Viking River Cruises has quietly restarted operations along the Nile, offering numerous departures beginning this month and continuing on through December of this year aboard the MS Mayfair and the MS Omar El Khayam. This comes as great news for adventurous river cruisers.

Spanning 12 days, Viking’s Pathways of the Pharaohs cruisetour features a total of 18 guided tours throughout Egypt. Following a multi-day stay in Cairo, guests fly to the fabled city of Luxor to embark on a voyage through Lake Nasser.

From Luxor, sail to Edefu for a tour of the Temple of Horus, built during the Ptolemaic Dynasty to honor the falcon-headed god. In Kom Ombo, guests will visit the unique double-temple that is dedicated to both Horus and the crocodile god known as Sobek. As the legend goes, Sobek is a fertile deity though to have created the entire world.

At Aswan, guests can take part in a traditional Egyptian Nubian party that features the traditional music and dress native to this amazing region of Egypt. Guests will also get to see the Aswan High Dam, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the Philae Temple.

Of course, no visit to Egypt would be complete without a visit to Abu Simbel, with its imposing temples and legendary sculptures of four gigantic seated figures. Then, of course, there is the amazing city of Cairo, the Pyramids, and the famous Temples of Luxor. Weather permitting, you can even take an early-morning hot air balloon ride over them the temples.

It’s nice to see Viking return to Egypt after a long absence.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection also plans to re-start operations in the region this fall, beginning on October 3. It appears that Egypt is slowly but surely coming back as a river cruise destination.