Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: visitor guide

What to expect at the Pyramids of Giza

The Pyramids of Giza are the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World and the most immediately recognisable structures on earth, three massive royal tombs built on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile about 12km southwest of central Cairo between 2560 and 2510 BC by the pharaohs Khufu (Cheops), Khafre and Menkaure. In fact, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, 146.6 metres in its original height (now 138.8 metres after the loss of the outer limestone casing and capstone), built from about 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks averaging 2.5 tonnes each, was the tallest structure on earth for about 3,800 years.

Generally, the scale, precision and endurance of these structures after 4,500 years, combined with the remaining uncertainty about specific construction methods, make them the most discussed and most studied buildings in the history of architecture.

Great Pyramid of Khufu

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (entry EGP 400 for interior access) can be entered through the original descending passage and the later ascending passage cut by medieval treasure hunters, the interior passages lead to the Grand Gallery (a corbelled limestone corridor 47 metres long and 8.5 metres high) and then to the King's Chamber, a room of polished Aswan granite containing the empty sarcophagus of Khufu, its granite lid missing since antiquity.

In addition, the air inside the pyramid is hot (about 28–30°C), the passages are narrow and require crouching in the lower sections, and the experience of standing in the King's Chamber at the heart of the largest stone building ever constructed, the millions of tonnes of stone above you, the 4,500 years of history in the walls, is one of the most outstanding architectural experiences available anywhere in the world.

Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx (free with Giza plateau entry) is the largest monolithic statue in the world, a figure of a recumbent lion with a human head (traditionally identified as Khafre) carved from a single limestone outcrop 73.5 metres long and 20 metres high, probably during Khafre's reign (about 2558–2532 BC) as the guardian of his pyramid complex. Moreover, the nose was not shot off by Napoleon's artillery (a persistent myth), contemporary drawings from the early 18th century already show the nose missing.

Also, later documents suggest it was destroyed by an Islamic cleric in the 14th century. The Sphinx faces due east, toward the rising sun, and at the spring and autumn equinoxes the sun rises directly in line with the Sphinx's gaze, a solar alignment that may have been deliberate.

Solar Boat Museum

In general, the Solar Boat Museum (adjacent to the Great Pyramid, entry about EGP 100) contains one of the most remarkable objects in Egypt, a 43.3-metre cedar boat buried in a pit beside Khufu's pyramid about 4,500 years ago and disassembled into 1,224 pieces, reassembled over 14 years between 1957 and 1971, and displayed intact in the museum built directly over the pit where it was found. Besides, the boat (likely used in the funeral procession to carry Khufu's body across the Nile) is the best and largest surviving example of ancient Egyptian wooden construction and gives an immediate physical sense of the woodworking sophistication of the Old Kingdom period.

Sound and Light Show

The Sound and Light Show (held at the Sphinx and pyramid site three times nightly, about EGP 350 per person) illuminates the pyramids and tells the story of ancient Egypt through the 'voice of the Sphinx' in a theatrical production that is simultaneously kitsch and moving, the 4,500-year-old stones lit against the desert night sky and the scale of what was built here combining to create an emotional response that the daylight visit (crowded, commercialised) often fails to produce. Tickets are available at the site entrance.

The pyramids are most effectively visited in the early morning (opening time is 8 AM, arriving by 7:30 for the queue) before the heat becomes extreme and before the large tourist groups from Cairo hotels arrive. By 10 AM the plateau can feel crowded and the horse and camel touts become insistent. A complete visit (exterior pyramids, interior of Great Pyramid, Sphinx, Solar Boat Museum) requires about 4 hours. The panorama viewpoint on the desert road south of the plateau (accessible by car or horse) gives the only view that captures all three pyramids in a single composition. Also, the standard postcard image of Giza is taken from this point.