Valley of the Queens
Where Love and Legacy Endure
Not far from the Valley of the Kings lies another, smaller necropolis, chosen in the New Kingdom as the burial place for the royal families. Its ancient name was Ta-Set-Neferu — “the Place of Beauty.”
Beginning in the 18th Dynasty, queens, princes, and princesses of the pharaohs were laid to rest here. More than ninety tombs have been cut into the cliffs: some simple chambers, others richly decorated with scenes from the afterlife. While the kings carved long corridors to proclaim their journey to eternity, the Valley of the Queens was more intimate — a place of remembrance for those who shared the pharaoh’s life.
The queens buried here include consorts of great rulers such as Ramses I, Seti I, and Ramses II. Many children of the royal household also found their resting place in this valley, their tombs often small yet moving, painted with protective deities and prayers.
The site was chosen not for its dramatic cliffs, but for its seclusion. The valley’s narrow entrance and surrounding ridges offered privacy and security, a quiet echo of the grandeur of the kings’ valley nearby.
Experience it
The tombs all tell a different story. Some are unfinished, little more than cut rock where work was abandoned. Others are painted in vivid colors, alive with scenes of gods and protective spirits. Together, they reveal the quieter side of Egypt’s royal family — not the grandeur of empire, but the devotion of a household.
The most celebrated of these tombs is that of Queen Nefertari, the beloved wife of Ramesses The Great. Often called the Sistine Chapel of Egypt, her burial chamber stands as one of the most beautiful works of art in the ancient world.
But Nefertari is not alone here. The valley also holds the tombs of royal sons and daughters, many who died young, their chambers painted with tender care. In these quiet spaces, eternity was prepared not only for rulers, but for the family that surrounded them.
Today, the Valley of the Queens offers a different experience from its counterpart across the ridge. It is smaller, more secluded, and often quieter, its cliffs enclosing an atmosphere of reflection. To walk its paths is to step into a place where love and remembrance mattered as much as power and conquest.
For travelers, it offers a rare perspective: the chance to see how Egypt’s devotion to eternity extended beyond kings to the women and children who shared their world — and whose memory still endures, carved into stone beneath the desert sky.
We invite you to experience this moment for yourself.
Join our private, curated journeys through Egypt, where expert guides, seamless service, and privileged access bring history to life—one temple, one sunrise, one story at a time.
The Valley awaits.