Kom Ombo

Kom Ombo (Arabic: &#1603;&#1608;&#1605; &#1571;&#1605;&#1576;&#1608;) is a town of some 60,000 people in Upper Egypt, 50 km north of Aswan.

Understand
Kom Ombo sits in an irrigated basin on the east bank of the Nile, producing sugar cane and corn. The reason to visit is its temple, built from circa 180 BC into Roman times; there is sure to be much older building beneath this area that has not yet been excavated.

The climate is hot desert, pleasantly warm in winter and blisteringly hot in summer. Imagine the slave labourers excavating and erecting the monumental stone in this heat.

By train
Trains from Cairo take 10 hr to Luxor then another 3 hr via Esna and Edfu to, continuing to Aswan. There are 10-12 per day, so you should be able to avoid an early-hours arrival or departure. The temple is 5 km southwest of the station, so a taxi might be LE20 or a tuk-tuk LE10, or just walk.

Four of these trains, badged "Ordinary", stop at multiple little wayside halts, including Naj al Shatb al Kabir 5 km further south and only 2 km from the temple. There are few facilities here (though tuk-tuks wait 200 m north). Though, Kom Ombo might be a safer bet to get out again, with people around to ask if the delayed train is ever coming, and the option of taking the bus.

By boat
Take a felucca cruise on the Nile from Aswan or Luxor.

Cruise boats between Luxor and Aswan regularly stop here. The temple is right beside the dock.

Eat and drink
There are cafes at the foot of the temple, along the main road into town, and in town centre.

Buy
There's a handful of stores midtown near the "23 July" bridge over the railway tracks.

Hawkers with overpriced tat will hunt down any visitors looking like tourists.

Sleep
There's a guesthouse in town, and a couple of others on the river island facing the temple, but no confirmation that they are still in business (as of April 2020). So unless a local agent can fix you up, plan on visiting Kom Ombo on a day trip or as a stopoff along the Luxor-Aswan road.

Go next

 * 15 km north are the remarkable royal quarries of Silsila.
 * The route south, upriver, leads to Aswan, which has an impressive collection of antiquities.
 * North downriver are Edfu and Esna, small towns both with a temple; then unmissable Luxor with Karnak and the Valley of the Kings.