3 Best Sights in Aswan's Nile Islands, Aswan and Lake Nasser

This botanical garden occupies all 17 acres of Kitchener's Island, named after Lord Horatio Kitchener, a 19th-century British commander of the Egyptian army who was fascinated by botany. Some of the nearly 750 species planted here don't exist anywhere else in Egypt, hailing from tropical Africa as well as from as far away as India and Brazil. The grounds make for a mildly pleasant stroll, but unfortunately too much of the space has been taken over by market stalls selling the same sort of stuff that you'll find at every tourist site in the country.

To reach Kitchener's Island, you have two choices. The easiest way is to arrange a full- or half-day felucca tour to all the sights on the West Bank and Nile islands through a company like Aswan Individual or your accommodations. Alternatively, you can hire a boat captain along the Corniche on the East Bank.

In a more modern side building off the historic museum (itself built in 1898 to house the British engineer of the Aswan Dam, but seemingly indefinitely closed for renovations), a few glass cases display archaeological finds from Elephantine Island, including pottery, jewelry, grave goods, and a marriage contract written on papyrus.

The archaeological area sprawls across most of the southern part of Elephantine Island, but the ruins are minimal and uninspiring compared with sites elsewhere in Egypt. Temples with quite a bit of modern restoration are dedicated to two of the three gods of the Elephantine Triad: Khnum and his consort, Satet. Northwest of the Temple of Khnum is a flight of metal stairs and a platform that offers a panoramic view of the small nearby islands and southern Aswan. Near the boat dock is the Nilometer, used to gauge the annual Nile floods and therefore the taxes due. 

For the site's high ticket price, the museum is disappointingly small, and the ruins are barely labeled.

Seheil is one of the largest islands in the Nile, and the tall hill on its southeastern flank was a quarry for granite. It was also used as a resting spot for those trading with the Nubians and by the pharaoh's army, who etched hundreds of inscriptions and cartouches on the rocks—the oldest dates from the Middle Kingdom (2130–1649 BC). A climb up the slopes reveals the Famine Stela, a hieroglyph-covered slab. Although it was carved during the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC), it recounts an episode from the reign of King Djoser 2,500 years prior. The story goes that Egypt had been suffering from drought and famine for seven years when an adviser to the king suggested that he make an offering to Khnum, the god that controls the Nile flood. Khnum appeared to the pharaoh in a dream and brought back the flood, and Djoser honored him by constructing a temple in his honor on Elephantine Island, the ruins of which you can still visit.

You can reach Seheil Island independently by hiring a felucca or motorboat, or as part of a tour organized by a Nubian guesthouse in Gharb Soheil. In addition to climbing the hill to the stela, the tour might also take you into a Nubian house in the nearby village for tea and cakes.