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The Nile around Luxor, Qus and Qena, photographed from the Space Shuttle Columbia in April 1997 (Image: NASA)

Where to Watch the 2027 Total Solar Eclipse in Egypt: Nile Valley, Red Sea or Desert Oases?

Egypt is the best place on Earth to see the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027: the longest totality of the whole eclipse (up to 6 min 23 s), the Sun almost straight overhead and almost no chance of cloud. You have three good choices: the Nile Valley from Minya to Kom Ombo, with Luxor and Sohag at about 6 min 20 s; the Red Sea coast from El Quseir to Berenice, with Marsa Alam at about 5 min 28 s; or the Bahariya and Siwa oases in the Western Desert, which have the lowest cloud risk of all. Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada, Aswan and Sharm El Sheikh are all just outside the path and see only a deep partial eclipse. Below: a town-by-town table, a map, and what each region is like on eclipse day (heat, airports, travel advice).

Last updated: 2 November 2026 (facts checked 1 November 2026)

Where in Egypt is the eclipse total?

The Moon's shadow enters Egypt from Libya near Siwa at about 12:40 local time, crosses the Western Desert and the Bahariya Oasis, reaches the Nile between Minya and Kom Ombo just after 13:00 and leaves the country over the Red Sea between El Quseir and the Sudanese border at about 13:20. The band of totality is about 258 km wide. Everything inside it gets a total eclipse; everything outside, however close, gets a partial one and needs eclipse glasses the whole time. The full path from Spain to Somalia is on our 2027 path of totality map, country by country.

Map: where the 2 August 2027 eclipse is total in Egypt The dark band is the path of totality across Egypt, computed by Tember with skyfield (DE421); the dashed red line is the centre line. Red dots are inside the path, white dots outside it, with the duration of totality or the share of the Sun covered.CairoAlexandriaSiwaBawiti (Bahariya)MinyaAsyutSohagLuxorAswanKhargaHurghadaMarsa AlamBereniceSharm El Sheikh94.8%93.4%5 min 31 s6 min 17 sabout 4 min6 min 06 s6 min 22 s6 min 20 s99.9%99.6%98.6%5 min 28 s6 min 20 s95.6%Red SeaMediterranean SeaPath of totality (computed)Centre lineTember, skyfield/DE421 · borders: Natural Earth
The path of totality across Egypt on 2 August 2027. Cairo, Aswan, Hurghada and Kharga are just outside it and see a deep partial eclipse.

Times in Egypt are summer time (EEST, UTC+3): Egypt's 2023 law applies it from the last Friday of April to the last Thursday of October, so 2 August is included.

How long is totality in each Egyptian town?

We computed every town below with skyfield and NASA JPL's DE421 ephemeris, then compared with published figures. Most agree within a few seconds; where a town sits near the edge of the path, small changes in the exact point give bigger differences, and we show both.

Total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 in Egypt: town by town (EEST, UTC+3)

Place Region Totality, or share of the Sun covered Totality starts Sun altitude
Sohag Nile Valley 6 min 22 s 12:58:49 81°
Abydos Nile Valley 6 min 22 s 12:59:51 82°
Luxor (Karnak) Nile Valley 6 min 22 s 13:02:07 82°
Luxor (Corniche) Nile Valley 6 min 20 s 13:02:08 82°
Dendera Nile Valley 6 min 13 s 13:01:32 81°
Qena Nile Valley 6 min 10 s 13:01:38 81°
Asyut Nile Valley 6 min 06 s 12:56:57 81°
Esna Nile Valley 5 min 47 s 13:02:53 82°
Edfu Nile Valley 5 min 32 s 13:04:10 82°
Minya Nile Valley about 4 min (4 min 04 s to 4 min 15 s) 12:55:41 80°
Kom Ombo Nile Valley about 3.5 min (3 min 29 s to 3 min 39 s) 13:06:10 83°
Aswan Nile Valley partial, 99.87% no totality 83°
Bawiti (Bahariya Oasis) Western Desert 6 min 17 s 12:50:21 79°
Siwa Western Desert 5 min 31 s 12:42:36 76°
Farafra Western Desert partial, 99.75% no totality 80°
Kharga Western Desert partial, 99.55% no totality 82°
Mut (Dakhla Oasis) Western Desert partial, 97.05% no totality 82°
Berenice Red Sea coast 6 min 20 s 13:10:44 81°
Wadi El Gemal Red Sea coast 5 min 58 s 13:08:54 81°
Shalateen Red Sea coast 5 min 38 s 13:12:44 81°
Marsa Alam Red Sea coast 5 min 28 s 13:08:06 81°
El Quseir Red Sea coast about 2.5 min (2 min 20 s to 2 min 28 s) 13:06:46 81°
Safaga Red Sea coast partial, 99.61% no totality 80°
Hurghada Red Sea coast partial, 98.56% no totality 80°
El Gouna Red Sea coast partial, 98.43% no totality 80°
Sharm El Sheikh Sinai partial, 95.57% no totality 79°
Giza (pyramids) Cairo area partial, 95.25% no totality 78°
Cairo Cairo area partial, 94.83% no totality 78°
Alexandria Mediterranean coast partial, 93.38% no totality 76°

