go to another life and therefore belonged in the east.

Again, the price 20LE.