---
node: spot_giza_great_pyramid_of_giza
type: spot
slug: great_pyramid_of_giza
destination: dest_giza
title: "Great Pyramid of Giza"
lead: "The Great Pyramid was built for Khufu around 2560 BCE and stood as the tallest structure on earth for nearly four thousand years. It is the only one of the seven ancient wonders still standing."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_giza_great_pyramid_of_giza.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyramid_of_Cheops_-_side.jpg"
image_author: "kallerna"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

Some 2.3 million blocks, averaging two and a half tonnes, rise to 138 metres today — the original 146 metres included a smooth casing that was stripped for medieval Cairo. The sides are aligned to the cardinal points to within a fraction of a degree. Inside, the Grand Gallery climbs 47 metres at a corbelled angle to the King's Chamber, cut from granite hauled 800 kilometres from Aswan.

## Highlights

Interior tickets are limited and sold at the gate each morning; the climb is steep, hot and airless, and is not for anyone claustrophobic. The 43-metre cedar ship buried beside the pyramid is the single most extraordinary object Giza has produced; it moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2021, and the old boat museum on the plateau has closed. Ride or walk to the panorama point on the desert road for the classic three-pyramid line-up.