The Great Pyramids: What to Know Before You Go

The Pyramids of Giza are 4,500 years old, the only surviving structure from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and they sit on the outskirts of Cairo with a Pizza Hut visible from certain angles. This is the honest situation. It doesn’t make them less extraordinary. The scale is simply impossible to prepare for: Khufu’s pyramid is 138 metres tall and 230 metres per side. Each block weighs an average of 2.5 tonnes and there are 2.3 million of them. When you stand at the base and look up, the top is not visible from directly below. The standard tour photos don’t convey this, which is why visitors almost universally describe the sight as a surprise regardless of how many photographs they have seen beforehand.

A popular myth attributes damage to the Sphinx’s nose to Napoleon’s artillery. This is false. The Sphinx’s nose was destroyed before Napoleon was born. The 15th-century Arab historian al-Maqrizi attributed the damage to a Sufi religious fanatic named Muhammad Sa’im al-Dahr, who removed it around 1378 CE in protest at locals making offerings to the Sphinx. Napoleon arrived in 1798, more than 400 years later.

The Site

The Giza plateau holds three main pyramids: Khufu (the Great Pyramid, the largest), Khafre (slightly smaller but built on higher ground with original limestone casing still intact at the apex), and Menkaure (the smallest of the three). The Sphinx crouches east of Khafre’s pyramid, carved from a single limestone outcrop.

The plateau opens at 08:00. Last entry is around 16:00.

Ticket system: the Egyptian government has adjusted prices repeatedly due to currency fluctuations. Check current prices at egypt.travel before going. As of early 2025, general admission to the plateau for foreigners runs around EGP 360; each pyramid’s interior requires an additional ticket. Entry to Khufu’s interior costs approximately EGP 600 (around USD 12); the ascending passage to the King’s Chamber is narrow, low, and steep. People with claustrophobia often turn back before reaching the chamber. The chamber itself is empty; the sarcophagus is present but the mummy was removed long ago. Whether the interior visit is worth the additional cost depends entirely on your disposition toward enclosed spaces.

The Sphinx and the Sound and Light Show

The Great Sphinx is 73 metres long, carved from a natural limestone ridge and depicting a recumbent lion with a human head most likely representing Pharaoh Khafre. It is included in the general plateau admission.

The Sound and Light Show runs evenings at the Sphinx’s feet with the illuminated pyramids as backdrop. Multiple language shows nightly; check current schedules at the site entrance. The narration is dated but the view of lit pyramids against the night sky is genuinely worth attending once.

Practical Warning

The camel and horse operators at the Giza plateau are among the most persistent tourist harassers in the world. The standard approach: a tout helps you onto a camel for what sounds like a free photo opportunity, then refuses to let you down until you pay USD 20 to 50. If you want a camel ride, negotiate price and duration explicitly before mounting. Similarly, men offering to take your photograph in front of the Sphinx will expect payment. None of this ruins the visit; being prepared for it reduces it to background noise.

Saqqara

Eight kilometres south: the Saqqara necropolis contains the Step Pyramid of Djoser, predating the Giza pyramids by 100 years and considered the first pyramid ever built. Excavations since the 2010s have revealed massive new tomb complexes still being processed. Entrance is around EGP 250 for foreigners. An hour at Saqqara before or after Giza gives you a 1,000-year span of pyramid development in a single day.

Getting There

Uber from central Cairo takes 30 to 50 minutes depending on traffic and costs EGP 100 to 180 each way; this is the most reliable option. The Cairo Metro to Giza station, then a microbus or taxi to the entrance (3 km), is cheap and takes about an hour from central Cairo.

Eating and Staying

Koshari Abou Tarek on 16 Maarouf Street in central Cairo serves the best koshari in the city: pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, crispy fried onions, and spiced tomato sauce at around EGP 30 to 60 per bowl. Near the pyramids, the Mena House Hotel on Pyramids Road has been hosting visitors since 1886 and has a terrace with direct pyramid views; lunch runs around USD 30 to 50. Rooms with pyramid views from USD 150 to 350 depending on season.

Egyptian summer (June through September) produces 38 to 42 degrees Celsius and worse at the exposed plateau. October through May is the practical visiting window.