Climbing the Pyramids in Egypt
I recently got an email from someone requesting information about climbing the great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Why did he want to clamber up the side of the Pyramids? "I have touched the past," he said. "I can conquer the future." But his inner mountaineer will have to be satisfied with trekking around inside the Pyramids or taking a camel ride around their base. Climbing up is not an option.
I have some shaky super 8 footage of myself as a six-year old clambering up the last remaining Ancient Wonder of the World, but since the 1980's the Egyptian authorities have put a stop to it. It isn't just about thousands of sweaty, climbing tourists damaging the Pyramids -- it's also downright dangerous. The Pyramids used to be covered in limestone, which has eroded over the years. The steps were never made for climbing. They're uneven, crumbling and quite large -- at least five feet high in some places.
Inevitably, the fact that climbing the pyramids is forbidden doesn't stop everyone from doing it. Young Japanese tourists are apparently particularly adept at avoiding guards and clambering up in the dead of night. Bribing guards to turn a blind eye is also commonplace. But if you think you're going to enjoy the climb and the view, you may be disappointed. Bribing guards and climbing a steep, crumbling, ancient wonder in the pitch dark is not relaxing. Given the air pollution in Cairo, the sunrise views from the top aren't anything to write home about. And going down is even more dangerous than climbing up.
The bottom line is that it's not worth the risk of a fine, arrest or a broken neck. And why not respect the Pyramids instead of satisfying your need to conquer them? If that's not possible then there are plenty of pyramids in Central America you can still climb.
Image of the Great Pyramid of Khafre at Giza by David Hutchinson
You should realize that I happened on this article looking for info about climbing the pyramids. You say “Don’t do it.” Now I have to. It must be worth the trip.
Climbed the big one in 1960. At that time they had a 15 ft. pole guy-wired on top to show the origional height. From the top you could look down on the workers area, where over 22,000 laborers lived and died within the shadow of the pyramid.
Wow I never knew that commentators now days had lost all sense of adventure…damn live a little and grow some balls!!!!!!
In February 1980 my wife (married 1 year, we were in our early 20’s) and I traveled to Egypt and went out to view the pyramids and the Sphinx. As we were looking at the Great Pyramid a young Egyptian man, also early 20’s, approached us and I told him I wanted to climb the Great Pyramid. I knew I could do it but didn’t know if it would be safe for my wife. Long story short, we paid him $20 U.S. dollars, he paid off the guards on three sides and the three of us climbed up one of the corners to the top. It was mid week and late morning. It was only the three of us on the whole thing. At the top, the view was stunning, no smog. We have a picture of us on top together that the Egyptian guy took of us. It was unbelievable we got to do that, especially as the years have past and people talk about the difficulty of climbing to the top of the pyramid… sneaking at night, in the dark. We did it in the day and on a beautiful day. We count our blessings.
wow no need to be so negative we just wanted to kno u didnt have to be all defensive. theres plenty of pyramids it wudnt hurt if a couple of people now and then tried to climb to the top. gosh…
lol i agree with Jim, now i must climb the pyramids!!! Anouk, seriously where is ur sense of adventure? sure things get dangerous but thats the whole point!!!