Computed by Tember (skyfield, DE421) for each town centre; Sun altitude at mid-eclipse. Cross-checks: Wikipedia's table gives Sohag 6:23, Asyut 6:07, Qena 6:12, Siwa 5:33 and Minya 4:15; Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) gives Sohag 6 min 22 s, Qena 6 min 10 s, Esna 5 min 45 s, Edfu 5 min 30 s, Marsa Alam 5 min 28 s, Kom Ombo 3 min 38 s and El Quseir 2 min 28 s; Space.com gives Berenice 6 min 19 s. For Luxor, Wikipedia and NRIAG start totality at 13:02:14. Cairo is 94.79% in Wikipedia's table. The longest totality of the whole eclipse, 6 min 23.2 s, falls in the desert between Asyut and Sohag (EclipseWise).

Is the Nile Valley the best place to watch?

For most people, yes. Luxor, Sohag, Abydos and the temple towns around Qena get 6 minutes or more, with the Sun 81° to 82° high, so you look almost straight up. Luxor has the hotels, the Nile cruise boats and an international airport (LXR) with flights from Europe; Sohag (HMB) and Asyut (ATZ) also have airports, but their routes go to Cairo and the Gulf rather than Europe. Our Luxor eclipse guide covers the city in detail, and our roundup of Egypt eclipse tours shows which packages are still bookable.

Two things to know. First, Luxor is not entirely cloud-free: eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson (Eclipsophile) notes that along the track it is "not until the track reaches Luxor that the cloud fraction begins to climb above zero", and the main risk there is thin, transparent cirrus that softens the outer corona rather than hiding the Sun. Second, the heat: Anderson gives Luxor an average high of 42.0 °C on 2 August over the past 17 years, with a record of 46 °C. Totality comes at about 13:00, the hottest part of the day. The edges matter too: Minya gets only about 4 minutes and Kom Ombo about 3½, while Aswan, a favourite Nile cruise stop, is just outside the path at 99.87%. A boat that spends eclipse day in Aswan misses totality; see which 2027 eclipse cruises will be in the path.

Should you watch from the Red Sea coast?

If you want a beach base, yes, but go south of Safaga. Hurghada (98.56%), El Gouna and Safaga are just outside the path. Totality starts at El Quseir, which is close to the edge and gets only about 2½ minutes; Marsa Alam gets 5 min 28 s, the Wadi El Gemal coast about 6 minutes and Berenice 6 min 20 s, as much as Luxor. Anderson calls the area "clear-sky refuges", especially along the Red Sea coast, although average cloudiness rises by "over 40 percent" between Berenice and Jeddah. The coast is also a little cooler: NOAA's August average high for Hurghada is 37.5 °C, against about 41 °C in Luxor.

Getting there is easiest through Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF), which has many charter and scheduled flights from Europe; note that the airport is about 60 km north of Marsa Alam town. Berenice has an airport (EES) that opened in 2020 for charter flights to the southern resorts, but we found no regular service. Further south, Shalateen gets 5 min 38 s, but the UK government advises against all but essential travel to the disputed Hala'ib Triangle beyond it.

Tember solar eclipse glasses: product information panel (Image: Tember)
Outside the path, in Cairo, Hurghada or Aswan, the glasses stay on for the whole eclipse (Image: Tember)

What about Siwa and the Bahariya Oasis?

