Following your breakfast, our Egyptiva Experience Leader will pick you up from your hotel to enjoy an incredible guided tour off the beaten path to the glorious great pyramid of Giza and Sphinx. No matter how multiple pics or features you have seen, the first glimpse of these flashes of the ancient world will take your breath out. As a qualified Egyptologist, your Experience leader has all the information about these massive structures.

The pyramids were built by a highly competent corps of mathematicians, masons, surveyors, and stone cutters. The back-breaking operation of lifting and installing the stones of the greatest pyramid, Cheops, required 100,000 laborers. Approximately 2.3 million stone blocks were cut, transported, and assembled to build the 6-million-ton edifice, which is a technological and engineering marvel. The internal walls, as well as the few outer-casing stones that exist, have finer joints than any other ancient Egyptian stonework.

The Pyramid of Khafre, also known as the Pyramid of Chephren, is the second-tallest and second-largest of the three Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza, and it houses the tomb of Fourth-Dynasty pharaoh Khafre (Chephren), who reigned between 2558 and 2532 BC. The Chephren pyramid is built on bedrock that is 10 meters (33 feet) higher than Khufu’s pyramid, giving it the appearance of being taller. On March 2, 1818, Giovanni Belzoni discovered the original entrance on the north side of the pyramid for the first time in modern times. Belzoni hoped to discover an undisturbed burial, but the room was empty except for an open sarcophagus with a shattered lid on the floor.

Menkaure (Mykerinus to the Greeks; c.2532–2503 BC) was the architect of the third of the three great Giza Pyramids. He was most likely Khafre’s (Khefren’s) son and Khufu’s grandson (Cheops). Menkaure’s pyramid is by far the smallest of the three, with a base area less than a fourth of that of the other two and an original height of 65 meters.

It is a high point in the pyramid complex. As the name implies, from this vantage point, you can see all nine pyramids on the Giza plateau. You may snap shots from the viewpoint near the parking lot, or you can trek out into the dunes for a different perspective.

If you opt to go inside the great pyramid of Cheops, Chephren or Mykerinus you have to buy a ticket before you go inside the pyramid area. Ask your Experience leader to buy it for you or to show you where you can purchase a ticket. Remember, tickets prices are subject to change every year in November. So make sure you have the updated info about the entry fees.