The Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza

Admission	You can find some tour operators that charge around $30US for a packaged trip that includes transportation, a tour guide, lunch and—if you’re lucky—a camel ride. If you’re going solo, expect to pay considerably less—around $5US.
Hours	8am-5pm (May – Oct); 8am-4pm (Nov-Apr)
Phone	www.sis.gov.eg

They may have 4000 years of history backing up their modern day beauty, but once you’ve walked up to them, it’s not hard to imagine why the Pyramids of Giza are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World (they also happen to be the sole survivor). The Nile once flowed right into their vicinity and the site was built to overlook the Ancient Egypitan capital of Memphis, now modern day Cairo.

Today, the pyramids rest at the edge of greater Cairo, near the famed Sphinx—that feline carved into a single block of stone (50 meters of it!). While years of exposure to harmful elements, such as the wind and tourists, have decayed the Sphinx, you can still check out a nearby sound and light show in the evening. To many, the Pyramids of Giza remain a mystery. Though popular belief holds that pharaohs built the pyramids (or, rather, had them built) as tombs for Egyptian kings, some doubt that an ancient civilization could have been capable of erecting such amazing structures. How amazing, exactly? The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), for instance, was said to be completed around 2600 B.C. with some 2.3 million limestone blocks—weighing around 2.5 tonnes, each! Still not impressed? Visit the Solar Boat Museum and check out the pharaoh’s boat from that time.