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The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara
Cairo and Giza

Saqqara, Memphis and Dahshur

The first pyramid, the first true pyramid and the first capital, 30 km south of Giza.

Step Pyramid
King Djoser, c. 2670 BC, architect Imhotep, 62 m
Dahshur
Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid of Sneferu, c. 2600 BC
Memphis
Open-air museum at Mit Rahina: Ramses II colossus, alabaster sphinx
Tombs
Kagemni, Ti, Mereruka; pyramid of Teti with Pyramid Texts

Saqqara is the necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, with the Step Pyramid of Djoser (c. 2670 BC), the first monumental stone building; Dahshur has the Bent and Red Pyramids of Sneferu (c. 2600 BC), the first true pyramids, and you can enter the Red Pyramid. A guided day takes seven hours from Cairo with lunch, or a long day by coach from Hurghada.

Visiting

Imhotep built Djoser's pyramid as six mastabas stacked on each other inside a walled enclosure the size of a town, with a colonnade of forty columns, a courtyard for the king's jubilee race and dummy chapels carved to imitate reed buildings in stone. It is where the idea of the pyramid began, and where Egyptian architecture became stone.

The noble tombs around it, Ti, Kagemni and Mereruka, are painted with the daily life of the Old Kingdom: fishing, hunting hippos, brewing beer, feasting. The pyramid of Teti, when open, has the Pyramid Texts carved in its chamber. The Serapeum, the underground galleries of the Apis bulls, is an optional extra.

Dahshur, 10 km south, is where Sneferu learned to build a true pyramid. The Bent Pyramid changes angle halfway up after the first attempt cracked; the Red Pyramid next to it got the angle right and is the model for Giza. Its descending passage and three corbelled chambers are included on our tour. Memphis itself is fields and palms now; its open-air museum keeps the 10 m colossus of Ramses II.

Tips from our guides

  • Saqqara is exposed; go early and carry water
  • The Red Pyramid interior is easier than Khufu's and rarely crowded
  • Combine with Giza only if you have a 10-hour day; otherwise take two days

Best time: October to April; year-round in the morning.

Questions

Yes. Giza has the size; Saqqara has the origin of the pyramid, the painted tombs and far fewer visitors. Most of our repeat guests rate it their favourite day in Cairo.
29.8712 N, 31.2165 EOpen in Google Maps

Tours that visit Saqqara and Dahshur