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Find out how to visit Egypt’s best-known pyramids located on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo. How to get there and everything you need to know to do this activity. The visit of the pyramids (Cheops, Khephren and Mykerinos) is combined with the Great Sphinx since they are all on the same archaeological site.
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The pyramids of Egypt
How many pyramids are there in Egypt?
Egypt has 118 pyramids identified to date, but more may exist. The last pyramid built is Amhôsis’s Pyramid, dated 1,550 BC.
Some pyramids of Egypt
🔎 Click on a pyramid to view it
The pyramids of Giza
The three pyramids of Giza are surely the first buildings that we visualize when we think of a trip to Egypt. The Giza plateau is a huge funerary complex. Its largest pyramids were built in the 25th century BC, according to archaeological research. Here are the 3 main pyramids, from the largest to the smallest :
1. Cheops (Khufu)
2. Chephren (Khafre)
3. Menkaure
Did you know?
1. Cheops is the largest pyramid in the world
The pyramid of Cheops is the largest in the world, at 147 meters high and 230 meters long. It is composed of more than a million blocks of stones, each exceeding the ton.
2. The pyramids of Giza were smooth
The pyramids of Giza were even higher since they were covered with the thick layer of white limestone. They were completely smooth a long time ago!
3. The pyramids of Egypt were topped by a pyramidion
On the top of each pyramid (and obelisk) was placed a pyramidion. In other words, a miniature pyramid with the same proportions as the structure that supports it.
The most important pyramidions were composed of diorite covered with gold or electrum, and some other precious stones or metals. These have been stolen in the past. However, the most important pyramidions that have been saved are in the Cairo Museum.
The less important pyramidions are usually made of granite or limestone. You can see them at the bottom of the pyramids. Most have lost their precious materials.
4. There are not only pyramids in Giza
Indeed, the Giza plateau is a huge funerary complex containing several cemeteries, temples and other different buildings. Most tourists often pass by, not being aware of these places or thinking they are off-limits. You will never see anyone there, yet these places are interesting to visit.
How to visit them?
How many pyramids are there in Giza?
There are exactly 7 pyramids :
● The 3 listed above
● A very small ruined pyramid at the bottom of Khafre
● 3 medium-sized pyramids at the bottom of Menkaure (pyramids of the queens)
Can I visit the pyramids of Giza without a tour guide?
A tour guide is not mandatory to visit the pyramids. You will indeed find several touts saying that you will not be able to enter the Giza plateau without them but it’s not true.
Can I enter the pyramids?
It’s possible to visit inside pyramids. However, the 3 main ones are not always simultaneously open.
Do I have to pay to enter the pyramids?
The main pyramids are paying. However, the smaller pyramids are free, as well as the other underground sites.
The guards will tell you that you have to pay the entrances, but this is also false. If someone asks you for money instead of your ticket, you’ll know you can get in for free. These same people will tell you that the photographs are forbidden inside, but will also tell you that you have to pay to take them. It’s still wrong. They just try to get money.
I’ve visited the Giza plateau 5 times, it’s always the same story. The only place where you have to pay is at the ticket office, never on the site except for food, drinks and camel or horse ride.
How much does it cost to enter the pyramids?
1. The entrance fee to the Giza pyramids costs EGP 200 per person or EGP 100 for students (only if you can prove it by showing your student card). You can access to the entire plateau, including the sphinx. Except : inside visit of the 3 main pyramids and the solar boat museum.
2. For 600 EGP per person (300 EGP for students), you can access to the entire site and the inside of all the pyramids.
How to get to the pyramids of Giza?
There is only one entrance to access the pyramids. It is located at the end of “Al Haram” street. Touts will stop you to tell you’re on the wrong track. Indeed, they will take you back to arrange you a camel or a carriage tour to visit the Plateau.
If you are not interested, don’t listen to anyone until you have passed the police checkpoint. The entrance is here :
Visit the Sphinx of Giza
The Sphinx of Giza is the largest monolithic sculpture in Egypt. But not only, since it is also the largest in the world, by its 73 m long and 14 m high. Today, its exact function is still unknown. Its enigmatic complexity has made a whole bunch of crazy theories without any scientific veracity. But that does not exclude that none is true, as long as there is a right one!
How to see the Sphinx of Giza?
The Sphinx is located on the outskirts of Cairo, in the Giza plateau with the pyramids. Therefore, it can be visited at the same time with the same ticket.
Visit Cairo
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