The pyramids sound and light show: what to expect

On our sound and light evening at the pyramids, a representative meets you at your hotel in Cairo or Giza in the evening, you watch the show on the Giza Plateau, then have a dinner of Egyptian food at a local restaurant before the drive back. The show tells the story of the pyramids and the pharaohs with light and narration, in the voice of the Sphinx.

The evening, stop by stop

The tour page shows approximate clock times. The pickup time is confirmed when you book, because traffic and your hotel's location change it.

What is lit up in front of you

The show plays across the pyramids of Giza: the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, built in the Old Kingdom over 4,500 years ago, and the Great Sphinx, a statue with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh. Beside the Sphinx stands the Valley Temple, part of King Chephren's (Khafre's) funerary complex. The plateau is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Memphis and its Necropolis, the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur", inscribed in 1979; there is no separate listing for the Giza pyramids alone.

Private car, shared show

All tours on this site are private for your group's car and guide. On some, this one included, the activity itself is shared with other guests: the show has an audience, while your transfers stay private. The tour's included list also names a private English-speaking Egyptologist guide, but its stop list mentions only a representative, so ask which of the two comes with you when you book.

What the price covers

• Included: transfers in a private air-conditioned vehicle, pickup from your hotel and return, entrance fees to the sites mentioned, a bottle of water, dinner at a local restaurant, and taxes and service charge.
• Not included: tipping and any extras not in the itinerary.

The tour data do not state the language of the show or how long it runs. Ask about both when you send your request.

Drive times from your hotel, without traffic

These are map-routing figures for an empty road, so read them as the shortest the drive can take. More on hotel areas in how hotel pickup works for Cairo day tours.

Evenings are cooler than the days

Cairo's average daily low is 9.7°C in January and 22.9°C in July (climate normals, not forecasts). From November to March the average lows stay between 9.7°C and 14.6°C, so bring a warm layer for an evening outdoors on the plateau.

Sound and light on our other tours

Our tours run two more shows. At Karnak in Luxor you walk past the lit columns of the hypostyle hall, then sit beside the sacred lake for a show of about 75 minutes. At Philae in Aswan you reach the island by boat and walk among the lit temple columns while the legend of Isis, Osiris and Horus is told. Sound and light shows compared sets the three side by side.

The plateau by day

The show is an evening program; walking among the pyramids happens on a day tour. The Ministry's ticketing portal gives the plateau's hours as 7 am with last entry at 4 pm, while another official page gives 8 am to 4 pm. The Grand Egyptian Museum and pyramids day covers the plateau, the Sphinx and the museum; the newer Giza pyramids and the Sphinx half day, listed at about 4 hours and confirmed with your quote, covers the plateau alone. To weigh the show against a felucca, a dinner cruise or a tanoura night, see Cairo evenings compared, or browse all our evenings and shows.