Traveling to Cairo without seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza and infamous Sphinx is like traveling to Paris without making a stop at the Eiffel Tower.
On the Giza plateau, the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx date back over 3,000 years. While there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, the Pyramids of Giza are by far the most famous and are the last of the original Seven Wonders of the World. If you choose to go on a guided tour, your qualified Egyptologist guide will provide a fascinating introduction to each of the three pyramids. You can enter one of the pyramids, take a photo of the three pyramids rising from the sands, with the Cairo skyline in the background. A short drive to the city side of the plateau finds you standing at the feet of the Sphinx, for thousands of years the enigmatic symbol of Egypt. The Sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of a king, and is surrounded in mystery, including the unanswered questions: who built it and why.
What distinguishes the Pyramids from the six other wonders is that, despite the fact that they are thousands of years older than any other wonder, they are the only ones still in existence. Not only do they still exist, along with the most enigmatic giant statue ever carved, but they continue to be a subject of endless debate about their construction and real purpose. I think that anyone who has ever laid eyes on a picture of the Pyramids and Sphinx must say to himself, “I have to go there.” Certainly I did.
How to get to the Pyramids?
The easiest way to get to the Pyramids is taking the Uber, you will need a local SIM card to do it, which you can get at the airport after arriving).
Alternatively, you can take the metro to Giza station that is located some 5 km away from the Pyramids. From there you can catch a minibus that goes along the main road and will take you close to the Pyramids. You still will have to walk a bit to the entrance though.
Tips for when you Visit Giza pyramids and sphinx
Stay at the Mena House
Staying at the proper hotel can make or break a visit to the Pyramids. Sometimes it’s almost as much about returning to a tranquil oasis after visiting a famous place than it is about the visit itself.
Pick the Right Day
While you might think that with the drastic downturn in western visitors there wouldn’t be a lot of people visiting the Pyramids and Sphinx, you would be wrong. The Chinese have not been deterred by security concerns and now make up the vast majority of foreign visitors. Most of the times you will find groups as large as 50 or 60, however, the site is so large that it can easily accommodate a great number of visitors without seeming to be overcrowded.
What can make the difference is if it is an Egyptian holiday or non-school day in which case there may well be thousands of Egyptians on site as well as the foreign visitors.
Hire a Qualified Guide & Driver
The actual site is huge and very few people tour it entirely on foot. That is why there are dozens of Egyptian men on site hawking donkey carts and camels for those who thought they could do it on foot. Typically a vehicle will drop you off at the ticket office which is close to the Great Pyramid and then pick you up to transport you to the pyramids of Khafre and Menakaure. After that you are transported to what is referred to the viewing area where you can get great pictures of all three pyramids. Finally you will get back in and drive a fair distance to the Sphinx. After viewing the Sphinx you exit the grounds nearby, not where you came in. This exit can be absolute pandemonium with a combination of cars, donkey carts, camels, tuk tuks and pedestrians. Having an experienced driver navigate you through this back to your hotel is worth the price alone.
On the other hand, going without a guide you will be besieged with offers to guide before you even get close to the ticket stalls, they will plague you until you give in and hire one. You will almost certainly get ripped off by some guy who has very poor English, is not particularly knowledgable about the Pyramids and is most interested in getting you to buy some crappy Chinese made souvenirs at exorbitant prices.
There are two entrances
If you visit the pyramids without a guide, ask your taxi driver to take you to the vehicle entrance rather than the pedestrian entrance near the Sphinx. The ride will be a bit longer, but there were incredible numbers of hawkers and people trying to sell products at the pedestrian entrance. There are far fewer people at the vehicle entrance, and you can enter on foot from there. You can typically hire a guide (there were many available) or secure a camel ride if that is your intent as well. We entered at the vehicle entrance and found it to be much quieter than the pedestrian entrance, which we drove by on our way back from Giza.
Visit the Perfume and Papyrus Shops of Giza
Once you have finished your visit to the Pyramids and Sphinx you exit into a crowded street with so-called Perfume and Papyrus “museums” everywhere.
Can You Go Inside the Pyramids?
Yes, you can. But it’s not as exciting as getting inside the tombs at the Valley of the Kings. Most guides will tell you that you need to pay extra to get inside the pyramids, but it’s only partially true. There is one pyramid that’s included in your ticket price.
There are three pyramids of the Queens of Cheops and you can go inside the one in the middle for free. Khufu’s Pyramid costs another 400 EGP and Khafree’s Pyramid costs 100 EGP, or 500 EGP for a combined ticket but trust me – they all look the same inside. Once you’ve been to the one you’ve been to all. The inside of the pyramid isn’t the same as Tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor where you want to see every single one of them.
There are no mummies inside since they were all moved to the Egyptian Museum that I highly recommend visiting as well.
Can You Climb the Pyramids of Giza?
Officially no. In reality, some climbs the Pyramids when there is no one watching, up there the view was awesome.
In the past people were able to climb the pyramids freely. Now climbing to the top of Khufu is illegal and they don’t issue permits, and if you do you might even get arrested.
Egypt Travel Guide 