They have the best weather odds of the whole eclipse. Anderson writes that Libya and western Egypt "have seen no August cloud on eclipse day whatsoever in the past 23 years", and he suggests "Siwa Oasis or the Bahariya Oasis" as his picks. Shallow morning fog sometimes forms between Marsa Matruh and Siwa but clears well before the eclipse. Bawiti, the main town of Bahariya, gets 6 min 17 s; Siwa gets 5 min 31 s, about 20 minutes earlier than Luxor. Siwa's August average high is 40.4 °C (NOAA).

The desert needs more planning. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all but essential travel to the area west of the Nile Valley, but makes exceptions for Siwa town and the oasis towns of Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga and for the main roads between them. It does advise against all but essential travel on the road between Bahariya and Siwa, and for any trip off road it says to use a qualified guide and get a permit from the Ministry of Interior. Check the current advice from your own government before booking, because your travel insurance may depend on it. Note also that Farafra (99.75%), Dakhla and Kharga (99.55%) are just outside the path.

Can you see the total eclipse from Cairo, Giza or Sharm El Sheikh?

No. Cairo sees 94.83% of the Sun covered, the Giza pyramids 95.25%, Alexandria 93.38% and Sharm El Sheikh 95.57%. That is a dramatic partial eclipse, but the sky does not go dark and you must keep eclipse glasses on the whole time. From Cairo, the nearest totality is around Minya, at the northern edge of the path, and the long totality starts around Asyut.

What is Egypt planning for eclipse day?

Egypt treats the eclipse as a national event. According to Ahram Online, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy chaired the first meeting of a preparation committee on 1 September 2026. Its plans include exact times for each governorate with the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, public viewing sites with basic services, domestic flights and road transport between governorates, and adjusted opening hours for museums and sites in Luxor. NRIAG, the national astronomy institute, is organising an international conference on solar physics and space weather in Luxor on 3 to 5 August 2027, and met in Luxor on 10 October 2026 with antiquities officials, tour guides and Luxor Governorate to choose observation sites. Its event page says the official viewing sites will be published later; we will add them here when they are.

How do you stay safe in the heat and the sun?

Plan for the heat first. Anderson warns that afternoon highs in Egypt "can top the mid-40s and may even reach to 50°C" and that many cameras complain at about 45 °C. Find shade for the nearly three hours of the eclipse, carry more water than you think, and watch out for each other.

Then the eyes. The partial phases last about 1 hour 20 minutes before totality and the same after. Everyone needs certified eclipse glasses for those phases, and may take them off only during totality, inside the path. Look for the CE mark and EN ISO 12312-2:2015, check each pair before use (how to inspect eclipse glasses), and read how to check an ISO 12312-2 certificate. Tember glasses are certified to EN ISO 12312-2:2015 and carry the CE mark; the documents are on our compliance and test documents page. Packs run from 4 to 100 pairs, so a family or a tour group can be covered in one order. See the glasses. Groups: bulk eclipse glasses.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place in Egypt to see the 2027 solar eclipse?

Luxor and Sohag in the Nile Valley give about 6 min 20 s of totality with hotels and an international airport at Luxor. Bahariya and Siwa have the lowest cloud risk, and Marsa Alam and Berenice give a Red Sea base with 5½ to 6 min 20 s.

What time is the total eclipse in Egypt?

Totality starts at about 12:42 local time (EEST, UTC+3) in Siwa, 12:50 in Bahariya, 12:59 in Sohag, 13:02 in Luxor and 13:08 in Marsa Alam, on Monday 2 August 2027. The partial phases begin about 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Is Cairo in the path of totality?

No. Cairo sees a partial eclipse with about 94.8% of the Sun covered, and Giza about 95.3%. The nearest totality to Cairo is around Minya, about 4 minutes, at the northern edge of the path.

Is Hurghada or Aswan in the path of totality?

No. Hurghada sees about 98.6% and Aswan about 99.9%, both partial. On the Red Sea coast totality starts at El Quseir; on the Nile it ends a little south of Kom Ombo.

Will it be cloudy in Egypt on 2 August 2027?

Very unlikely. Eclipsophile's Jay Anderson says western Egypt and Libya have seen no August cloud on eclipse day in the past 23 years; Luxor has a small chance of thin cirrus.

Do I need eclipse glasses in Egypt if the eclipse is total?

Yes. Totality lasts only minutes; the partial phases before and after last more than two hours, and you need certified glasses for all of that time. Outside the path, for example in Cairo or Hurghada, the glasses stay on throughout.

Sources

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