Photo: Olaf Tausch (CC BY 3.0)
A self-guided audio guide to the two rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel in Nubia, on the shore of Lake Nasser: 24 narrated stops over about 800 metres, from the entrance gate around the artificial hill to the lake, along the four seated colossi of Ramesses II, into the Great Temple through its Osiride pillars and Kadesh reliefs to the sanctuary the sun reaches around 22 February and 22 October, then out past the mouth of the hill that holds the temples since their 1964–1968 rescue, to the Small Temple of Nefertari and Hathor. Interiors are told 'when open'.
24 narrations, yours to keep — no subscription, no expiry. Works offline once downloaded, and if it isn’t for you we’ll refund it.
Going somewhere with no signal? Put the guide on your home screen first, then download it from that icon while you are on wi-fi — that way you download once, and it works in airplane mode with no roaming charges. Show me the order →
Every claim in this tour traces back to a named source — excavation records, the heritage authority for the site, and the primary texts themselves. Nothing is copied from other guidebooks, and anything we can't source doesn't make the recording.
Each stop is built from OpenStreetMap · 3 features in this old town (the field-surveyed mapping database behind Apple Maps), Wikidata · 4 cross-referenced entries (peer-reviewed structured records), the heritage authority below, and the primary historical texts where they exist.
Cross-referenced against Modern excavation publications · academic peer-review.
Every sentence is checked against those sources before it is recorded. If a claim can't be traced, it doesn't make the audio.
Every tour is reviewed by a person before it goes on sale. Stop selection, the route and anything ambiguous come back to the editor for a decision, and those questions routinely send a stop back for another accuracy pass. Nothing publishes on a machine’s say-so.
Spot anything inaccurate? Email [email protected] — fixed in the next pass.
Abu Simbel temple complex, Lake Nasser lakeshore, Marriage Stela of Ramesses II, Great Temple facade, Fallen head and torso of the second colossus, Greek and Carian mercenaries' graffiti on a colossus leg, Smaller figures of the royal family at the Great Temple colossi, Baboon frieze.
Ra-Horakhty niche above the Great Temple entrance, Rediscovery of Abu Simbel by Burckhardt and Belzoni, Solar alignment, Great Temple hypostyle hall, Eight Osiride pillars, Battle of Kadesh reliefs, Great Temple side chambers, Great Temple inner rooms, Great Temple vestibule, Great Temple sanctuary.
Sun chapel north of the Great Temple terrace, Artificial hill, Small Temple of Nefertari and Hathor, Small Temple hall, Small Temple vestibule, Small Temple sanctuary.
Four seated colossi of Ramesses II carved from the cliff, framing the single entrance.
Brought down by an ancient earthquake and left where it fell.
Ramesses's own account of a battle that in fact ended without a clear victory.
Where the rising sun reaches three of the four seated gods twice a year, while Ptah stays in shadow.
The hill of rubble over concrete domes built to hold the rescued temples above Lake Nasser.
Nefertari carved at the same height as Ramesses II on the facade.
Tap "Start Walking Tour" and allow location access. The map shows all 24 narration points.
Follow the suggested route or explore freely. GPS tracks your position. Reach a site and the narration plays automatically.
Each site has its own narration. 24 narration points.
Narrations play when you reach each site. No buttons, no track numbers. Walk naturally — the stories find you.
Premium narration that sounds like a documentary. Warm and knowledgeable, not a textbook reading.
Every narration is drafted, cross-checked against primary sources, then passed through a second editorial pass that strips unsupported claims. Dates, names, and citations verified.
See all narration points on the map. Tap any point to hear it early or replay it later.
Every narrated point in Abu Simbel — Ramesses II's Great Temple and Nefertari's Temple, each with its own narration.
Spend an hour or a full day. Skip sites, revisit favourites, take breaks. The tour adapts to you.
24 narration points, including Abu Simbel temple complex, Lake Nasser lakeshore, Great Temple facade, Solar alignment and Great Temple hypostyle hall. That is about 30 minutes of narration in all, and you walk between the stops at your own pace.
Yes. It plays in your phone’s browser as you walk: no guide, no group, no app to install and no fixed start time.
Three ways, all built in:
The map-tap option means you can stand anywhere — even at home before you travel — and play any narration. GPS just makes it hands-free while you’re actually walking the site.
No. Use the “Download for offline” button before you go, and the entire tour — audio, maps, narration text — works without any data connection. Tap-to-play and the map both work fully offline. GPS itself doesn’t need data; only the download does.
Add the icon first, then download from the icon. On iPhone a guide downloaded in Safari cannot be seen by the home screen icon, so downloading first means downloading the whole thing twice.
Putting it on your home screen — iPhone or iPad (Safari):
On Android (Chrome): tap the three-dot menu at the top right, tap Add to Home screen (some phones say Install app), then confirm. On Android either order works.
If you opened this link from inside Instagram, Facebook or Gmail, you are in that app’s built-in browser. It cannot add anything to your home screen, and a guide downloaded there is thrown away when the app closes. Open the link in Safari or Chrome first.
Two backstops. First, the map shows every site — just tap the marker for the place in front of you. Second, you can manually queue any narration even when GPS is off. The platform never assumes GPS works; it’s the convenience layer, not the gate.
The audio runs ~1½ hours on site total, but you walk at your own pace. 24 narration points across the site. Most visitors take 2–4 hours; some spread it over multiple visits. Once you buy it, it’s yours — there’s no expiry and no subscription. Come back next year if you like; the link in your receipt always works.
One purchase covers one device session. Most couples share earbuds and use a single phone — the audio is paced for that. If you want everyone listening on their own device, each person needs their own purchase. We do not gate sharing aggressively; we trust visitors to do the right thing.
Full refund if you never trigger a single narration on-site. Partial refund based on how far you got. See the refund policy for specifics.