Great Pyramids Sound and Light Show

Great Pyramids Sound and Light Show

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I definitely felt like a tourist when I decided to go and see the Giza Pyramids sound and light show, but I didn’t care. I am part tourist and part temporary teacher transplant. I read online that the show was a little cheesy and that is exactly what convinced me to go. With a free weekend night, I set off.

My entrance ticket outside the gate. The English show runs every night.
My entrance ticket outside the gate. The English show runs every night.

Although there are a multitude of tour companies offering to pick you up, deposit you onsite and take you back home, there is no need to book a “tour” to do this. Just arrange a taxi, driver or Uber to take you and wait out the hour-long show. Even as a foreign woman alone on a Friday night, it was fine.

I paid 135 Egyptian Pounds (about $8 USD) for a “front row” seat, but as most tourist things in Cairo, even on a weekend, it was not busy nor did I have to fight the crowds. As soon as I walked in, I saw the Sphinx in front of the outlines of the three largest pyramids. I think that was worth the ticket price alone. Although I had seen the pyramids from afar, this was my first up close and personal. And with the lack of crowds, you really do feel like you have a private audience with the pyramids.

The illuminated Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a person, is quite smaller than the pyramids but still impressive.
The illuminated Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a person, is quite smaller than the pyramids but still impressive.
From smallest to largest: Pyramid of Menkaure, Pyramid of Khafre and Pyramid of Khufu.
From smallest to largest: Pyramid of Menkaure, Pyramid of Khafre and Pyramid of Khufu.

Somebody corralled me and told me where the best seat was (the far right, front). I sat down and waited for the show to start. With a booming narration and moving lights, the show tells the story of how the pyramids were built and how they survived the ages. There are images projected onto stone walls as well as the Great Sphinx of Giza himself.

The Great Pyramid Complex illuminated by colored lights. If you have a tripod for your camera, bring it with you.
The Great Pyramid Complex illuminated by colored lights. If you have a tripod for your camera, bring it with you.
The Great Sphinx. Can you spot his lion paws? The Sphinx is thought to represent the Pharaoh Khafre, whose pyramid is behind the Sphinx from this view.
The Great Sphinx. Can you spot his lion paws? The Sphinx is thought to represent the Pharaoh Khafre, whose pyramid is behind the Sphinx from this view.
In this view, the Sphinx is superimposed with a mask, a nose and a false chin/beard.
In this view, the Sphinx is superimposed with a mask, a nose and a false chin/beard.

If You Go…

Great Pyramids Sound and Light Show

  • 100 EGP for regular or 135 EGP for “VIP”
  • English show every night
  • From May 1 to September 30: 7:30 p.m.
  • From October 1 to April 30: 7:00 p.m.
  • Make sure to specify the east entrance of light and sound show near the Sphinx, not the regular pyramids entrance, which is more to the north
  • Bring a jacket, it gets cool and windy at night, especially after October
  • Don’t have high expectations, it’s just for fun and snapping pictures!

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