Mon 02 Aug 2027 · Luxor, Egypt
6:23
minutes of totality. Longest of the century.
A total solar eclipse passes directly over Luxor with the longest land totality from 1991 to 2114. Six minutes twenty-three. Directly above the Valley of the Kings. We have an office in Luxor. This page is how we're planning it.
Add me to the list
Luxor · 25.69° N
The line of greatest eclipse runs above this riverbank. The pharaohs mapped this sun for three thousand years from here.
Path of totality · Aug 2 2027
The shadow enters Egypt over the Western Desert, crosses Luxor, exits over the Red Sea.
Why Luxor
The line of greatest eclipse, three-thousand-year-old sightlines, and the clearest sky in the path.
The August 2 2027 eclipse track crosses southern Spain, North Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa. The centre line – the place where totality lasts longest – runs through Upper Egypt almost exactly over Luxor. Greatest eclipse falls at 12:43 local time with the sun 82 degrees above the horizon, which is essentially overhead. The corona will read cleaner than at any low-altitude site on the track.
The climatology is the reason this eclipse works so well in Luxor. Early August in Upper Egypt is the driest, clearest weather window of the year – chance of an overcast 12:43 is statistically nil. Compare with the 1999 Cornwall eclipse, which the entire UK watched through cloud. Compare with Antarctic centre-line totalities you can't actually fly to. Luxor in August is the rare site that is long, clear, and reachable.
The line of greatest passes within a few miles of Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, the Ramesseum. Egyptian astronomy mapped this sun for three thousand years from this riverbank. You will not get this combination of subject and event again in our lifetimes.
- 01
6m 23s
Totality duration at Luxor
Longest land totality 1991–2114. 2017 US eclipse: 2m 40s. 2024: 4m 28s.
- 02
82°
Sun altitude at greatest eclipse
Nearly directly overhead. Corona display unusually clean at this angle.
- 03
~97%
Clear-sky probability
Upper Egypt early August: effectively zero rain risk. The reason astronomers picked Luxor.
- 04
25.69° N
Centre line of greatest eclipse
Luxor sits within 12 km of greatest duration. Aswan and the Valley of the Kings are inside the path.
What we're building
Eight trip shapes for the eclipse. Cairo-run, honest about August heat, sized from three nights to ten.
Every shape below is a live product page with the full itinerary, cabin or room pricing, the cancellation ladder and the eclipse-day plan. They share three things – ISO 12312-2 viewing glasses, an astronomy escort, a midday cooling plan – and differ on everything else. Two are cruises that put you on the water on Aug 2 with no early checkout; one sails north and hands you the sun deck after disembarkation; two are dahabiyas, one chartered whole and one by the cabin; one is rooms only for people running their own program; and two are full packages that add Cairo, and in the longest case the Red Sea.
- 01
Luxor hotel-only · independent · 4 nights
Karnak-side 3★ rooms for travelers running their own plan
Room-only, no transfers and no guide. We hold 3★ stock because Luxor's 5★ rooms for eclipse week are already gone. There is an on-site briefing from our Luxor team on eclipse-day timing, and after that the days are yours.
4 nights · pool, lobby bar, WiFi · short taxi to Luxor Temple
- 02
Aswan → Luxor cruise · eclipse-day exit · 4 days · 3 nights
Aswan to Luxor, disembark Mon Aug 2 – totality from the sun deck after checkout
The clever shape. Board in Aswan Fri Jul 30 and sail north through Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna. You dock in Luxor on eclipse morning; cabins check out at 09:00 as normal but you stay aboard – bags in storage, sun deck yours through the 12:43 totality, lunch after, then the transfer to Luxor airport for evening flights.
Aswan · Kom Ombo · Edfu · Esna · Luxor · totality onboard
- 03
Cairo + 4-night cruise · best value · 8 days · 7 nights
Cairo, then four nights down the river to Aswan
Cairo first – Pyramids, Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum – then fly south for a 4-night sailing to Aswan with Karnak, Luxor Temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae on the shore programme. Seven nights total; two of them are Cairo, four are on the water.
Cairo · Luxor · Karnak · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 04
Luxor → Aswan cruise · 4 nights · 5 days · 4 nights
Luxor to Aswan in four nights, with reserved sun-deck viewing
The compact version of the southbound sailing. Reserved sun-deck space for the 12:43 totality, then the West Bank – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, the Colossi – before Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae and the High Dam.
Luxor · Valley of the Kings · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 05
Dahabiya · private charter · 5 days · 4 nights
Eight-cabin dahabiya, chartered whole, moored for totality
Sail-powered, no engine note, up to 23 guests and nobody else aboard. The boat holds a reserved riverbank mooring for the totality window. Shore calls at Karnak, Luxor Temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae and the Valley of the Kings.
Esna · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · reserved mooring
- 06
Grand tour · the full arc · 11 days · 10 nights
Cairo, the Nile Valley and the Red Sea – everything in one trip
Cairo with an Egyptologist, then a Nile cruise south through the eclipse, then Red Sea nights to decompress. Standard site entrance fees included. The shape to pick if this is your one trip to Egypt.
