temple of hathor at dendera

This was our first experience of Egypt's heritage and it couldn't have been better. As you walk in it has the real WOW factor! Our guide told us the story of Isis and Osiris and Hathor before we went in and once inside we let one of the local guides take us down to an underground area that was lined with Alabaster. Magic! Tip him a £1 coin. They love UK money. But..... my favourite part was the ceiling. Follow the hours of the day and the goddess swallowing the sun at the end of the day. Excellent!

I have been here many times, but never knew of these Underground tunnels. I was looking for Horus carvings, and one of the guards told me that the most beautiful ones are underground. This is inside the temple and he said that there are many, but only one is open to visitors. I climbed down, It was too narrow and also too low, that I had to kneel till I entered, then it gets larger. He also said that I have to hurry before it gets crowded, then it will not be possible to take pictures or watch peacefully.It was worth every penny.Be careful when you visit, there is no outlets for food or drinks. Only bathrooms.

This Temple is AMAZING. Its so big and the colors are so bright. How did the Egyptians build this temple so long ago. Its an easy walk with so much to see. I could spend hours here in awe This Temple is a must

This temple is the last we visited, and was easily the most well preserved of the lot. The two most unique things about this temple is the abundance of original vibrant color on the walls and the fact that you can go up on the second floor.... which is a lot more exciting than it sounds with a building this massive. Don't miss out on this one.

With so many wonders to visit in just a week in the Luxor area, we nearly didn’t make it north to Dendera, but are so glad we made the effort. By the entrance area we were already blown away, and speechless by the time we walked into the main hall... We spent nearly three hours exploring the well-preserved complex, with very few other visitors (more at @5journeys). If you get the chance, climb down into the crypt; the access space is tight, but the area opens out inside.

I cannot decide if this or Abydos is the best of all the temples in Egypt. It is awe inspiring site with amazingly well preserved interior decoration all over the ceiling, columns and walls.You can take an excursion from Luxor and include Abydos as well but I recommend staying at the House of Life at Abydos and visiting from there.

I really enjoyed visiting this site. There were many layers of interest to the Temple of Hathor that made the long trip from Luxor worth while

This is an absolutely a must see in Egypt. You will be blown away by the ceiling decoration in the first hall and the temple in general is almost intact after almost 2500 years. Pity about the pestering from the "guards" who are there purely to look for tips from tourists: very annoying. Also be careful that you will be asked 10LE for having seen an introductory movie about the temple (which is of course included already in the price of your ticket).

The scale of this gigantic site is humbling. It is really huge, and as stunning as Hathor herself. I wished I could have spent an entire week here just exploring and looking at everything. 'Bribe' the guards to let you into all of the secret passages, it's well worth it!

The hypostyle hall in the front is newly cleaned and dazzling. Amazing blues - a strip was left uncleaned for comparison. It took 10 years just to clean the front hall. Don't forget to take the stairs inside the walls up to the roof. On the back wall is the only remaining image of Cleopatra VII (the famous one) in Egypt.

Exquisite smaller temple dedicated to the cow goddess Hathor.....well worth a visit. Just north of Luxor.

so much colour. so much love. a magical crypt, a full temple, roof temple and then a sacred lake and well. completely overwhelmed by this beautiful beautiful temple. the collection of oddments in the open courtyard include Hathor's consort - yep the little goblin dude!

On a day trip by Taxi from Luxor we reached Dendera in about an hour and a half. Entry through the ticket office and security point was painless unlike the amount of hassle received by the shop keepers and a guy wanting to show us a video!Ticket cost was 50LE Adult and 25LE Student/ChildrenThe largest and most impressive building in the Dendera temple complex, the temple of Hathor is in my opinion one of the best preserved in all Egypt and was one of the most important cult sites of ancient Egypt. The ceiling of the Hathor Temple has recently been cleaned in a careful way that removed hundreds of years of black soot without harming the ancient paint underneath. As a result of this cleaning, spectacular ceiling painting has been exposed in the main hall, and some of the most vibrant and colourful paintings dating from antiquity are now visible.The Dendera complex is one of the most accessible ancient Egyptian places of worship. It used to be possible to visit virtually every part of the complex, from the crypts to the roof. However, the highest part of the roof of Hathor temple has been closed since 2003. The second stage of the roof was closed in November 2004, after a tourist got too close to the edge and fell to her death on the bedrock below. But you can still get onto a roof section to take some great panoramic shots!Outside the temple the impressive mud brick walls remains and there is the Temple of the birth of Isis, a Sacred Lake, Sanatorium,the Mammisi of Nectanebo II, a Christian Basilica, a Roman Mammisi,a Bark shine, Gateways of Domitian & Trajan and a Roman Kiosk.

lovely trip on the boat to dendera enjoyed the visit to the temple.A very hot day take your water,its so much better when you have a guide who speaks good English our guide Admed was great

This has to be one of the best preserved Temples on the Nile. The inside is beautifully painted, the roof is still intact, you can walk up the original staircases on to the roof, and down into the crypt.