Stand at the Foot of the Great Pyramid and Look Up
You come around the last bend in the road out of Giza and the city falls away behind you — and there it is, a slope of limestone blocks rising out of the desert edge, so large that your eye keeps sliding off it. This is the Giza pyramid complex, the necropolis of the Fourth Dynasty pharaohs, built between roughly 2600 and 2500 BC at the edge of the Western Desert, about 9 km west of the Nile. It holds the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre a few hundred metres to the south-west, and the modest Pyramid of Menkaure farther south-west still, with the Great Sphinx on the east side. People have been coming here since Roman times; the Great Pyramid was already listed among the Seven Wonders of the World in Hellenistic times and is the only one still standing. You are not looking at a ruin so much as at the oldest surviving piece of the ancient world's imagination.
Climb Into the Great Pyramid and Walk the Plateau
The general entrance takes you onto the plateau itself, and the plateau is the experience: you can walk the bedrock between the three pyramids, past the queens' pyramids and the boat pits, and around the temples and causeways that once linked each pyramid to the Nile. A few things are worth planning your day around.
- The King's Chamber. Inside the Great Pyramid, a separate ticket admits you to the ascent through the Grand Gallery — a long, steep stone passage with narrow wooden walkways, poor light in places, and a final low stretch that has you bending over. It is not for anyone uneasy in tight spaces or unsteady on their feet, but the chamber at the top is built entirely of pink granite from Aswan and holds Khufu's empty sarcophagus, carved from a single block of stone. Go early; the passage crowds as the morning goes on.
- The casing stones. Most of the pyramids' smooth white limestone facing was stripped over the centuries and reused in Cairo's buildings, but look closely: the Great Pyramid still holds a band of casing stones at its base, and Khafre's pyramid keeps a prominent cap of its original polished limestone at the apex.
- The Sphinx. Down the slope on the east side, the lion-bodied, pharaoh-headed Sphinx dates from Khafre's reign, and consensus among Egyptologists holds that its face is his. It is a short walk or drive from the pyramids, near the Menkaure side.
- The boat pits. Beside the Great Pyramid you can see where ships were buried for the king's journey to the afterlife. The restored Khufu ship, once displayed in the Giza Solar Boat Museum, has been moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Camel and horse rides are available in a designated area of the plateau if you want to see the pyramids from a distance, and you will be offered photographs by local photographers for a tip — agree the price first.
Time Your Visit for Early Morning, and Give It Half a Day
Arrive at opening and head straight for the Great Pyramid's interior; the site is exposed and the light is at its best before the heat and the crowds build. Allow at least half a day on the plateau — more if you plan to go inside — and wear shoes you can walk in over uneven stone. Giza sits on the western edge of greater Cairo, about half an hour's drive from the city centre hotels, so build the journey into your morning. The plateau is the northernmost part of the wider Pyramid Fields of Memphis and its Necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, which also takes in the pyramid complexes at Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur.
Eat, Ride and Sleep in the Shadow of the Pyramids
You do not have to retreat to central Cairo between visits. The Mena House Golf Course overlooks the pyramids, and the stables around Nazlet el-Samaan — the village at the foot of the plateau — run desert rides in the shadow of the Great Pyramid and farther afield to Saqqara and Abu Sir, with overnight camps and a fire. The village also sits over Khufu's valley temple, which remains unexcavated beneath it. For a change from monuments, the Giza Zoo and the adjoining Al Orman Gardens are a short hop away, and the Pharaonic Village, a miniature Egypt-in-one showground, is about twenty minutes' drive away and well suited to children.
Make a Day of It: The Grand Egyptian Museum and Dahshur
Two kilometres north-west of the pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum holds the primary collection of Egyptian antiquities, with galleries running from prehistory to the Greco-Roman period and the Tutankhamun gallery as its centrepiece — allow at least four hours. For contrast, head south to Dahshur, where the Red Pyramid has an entrance you can climb down into, the Bent Pyramid stands nearby, and the atmosphere is far quieter than at Giza; Saqqara and Memphis make an easy day trip on the same axis.
The pyramids reward the traveller who arrives early, walks slowly, and looks twice. Start with the plateau on your first morning in Cairo, book the King's Chamber ahead if you intend to climb, and leave the afternoon for the museum or the desert. The oldest wonder in the world is still standing — plan the trip, and go and stand beneath it.