Lake Nasser Cruising Holidays

A modern feat of engineering, the High Dam contains 18 times the amount of material used in the construction of Cheops, the largest pyramid at Giza. The by-product for this awesome construction is Lake Nasser – the world’s largest artificial lake! The Egyptian name is in honour of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was the mastermind behind the controversial High Dam project. However, cultivable land has increased considerably and the High Dam’s hydroelectric station has doubled Egypt’s power supply.

Importantly, several significant archaeological sites were dismantled block by block and moved to higher ground, most notably the Temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel. The lake’s statistics are staggering. With an area of some 5250 sq km, Lake Nasser stretches 510km in length and between 5 and 35km in width. The contrast between this awesome body of water and the remote desert stretching away on all sides makes Lake Nasser an austere place of beauty. The lake has become a natural sanctuary for migrating birds and some small mammals such as fox and gazelle.

Cruising on Lake Nasser ,visits are made to some of the monuments for example Qasr (Castle) Ibrim (which still occupies its original position), Amadah Temple – the oldest monument on Lake Nasser, built by Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II and some 2.6km from its original site and the Temple of Derr, which stands some 11km from its original site.