Hatshepsut Temple

Hatshepsut’s
Mortuary Temple

Q: What does Djeser-Djeseru mean?

The temple’s ancient name is commonly translated as Holy of Holies or Sublime of the Sublimes.

Discover Djeser-Djeseru, the “Holy of Holies”: a terraced New Kingdom masterpiece that celebrates Hatshepsut’s kingship, divine birth and expedition to Punt.

Explore the Temple Plan Your Visit

LocationDeir el-Bahari, Luxor

PharaohHatshepsut

Dynasty18th Dynasty

Ancient NameDjeser-Djeseru

UNESCO PropertyAncient Thebes

A Monument to Kingship

Hatshepsut Temple: Power Carved into the Cliffs

Hatshepsut Temple stands at Deir el-Bahari on the west bank of Luxor. Built during Hatshepsut’s reign, around 1479–1458 BCE, it combines royal commemoration, worship of Amun-Re and the renewal of the queen’s cult.

Moreover, its terraces, ramps and colonnades create a striking dialogue with the limestone cliffs. The ancient Egyptians called the complex Djeser-Djeseru, usually translated as the “Holy of Holies.”

Although tradition associates the design with the official Senenmut, many planners, artists and builders shaped the monument. Therefore, the temple represents both royal ambition and the organised skill of New Kingdom Egypt.

Three terraces of Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el-Bahari

Architectural Masterpiece

Hatshepsut Temple Architecture: Three Monumental Terraces

First, a long processional causeway once approached the lower court through gardens and sphinxes. Then, broad central ramps linked three ascending terraces. Finally, the upper level led worshippers into sacred courts and rock-cut chambers dedicated to Amun-Re and the royal cult.

Historical Background

Hatshepsut: From Royal Regent to Pharaoh

After Thutmose II died, Hatshepsut initially served as regent for the young Thutmose III. However, within several years she adopted the full titles and visual symbols of a pharaoh while continuing to rule alongside him.

Consequently, the temple’s inscriptions present her kingship as divinely ordained. Divine-birth scenes identify Amun-Re as her heavenly father, while coronation imagery connects her rule with royal tradition and cosmic order.

Hatshepsut also promoted building and trade throughout Egypt. In particular, Djeser-Djeseru proclaimed her devotion to Amun and secured offerings for her cult after death.

Reign: approximately 1479–1458 BCE
Royal name: Maatkare
Main cults: Amun-Re, Hatshepsut, Hathor and Anubis

Central ramp and colonnades at the mortuary temple — The central axis creates a ceremonial journey from desert floor to sanctuary.

Punt expedition reliefs inside Hatshepsut Temple — The Punt scenes record ships, people, exotic goods and living myrrh trees.

Trade and Prosperity

Punt Expedition Reliefs at Hatshepsut Temple

On the middle terrace, detailed reliefs commemorate a royal expedition to Punt during Hatshepsut’s reign. Rather than a simple travel diary, the scenes transform successful trade into a sacred achievement offered to Amun.

For example, the returning expedition carries incense, ebony, ivory and living myrrh trees. Meanwhile, images of ships, houses, animals and Punt’s inhabitants create one of ancient Egypt’s richest visual accounts of a distant land.

Scholars generally place Punt around the Red Sea region of northeast Africa and Arabia. Nevertheless, its precise geographical boundaries remain debated, so the page avoids presenting one modern country as certain.

The temple turns architecture into royal biography: every ramp, colonnade and relief leads toward Hatshepsut’s eternal renewal.

Sacred Chapels

Sacred Chapels of Hatshepsut Temple

The southern side of the middle terrace contains the Chapel of Hathor. Its distinctive columns carry the goddess’s face, while painted reliefs connect Hathor with music, motherhood, kingship and the western necropolis.

By contrast, the Lower Chapel of Anubis occupies the northern side. Here, vivid ceremonial scenes honour the jackal-headed god who protected burial and guided the dead.

Above all, the upper terrace contains the Main Sanctuary of Amun-Re. The sacred rooms extend into the cliff and once received the god’s portable barque during festival processions.

Entrance to Hathor Chapel in Hatshepsut Temple — The Chapel of Hathor preserves elegant columns and traces of ancient colour.

Painted offering relief in the Chapel of Anubis — Fine reliefs preserve ritual offerings and deities within Anubis’s chapel.

Festival Landscape

Hatshepsut Temple and the Beautiful Festival of the Valley

During the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, priests carried Amun’s sacred barque from Karnak across the Nile to the west bank. Then, the procession visited royal memorial temples and renewed bonds between the living, the dead and the gods.

