Sehel Island

Sehel lies in the first cataract, and its two granite hills carry over two hundred and fifty rock inscriptions cut by travellers, officials and expedition leaders who passed this point on the way south, spanning the Old Kingdom to the Ptolemies. The best known is the Famine Stela, a Ptolemaic text carved in the third or second century BC but written as though it were a decree of the Third Dynasty king Djoser, describing a seven-year famine ended when Khnum was propitiated, and used as a claim on temple revenues. Others record expeditions, canal clearances at the cataract and prayers for safe passage. A Nubian village occupies part of the island, and the granite boulders and rapids around it are the reason boats once needed hauling through here.

What you actually see

• The Famine Stela - a Ptolemaic text written as a decree of Djoser.
• Over two hundred inscriptions - expedition records cut into the granite.
• Cataract boulders and rapids - the obstacle that made the island a stopping point.
• A Nubian village - houses on the lower part of the island.

When to go

October to April. Half a day including the sail. Mornings or late afternoon for raking light on the inscriptions, which are hard to read in flat midday sun.

Honest expectations

The climb over the granite to the main inscription groups is on loose rock in full sun. Inscriptions are unlabelled and hard to find without a guide. Boat prices are negotiated. The island village is a residential place, not an attraction.

Nearby

Gharb Soheil faces the island; Aswan lies downstream through the cataract.