Cairo · Luxor · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Red Sea
- 07
Luxor → Aswan cruise · no early checkout · 8 days · 7 nights
Seven nights Luxor to Aswan, totality on arrival day
You watch the corona from the sun deck on the day you board, so there is no 09:00 checkout to negotiate and no coach to a viewing field. Egyptologist-guided shore calls at Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae.
Luxor · West Bank · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 08
Dahabiya · shared cabin · lowest price · 5 days · 4 nights
A cabin on a shared dahabiya, boarding the morning of the eclipse
Same lateen-sail boat and same slow pace as the charter, but you book a cabin rather than the whole vessel. Embarkation is Aug 2 itself. Full board from lunch on day one to breakfast on the last morning.
Embark Aug 2 · 4 nights · deluxe 5★ dahabiya · quiet moorings
Allocation locks ~9 months before. The register-interest list below is how we contact you when these go on sale.
From the desk
We have one Luxor office and a finite number of partner hotels. The astronomy community is competing for the same rooms we'd use. The interest list is how we know who to call first when allocation locks – usually 6-9 months before the eclipse.
– Suhaila · Client Experience, Discovery Tours Egypt
The practical questions
Eight things people ask us about August 2.
01When exactly is the eclipse over Luxor?
Monday, August 2, 2027. First contact (partial eclipse begins) around 11:20am Egypt time. Totality reaches Luxor at approximately 12:43pm and lasts 6 minutes 23 seconds. Fourth contact is around 14:05. The sun is nearly overhead – 82 degrees altitude – which means no horizon obstructions matter and the corona display is exceptional.
02Why Luxor specifically?
Luxor sits very close to the centre line of greatest eclipse. The duration of totality is longer there than anywhere else on land – anywhere – for this eclipse. Weather statistics for early August in Upper Egypt show essentially zero rain risk and high probability of clear sky. Aswan, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings are also inside the totality path. This combination – longest totality, almost-certain clear sky, and the most celebrated archaeological landscape in the world – does not repeat in our lifetimes.
03How long is totality and how does that compare?
6 minutes 23 seconds at Luxor. For context: the August 2017 American eclipse maxed out at 2 minutes 40 seconds. The April 2024 North American eclipse hit 4 minutes 28 seconds. The 2027 Luxor totality is the longest from land between 1991 and 2114. If you only see one totality in your life, this is the one to fly for.
04Is this a Discovery Tours Egypt product yet?
Yes. Eight eclipse trips are live and bookable, each with its own itinerary page, cabin or room pricing and cancellation terms – listed above. What is still moving is allocation: Luxor's quality hotel stock is finite and the world's astronomy community is competing for it, which is why the hotel-only option is 3★ rather than 5★. Ship and dahabiya cabins for Aug 2 are the tightest inventory we hold all year, so the earlier you book, the more choice you have.
05What will the trip look like?
Three broad shapes. On the water: a Luxor→Aswan cruise where totality falls on the day you board, so there is no 09:00 checkout and no coach out to a field – you watch it from the sun deck, then sail south through Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan. Or the reverse, Aswan→Luxor, docking in Luxor on eclipse morning: you check out at 09:00 but stay aboard through the 12:43 corona and fly out that evening. On a dahabiya: the same river at half the speed under lateen sails, either chartered whole or booked by the cabin, mooring at quiet riverbank sites. Or a full package: Cairo and the Pyramids first, then the cruise, and in the 11-day version Red Sea nights to decompress afterwards. All of them include ISO 12312-2 viewing glasses, an English-speaking astronomy escort, private Egyptologist guiding, and a daytime cooling plan – August in Luxor is 40°C plus.
06Can I bring my own telescope or camera?
Yes – and we encourage it. We are arranging dedicated equipment-friendly observation sites with shade tents, mounting platforms, power, and chase support for serious astrophotographers. Tell us on the interest form what you'd be bringing and we'll route you to the right tier.
07What about flights, visas, the practical bits?
We arrange domestic flights Cairo–Luxor as part of the package. International flights are separate (LHR/JFK/LAX direct to Cairo, or one-stop via Istanbul, Frankfurt, or Paris). Egypt requires a visa for US passport holders – $35 on arrival or $30 e-Visa. We send full briefing materials when itineraries open.
08What does it cost?
Ground-only, twin share, per person: from $5,231 for a cabin on the shared dahabiya, from $2,250 for the 8-day Cairo and 4-night cruise package, from $2,700 for the 4-day Aswan to Luxor sailing, from $3,200 room-only for the Karnak-side hotel, from $3,400 for either Luxor to Aswan cruise, from $8,400 for the 11-day grand tour, and from $9,800 for the whole-boat dahabiya charter. Single and upper-deck supplements apply, and international flights are separate. Eclipse-week demand for Luxor hotel and ship space sits well above a normal August – finite cabins, global demand.
Monday, August 2, 2027. The Egypt your ancestors planned trips around.