The winter solstice sunrise at Karnak is expected on Monday 21 December 2026. Luxor's authorities held a dawn celebration there on 21 December in both 2024 and 2025, but for 2026 there is no official programme, time or access rule yet. The Sun rises at about 06:31 local time by our calculation.
Each line below is marked confirmed or expected, so you know what you can count on when you plan.
| Date | Monday 21 December 2026. Expected: it repeats 2024 and 2025 and there is no official notice for 2026 yet. |
| Sunrise at Karnak | About 06:31 Egypt local time (UTC+2). Our own computation with a flat horizon: the light reaches the sanctuary later. |
| Direction of sunrise | About 116 degrees from north, to the south-east. Almost the same from 19 to 23 December. |
| Programme and entry | No official information yet. Karnak usually opens at 06:00, which does not mean special access that day. |
| Reviewed | 31 October 2026 |
The winter solstice is the day the Sun rises furthest south. At Karnak it matters because the main axis of the Amun-Ra temple points north-west, at about 297 degrees in the Shaltout and Belmonte survey of more than a hundred Egyptian temples. Along the other end of that axis, at about 117 degrees, is the point where the Sun rises at the solstice. Our computation gives 116.2 degrees for Karnak, half a degree away.
That match is the basis of the idea that the builders aligned the temple on the solstice sunrise. It is a serious hypothesis and not a closed case, and the section on the debate says why.
There is an official celebration. A solstice dawn event was held at Karnak on 21 December 2024, according to the Jerusalem Post. On 21 December 2025 hundreds of people gathered at dawn, and Luxor's deputy governor said the sunrays illuminate the sanctuary every 21 December and mark the start of winter and the planting season, as reported by Africanews.
What does not exist yet is a notice for 2026. No programme has been published, no start time, no ticket system and no visitor cap. That is why we write expected and not confirmed. When Luxor's authorities publish something, we will update this page and its review date.
A 1993 proposal holds that the axis of the Amun-Ra temple of Senusret I was oriented on the winter solstice sunrise. Belmonte (2005 and 2006) and Krauss (2006) challenged it, while the authors of the reassessment abstract say their new analysis does support the solstice orientation. Specialists disagree, and a travel page is not the place to settle an archaeoastronomy dispute.
One expectation is worth lowering. People talk about a single magic day, yet the Sun rises at almost the same spot for several days running. The table shows our calculation for Karnak: the azimuth does not move by a tenth of a degree between 19 and 23 December.
Our own computation with the NOAA solar equation for Karnak (25.72 N, 32.66 E), a flat horizon and Egypt's winter time (UTC+2). It is approximate: hills, dust and the real horizon move the time by a few minutes.
| Day | Sunrise (local time) | Azimuth (degrees from north) |
|---|---|---|
| 17 December | 06:29 | 116.1 |
| 19 December | 06:30 | 116.2 |
| 21 December (expected date) | 06:31 | 116.2 |
| 23 December | 06:32 | 116.2 |
| 25 December | 06:33 | 116.2 |
The light that reaches the pylons and the sanctuary depends on the temple itself, and no official time has been published for 2026. The figures in circulation, from 06:35 to 06:42, do not come with a source we can cite.
The dates also open the winter school holiday in Mexico (21 December 2026 to 5 January 2027, per the SEP calendar). If the rest of the trip is still open, read Egypt in December and Christmas in Egypt.
Our trips are private and on your dates: there is no fixed-date trip for the solstice. If you want 21 December inside your stay in Luxor, we build the trip around that date, with a licensed Egyptologist. International flights and entry tickets are not included unless we say so in your proposal, and you do not have to decide anything today.
Karnak is far more than a sunrise. If you want the full visit, it is covered in the guide to Karnak Temple. And if solar alignments are what draw you, Egypt's other great case is Abu Simbel, which repeats every 22 February and 22 October: see the Abu Simbel Sun Festival guide.
Tell us how many are traveling and from which dates. We send you a written proposal, with no obligation.
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