Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser was created by the High Dam and runs roughly five hundred kilometres south from Aswan into Sudan, where it is called Lake Nubia, making it one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. Its shores are almost entirely empty: there are no towns, no roads along most of it, and the water level rises and falls enough to prevent permanent settlement, so the landscape is bare desert meeting flat water with rocky islands. Along it stand the Nubian temples relocated during the salvage campaign, Kalabsha, Wadi es-Sebua, Amada, Abu Simbel and others, most of them reachable only by boat, which is why the small cruise fleet exists. The lake also holds very large Nile perch, and fishing safaris camping on the shore run out of Aswan.

History

Before the lake existed, its area was a large part of Nubia, home to several pharaohs and to empires such as Kush. Construction of the Aswan High Dam began in 1960 and was finished in 1970, replacing the insufficient Low Dam of 1902 to give a more stable water supply, more farm production and electricity, and the lake and dam were inaugurated in 1971; the lake is named after Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the Sudanese call their smaller part of it Lake Nubia. Tens of thousands of Nubians had to leave their homes, which now lie under the water. The flooding prompted the international campaign led by UNESCO to save the monuments of Nubia, which moved the temples of Kalabsha, Wadi es-Sebua, Amada and, most famously, Abu Simbel to higher ground, while others, such as the fortress of Buhen, now lie underwater (Wikipedia, Lake Nasser).

What you'll find

• Relocated Nubian temples - Kalabsha, Wadi es-Sebua and Amada along the shore.
• Empty desert shoreline - no towns and almost no roads for hundreds of kilometres.
• Nile perch fishing - the reason the fishing safaris run.
• Crocodiles and shore birds - wildlife on the islands and shallows.

When to go

October to April for temperature; the lake is punishing in summer. Cruises run on set schedules of three to five days between Aswan and Abu Simbel. Fishing safaris are arranged privately and camp on the shore.

What to expect

Access is entirely through operators; there is no independent way to travel the lake. The cruise fleet is small and boats vary a great deal in condition. Water levels affect which temples can be landed at. Crocodiles are present and swimming is not advisable.

Nearby

Aswan and the High Dam are at the northern end; Abu Simbel lies at the southern.

Key facts