Kom Ombo
Introduction
Kom Ombo is an agricultural town on the Nile in Egypt, known above all for the Temple of Kom Ombo. In ancient times it was a city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold, also rendered Nubet or Nubyt, and it later became a Greek settlement during the Greco-Roman Period.
Its position on the Nile, north of Aswan, gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, but the town's real rise to prominence came with the erection of the temple in the 2nd century BC. That temple is the reason most travellers stop here.
Before you go
Kom Ombo sits in an irrigated basin on the east bank of the Nile, where sugar cane and corn grow. The reason to visit is its temple, built from around 180 BC into Roman times; older building beneath the area is thought to remain unexcavated. Plan your days around the temple, and expect the surrounding farmland rather than a large city. The climate is hot desert, pleasantly warm in winter and blisteringly hot in summer. If you travel in the hotter months, prepare for intense heat while you walk the site, and consider how the monumental stone was once quarried and raised in those same conditions.Getting there
Trains run from Cairo to Luxor, then onward via Esna and Edfu to Kom Ombo station and on to Aswan. With ten to twelve services a day, you should be able to avoid an arrival or departure in the early hours. The temple lies about 5 km southwest of the station, so you can take a taxi or a tuk-tuk, or simply walk. Four of these trains, badged "Ordinary", stop at several small wayside halts, including Naj al Shatb al Kabir, 5 km further south and only 2 km from the temple. Facilities there are few, though tuk-tuks wait 200 m north. Kom Ombo itself may be the safer bet for getting out again, with people around to ask whether a delayed train is coming and the option of taking the bus. By boat, you can take a felucca cruise on the Nile from Aswan or Luxor. Cruise boats travelling between Luxor and Aswan regularly stop here, and the temple is right beside the dock.Getting around
Kom Ombo is a compact agricultural town on the Nile, and most of what you need clusters around two points: the railway station and the Temple of Kom Ombo on the riverbank. Walking between them is realistic — the temple lies southwest of the station, and you can cover the distance on foot rather than taking a vehicle. Expect an ordinary town walk rather than a scenic one, and prepare for heat, since the local climate is hot desert. Once at the temple, the site is walkable but not fully accessible: the terrace is reached by steps from the water and the ancient flooring is uneven, with no adaptations for visitors with limited mobility. The approach is relatively relaxed, with less aggressive selling than on the approach to Edfu.
Kom Ombo has its own station on the main Nile Valley line, with services linking Cairo, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan, and enough departures through the day that you can generally avoid an early-hours arrival or departure. Some trains are badged "Ordinary" and stop at small wayside halts, including Naj al Shatb al Kabir further south, which is closer to the temple; those halts have few facilities, though tuk-tuks wait nearby. For most visitors the main station is the safer bet for getting out again, since there are people around to ask about a delayed train and the bus is an alternative if the train does not show. There is no metro or tram — the train is an intercity service, not local transit. Intercity coaches run frequently along the Nile Valley and are very cheap, while within town there is no urban bus network: short hops are covered by taxi, tuk-tuk or on foot, with tuk-tuks waiting near the station and the wayside halts. Agree on the fare before you set off, and arrange longer trips — Aswan is a short ride south, Luxor a couple of hours north by road — through your hotel rather than street touts. Many visitors arrive by water instead: cruise boats running between Luxor and Aswan moor directly beneath the temple, so you simply walk up, and smaller dahabiyas can moor where the larger ships cannot. There is no airport here; fly into Aswan or Luxor and continue overland or by river, and note that the Cairo–Aswan sleeper train also stops at Kom Ombo.
Where to stay
Accommodation in Kom Ombo is limited. There is a guesthouse in town, and a couple of others on the river island facing the temple, but their continued operation could not be confirmed as of April 2020. Unless a local agent can arrange something for you, it is best to plan your visit as a day trip or a stop along the Luxor-Aswan road rather than counting on an overnight stay.What to see and do
The Temple of Kom Ombo is the reason most travellers stop here: an unusual double temple dedicated to Sobek and Haroeris, begun in the reign of Ptolemy VI and repaired after the 1992 earthquake. You enter through a pylon on the west side into a courtyard of partly-coloured columns, then pass into the intricately carved pronaos, where the ceremonial doorway on the north side belongs to falcon-headed Haroeris and the one on the south to crocodile-headed Sobek. Further antechambers and chapels lead to the inner temple, and on the east flank outside you can pick out a depiction of the Roman Emperor Trajan presenting surgical instruments to Haroeris. Partly restored and incomplete buildings are scattered across the site, and the adjacent Crocodile Museum, covered by your ticket, displays items from the cult of Sobek, including a few of the many mummified crocodiles found here. Exploration of the complex is far from complete, and a sphinx of similar date to the temple was found as recently as 2018. If you have time and transport, head 15 km north to Silsila, where cliffs pinch the river channel. Its sandstone was prized for monumental work from the 18th Dynasty onward and quarried for use across the country. Most points of interest lie on the west bank: the Temple of Horemheb, the chapels of Panehesy and Paser, various cenotaphs and inscriptions, and the channels and tunnels of the quarry workings. On the east bank are the Temple of Kheny and more quarries. You will need a car or taxi, or an organised tour, to get there.Three days in Kom Ombo
Day one: Arrive in Kom Ombo, a city on the Nile in Egypt whose name recalls Nubt, the City of Gold, also known as Nubet or Nubyt. Begin with the Temple, whose remains span the Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman Period and reach back to BC times. That temple is the reason most travellers stop here, and it sits close enough to the river that you can pair it with a walk along the Nile.
Day two: Plan a day around the temple and the river rather than rushing onward. If you are moving through the Nile Valley, Kom Ombo sits between Aswan and Luxor, with Esna and Edfu nearby, so trains from Cairo or Luxor make it easy to break the journey. With four ordinary stops of this kind, you can expect facilities at Naj Shatb and Kabir, and by cruise or by walking you can see the temple without much difficulty.
Day three: Once you have seen the Temple, use the remaining time to take in Kom Ombo itself and its position in Nubia. The Nile is the constant here, and the city's old name of Gold still shapes how it is described. That is enough for a short stay before you continue south to Aswan or north along the Nile Valley.