A dry gorge on the west bank of the Nile, chosen by New Kingdom pharaohs because the peak above it is already shaped like a pyramid. Behind plain doorways cut into rock lie corridors painted floor to ceiling with star-filled skies and instructions for crossing the underworld: Seti I's tomb is the most beautiful, Tutankhamun's the most famous and by far the smallest. Come at opening time, before the rock starts to bake.