Hatshepsut’s sanctuary formed an important destination within that ceremonial landscape. Therefore, the temple operated as an active religious institution, not merely as a tomb or static memorial.

In addition, daily offerings sustained the cults of Amun-Re and the deceased ruler. Priests, storerooms, chapels and processional routes all supported this ritual programme.

Erasure and Recovery

Destruction and Restoration of Hatshepsut Temple

Later in Thutmose III’s reign, workers removed Hatshepsut’s names and images from selected monuments. However, the campaign was neither immediate nor complete, and scholars still debate its political and ritual motives.

Over time, rockfalls, reuse and later occupation also changed the site. Nevertheless, surviving architecture and excavated fragments allowed archaeologists to reconstruct much of its original programme.

Since 1961, the Polish-Egyptian archaeological and conservation mission has studied and restored the complex. Consequently, visitors can now enter areas such as the upper terrace, Solar Cult Complex and Main Sanctuary of Amun-Re.

Entrance to the Sanctuary of Amun-Re at Deir el-Bahari — The rock-cut sanctuary formed the temple’s most sacred destination.

Details Worth Seeing

Hatshepsut Temple Gallery

Hatshepsut Temple beneath the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari — The terraces merge architecture with the Theban mountain.

Terraced façade of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple — Three levels rise along one powerful central axis.

Central processional ramp at Deir el-Bahari — Broad ramps connect the ceremonial terraces.

Hatshepsut Temple relief of the Punt expedition — The Punt portico celebrates royal trade and divine favour.

Punt landscape with houses and myrrh trees — Rare details depict trees, animals, water and houses.

Anubis Chapel relief at Hatshepsut Temple — Painted scenes retain vivid New Kingdom colour.

Hathor Chapel doorway at Deir el-Bahari — The southern chapel honours Hathor of the western cliffs.

Sanctuary of Amun-Re inside Hatshepsut Temple — The main sanctuary reaches deep into the cliff.

Barque hall within the Sanctuary of Amun-Re — The barque hall welcomed Amun during festival rites.

Deir el-Bahari temple framed by limestone cliffs — The cliff setting amplifies the monument’s symmetry.

Detailed soldiers in Hatshepsut’s Punt relief — Fine carving records the people of the expedition.

Painted ritual relief in the mortuary temple — Offering scenes link kingship with the gods.

Hathor Chapel columns in Hatshepsut Temple — Hathor-faced capitals distinguish the southern chapel.

Upper terrace sacred rooms at Deir el-Bahari — The upper level contains the royal and divine cult spaces.

Ancient trade scene from the Punt portico — The relief programme transforms trade into sacred history.

Plan Your Experience

Visiting Hatshepsut Temple Today

Best time

Visit Early Morning

Shade is limited; therefore, early light offers cooler temperatures and clearer photographs.

Duration

Allow 1.5–2 Hours

Include time for the terraces, chapels, reliefs and the walk from the visitor entrance.

Combine with

Luxor West Bank

Pair the temple with the Valley of the Kings, Medinet Habu or nearby nobles’ tombs.

Before visiting

Check Current Hours

Opening times, accessible areas and ticket prices may change, especially around holidays.

Find the Temple

Hatshepsut Temple Map

Deir el-Bahari, Luxor West Bank

First, cross to Luxor’s west bank. Then, follow the road toward Deir el-Bahari beneath the Theban cliffs.

Coordinates:
25.7382° N, 32.6064° E

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Essential Answers

Hatshepsut Temple FAQ

It stands at Deir el-Bahari on Luxor’s west bank, beneath the cliffs of the Theban necropolis.

Hatshepsut commissioned the temple during the 18th Dynasty. Tradition links its planning with her official Senenmut, while teams of architects, artists and builders completed the complex.

The temple’s ancient name is commonly translated as “Holy of Holies” or “Sublime of the Sublimes.”

They commemorate an expedition that returned with valuable goods and living myrrh trees, presenting successful trade as an achievement blessed by Amun.

Later in Thutmose III’s reign, workers erased selected names and images. Scholars continue to debate whether succession, royal ideology, ritual concerns or several motives drove the campaign.

Allow about one and a half to two hours for the terraces, chapels, reliefs and photographs.

Walk through Hatshepsut’s Legacy

Climb the ceremonial terraces, examine the Punt reliefs and discover how one of Egypt’s most remarkable pharaohs shaped stone, ritual and landscape into an enduring masterpiece.

Plan a Luxor Visit