By: bound2explore December 17, 2023
When you think about Egypt, you’ll think about pyramids,papyrus and the nile. It goes without saying,no trip to Egypt will be complete without witnessing the amazing pyramids. So how to explore 16 pyramids in Egypt?
Let start with the most famous pyramids complex in Giza known as Giza pyramids.
Giza pyramids are located in Giza Governate. There are total 9 pyramids in this complex plus sphinx. So if you want to see the sphinx, definitely do not miss this complex.
Maybe you saw the movie ” bucket list” and dreaming about climbing the pyramid to the top. Can you climb the pyramids all the way to the top? You could in the past. Sadly, nowadays it is illegal to do so. There is one pyramid you can climb to a certain height in Giza complex, but not all the way to the top.
In this complex, you can also go inside the pyramid for additional fees. Or if you want a free tour inside a pyramid, wait until you get to Dashur. But, if this is the only Pyramids complex you plan to visit, then by all mean, pay the additional fees and go inside it for the experience. Remember, you have to pay the entrance fee before you can enter the Pyramids complex. If you are student, you pay a discounted fees. So, don’t forget to bring your student ID. After you walk around the Pyramids, say hi to sphinx and explore the inside, your next question probably, what else to do in this complex? This is your opportunity to rent a camel and ride it to panoramic point. Panoramic point offers a sweeping view of pyramids. You can hike to that point. But with the heat? Besides it’s more fun to ride a camel. Only downside, you have to haggle with the camel owner. The haggle culture runs deep here.
So, how do you get to this amazing place? You can reach this place by taxi, tour or rental car. For a tour to Pyramids click this link. If you stay by one of the hotel near the pyramids and has strong feet, you can walk to this place. In our case, we rented a car and a driver plus a tour guide. It’s very convenient because a guide will explain everything about the place and the driver can drop us at any points our heart desire for photo opportunity or to see a particular thing without worrying about parking. Because this complex is huge and designated parking is far from the things you want to see, hiring a driver is a must. Besides, this is not the only complex we were planning to see. These were just nine pyramids out of 16 pyramids in Egypt we planned to explore. Hot tip: stay at one of the hotel in Giza with a view of pyramids. Imagine waking up in the morning and having the breakfast with a sweeping view of pyramids.
We then drove to the Saqqara Necropolis. Saqqara necropolis housed 11 pyramids, but we only explored 5 of them. It is basically an open air museum with the excavation is still ongoing. The most famous pyramid here is called step pyramid of Djoser. Because the outer part of pyramid literally looks like steps. Hold your thought. I thought the same way, how easy and fun to climb this one. Unfortunately, you are not permitted to climb this pyramid. As you enter this complex, again you have to pay the entrance fees. You have to walk to the gate and enter the ruins and you can see columns after columns. They look like Corinthians colums. Then, it open up to wide open space and here standing the step pyramid.
The step pyramid of Djoser is arguably the oldest pyramid on earth. Built by King Djoser. Just for this fact alone, this pyramid is even more significant than the Giza Pyramid and a must visit when you are in Egypt. You can walk around and admire this very very old structures dated back around 2700 BC.
The last complex we visited is Dahshur Pyramids. There are 2 pyramids in this complex. While you have to pay to enter the conplex, it is free if you want to go inside the pyramid and explore it. So, I took this opportunity to explore inside one of Dashur pyramids.
First, you have to climb the steep steps to the entrance of the pyramid. It’s about 150 meters.The entrance is just an opening on the wall of the pyramid. You go inside and then you take a stair down, it is about 167 steps down. But this is not a regular stairs or steps. Due to a very narrow space surrounding the stairs, you literally have to bend over while walking down the stairs.
When I got to bottom, it was just an empty space. I expected the ancient drawing on the walls and maybe a tomb. But those things were long gone due to tomb robbery and some had been moved to museums. Regardless, it’s such a neat experience to go inside the pyramids and go from one chamber to another and enjoying the architecture of ancient infrastructure. At the end, I’ll still recommend this activity to anyone who visit Dahshur pyramids. After sometimes, I went back up using the same stairs.
Since I still have some times to kill, I decided to visit the temple of Ramses in Memphis city. Memphis was an ancient city in Egypt, about 15 miles from Cairo. Here, you can see a collosal Ramses II statue. It is believed to be 3200 year old. Currently, it’s laid on its back inside a museum built specifically to house the statue. While the statue is protected indoor, the entire complex is basically an open air museum. This place certainly will take you to the ancient time. So, if you have time on your hands definetely make a stop at Memphis city on the way back of exploring the pyramids in Egypt.
