Pyramids of Giza: All you need to know

Pyramids of Giza are a marvel and a sight to behold especially when you think about the time in history they were constructed without any modern means and equipment. One tends to think of other energies in nature that these people were able to tap into, to be able to build such colossal structures. This post covers best time to visit pyramids of Giza and what to do at the pyramids of Giza.

Reaching there:
You could reach the pyramids of Giza through Uber, rented drivers and cars, group guided tours or private guided tours. See this post to see which options works the best for you.

Best time to visit Pyramids of Giza
Easy answer is that winters is the best time to visit Pyramids of Giza.
While winters is the high tourist season for visiting the Pyramids of Giza, I recommend visiting them in Apr-May when it is not a tourist season, the hotel rates are low, souvenirs are cheaper, lesser number of hawkers to bother you and most importantly access to pyramids is quick and easy. The temperatures are within 20^OC (min) – 30 ^OC (max) during this time.

Entry to the Pyramids of Giza:
The tickets can be bought at the ticket counter. If you are in Cairo for 4-5 days and plan to see more sights in Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo, you should opt for a Cairo Pass that can be purchased from the Egyptian Museum, the Giza Plateau and the Ministry of Antiquities in Zamalek for $80 for adults and $40 for students.
In high season (winters), the queues could be really long and you could waste a lot of time just standing in the queues. If you’re taking a tour, make sure it is explicitly mentioned in your ticket that admission is included. These tickets are only for seeing the pyramids from outside. To go inside, you need to take a separate ticket also available at the main ticket counter. Once you enter the pyramid complex, you can take the ticket to visit the solar boat museum separately if you want to visit. Other activities like the camel ride and a quad ride are all additional to the initial entrance ticket you buy.

History
If you are wondering on what to do at the Pyramids of Giza, beyond taking a few pictures with these imposing structures, you could read some bit of its history which will help bring the whole area to life, for you. What I highly recommend is also visit the Solar Boat museum and don’t bother going inside the pyramids of Giza.
The Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza Necropolis, includes the Great Pyramid of Giza (of Pharaoh Khufu), the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes which include the Solar Boat museum, and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All these structures were built almost 4,500 years ago during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The site also includes some cemeteries and the remains of what is assumed to be the workers’ village. Alongside the 3 key pyramids, you will see small pyramids called the dwarf pyramids which were built for the queens.The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre are the largest pyramids built in ancient Egypt. The Great Pyramid is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

Architecture
Each massive pyramid is one part of a larger necropolis (after death) complex, which includes a palace, temples, solar boat pits, and other features. In 2550 BC, Pharaoh Khufu began the first Giza pyramid project – the Great Pyramid of Giza. At 481 feet (147 meters) above the plateau, it is the largest pyramid in Giza. It is estimated that 2.3 million stone blocks each weigh an average of 2.5 to 15 tons were used to build the Great pyramid. Khafre’s necropolis included the second pyramid at Giza and the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and a pharaoh’s head. The Sphinx stands sentinel for the pharaoh’s entire tomb complex. The third of the Giza Pyramids is considerably smaller than the first two and featured a much more complex mortuary temple.All the pyramids were covered in limestone casing which couldn’t stand the earthquake of 14th century. However the remnants of this casing can be seen even today on the second pyramid.

What to Do at the pyramids of Giza?
Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptians built these pyramids tombs for themselves to prepare for the next world. Hence the pyramids contained all the things each pharaoh would need to guide and sustain himself in the after-life. I don’t recommend going inside any of the pyramids as the mummies, sarcophagus and all the antiquities that once were inside the pyramids have been moved to the Egyptian museum. Take pictures of the pyramids from the outside and you can even climb a few steps on the Great Pyramid.
Worker’s village: Located next to the Great Pyramid, the dwelling probably belonged to the people who helped build the pyramid, who may or may not have been slaves or workers per se. The Egyptians today believe that 2-3 months during which the Nile was flooded, the people would move higher up to this point and then work on building these pyramids for those 2-3 months. The Pyramids were probably a way for the ancient Pharaos to showcase their opulence and wealth.

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Sphinx Complex: This Sphinx complex consists of the Sphinx structure and the two temples connected with the ascending stairway. The first temple is the Mummification temple, where the mummification process was done and the second one is the funeral temple where the rites were done by the priests. These two temples are connected with the ascending stairway which is symbolic of the dead ascending to heaven. If you are keen on buying souvenirs, Sphinx complex has a lot more variety and many more shops (this may be true only during the summer months or Ramadan time when I visited Egypt). Don’t buy the papyrus as it’s not made from the original papyrus tree rather from banana trees.
Solar Boat Museum and the Boat Pits: In the early Egyptian belief, a solar boat was constructed as a means of transportation in the after-life. A boat was constructed and then dismantled into pieces and put in a huge pit dug up next to the pyramids and tombs. The Egyptians were very methodical about the pieces too – large ropes to assemble and tie the boat were left along with the pieces. The pieces were marked with hieroglyphic symbols to be able to put the pieces together. One such solar boat pit was excavated next to the Great Pyramid. The excavation revealed 1224 boat pieces inside the pit, in 13 layers. The boat was made from Cedar wood from Lebanon which was found to be almost 7000yrs old. The pit was found covered by 41 large blocks or limestone weighing 18 tons each. There is a separate ticket of EGP 100 for entrance and an extra EGP 50 for photography. Without the photography ticket, you are not allowed to take photographs.
If you have time on your hand and interested in Egyptian history, I recommend visiting this museum, which now houses the boat assembled from the 1,224 pieces found in the pit.

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Panoramic View Point: This is the point from where you can view all the three pyramids together. This is where you will see people getting their customary pictures clicked holding the pyramids, jumping over them, touching the tip of the pyramid, kissing the Sphinx.
Astronomical Viewpoint: The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids were astronomically oriented to the north-south and east-west within a small fraction of a degree. Among recent attempts to explain such a clearly deliberate pattern, is the disputed Orion Constellation Theory, which proposes that the arrangement of the pyramids is a representation of the Orion constellation.

Be prepared for…

A lot of hawkers selling scarves, horse carts, camel rides and people. Since I went during the Ramadan there were no water, drinks and food hawkers. Be prepared to be a little thick skinned to either ignore them or just say Shukran (Thank you in Arabic) and move on.
The places are as stroller friendly as possible. Of course there are times where you need to climb the stairs or the entry inside is only through the stairs. So be prepared to take turns if you need to manage the baby.
If you go with a guide he will take you to the photo vantage points where you can take good photographs.