How to visit Nefertari's tomb

Times Online (Ian Belcher)

I am so glad that I managed to visit the tomb on four separate trips, in the days before it would have become necesary to take out a second mortgage to finance those truly memorable visits. I would not have been able to afford it, and I would have missed something very special.

I’m breathing some of the most expensive oxygen on earth. Each cool, dehumidified gulp costs about £10, a figure that could induce a fit of coughing and spluttering if the seconds weren’t so ludicrously precious.

I’m also transfixed by some of the world’s most exquisite artwork. Nefertari’s tomb – £3,126 for ten minutes’ access – may be more than 3,000 years old, but its riot of hieroglyphics appears untainted by age. The seriously foxy queen with Liz Taylor eyes and an addiction to transparent maxidresses rises from the subterranean walls in dazzling Technicolor.

Of course, you could cut the cost of your intimate royal audience, offered as an add-on to the usual Nile cruise and archaeological tour, by sharing your air. Ancient Egypt’s most beautiful tomb can accommodate groups, so a couple could enter the hallowed earth for £1,563. Cheaper, but still no bargain burial basement.

See the above page for full details.