Wadi Hammamat

The main route between the Nile and Red Sea for thousands of years, Wadi Hammamat runs from Qift, just north of Luxor, to Al Quseir. Inscriptions, remains of old wells and other evidence of the area’s long history can be seen along the way. Part of the route is marked on what might be the world's earliest map, drawn up for Ramses IV's quarrymen in 1160 BC, found in Luxor in the 1820s and now in Turin's Museo Egizio.