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Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
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Dahshur · south of Cairo
The Red Pyramid stands at Dahshur in Egypt, about 40 km south of central Cairo by road. It is the highest pyramid at Dahshur and the third largest in Egypt, after Khufu's and Khafre's at Giza. King Sneferu built it. You can go inside through an entrance on the north side. His other pyramid here, the Bent Pyramid, stands to the south. Most visitors see Dahshur and Saqqara on the same day. This guide covers the way down inside, the rest of the Dahshur site, getting there, and the two tours of ours that include it.
Dahshur is a rocky plateau at the edge of the desert, south of Saqqara. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities calls it the southern part of the cemetery of Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt. Kings of the Old and Middle Kingdoms built pyramids here. The Red Pyramid is the highest of them.
Its builder was Sneferu, the first king of the 4th Dynasty. He built three pyramids: this one, the Bent Pyramid to the south, and the pyramid at Meidum. His builders were moving from the stepped design of Djoser's pyramid at Saqqara to smooth, straight sides. At Dahshur you can see two stages of that work on the same skyline.
Yes. The ministry says visitors enter through an entrance on the north side (egymonuments.gov.eg, checked October 2026). A passage about a metre high and a metre wide slopes down into the pyramid. At that height, most adults go down bent double or in a crouch.
The passage leads to a chamber with a corbelled roof. Its stone courses step inward as they rise, like an upside-down staircase. Another passage leads on to a second chamber, in the middle of the pyramid. From there a third passage runs to a third chamber. The ministry says this is believed to have been the burial chamber.
Expect bare stone walls. For carved and painted walls, see the tombs at Saqqara on the same day. Visitors often mention a strong smell of ammonia inside the Dahshur pyramids. The air is still and warm.
Skip the descent if tight spaces bother you, or if your back or knees are unreliable. The passage takes one line of people, so turning back halfway is awkward for everyone. Carry as little as you can. You will want a hand on each wall.
Tickets are sold at the site entrance, and prices change often. Check the current price at the ticket office on the day.
At Dahshur, the Bent Pyramid came first. Its builders started at an angle of 55 degrees. Partway up they changed to 43 degrees. The ministry puts this down to the weight of the blocks, which made the structure unstable. Sneferu's designers then began a new pyramid a short distance away: the Red Pyramid.
That makes the pair worth seeing together. One shows the problem, the other the finished answer. The two stand about 2 km apart on OpenStreetMap. Most visitors drive between them, because the walk crosses open sand with no shade.
The Bent Pyramid has two entrances, one on the north side and one high on the west. Our Bent Pyramid guide covers its interior, its outer casing and the debate over the change of angle.
The ministry lists later pyramids here too, from the Middle Kingdom. They belong to Amenemhat II, Senwosret III and Amenemhat III. The tombs of the princesses Sit-Hathor and Ment surround Senwosret III's pyramid. Amenemhat III's is known as the Black Pyramid. Several pyramids of the 13th Dynasty also stand at Dahshur.
The ministry describes these later pyramids as in a bad or poor state. They are not open to visitors, and from the Sneferu pyramids they look like dark, worn mounds. For most people the visit is the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.
By road. The Red Pyramid is about 40 km from Tahrir Square, 28 km from the Great Pyramid at Giza and 11 km from the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. These are OpenStreetMap driving routes, checked October 2026.
Cairo traffic is hard to predict. Allow an hour or more each way from the city centre. There is no useful public transport to the pyramids. Most people go with a car and driver, or on a tour.
There is nothing at the site if your transport leaves. Book the car for the return as well, and agree the order of stops with the driver before you set off.
Saqqara and Dahshur sit on the same stretch of desert edge, so most visitors see both in a day. The usual order is Saqqara in the morning, then Dahshur. Our two tours that include Dahshur run it that way. They start at the Step Pyramid of Djoser, then go on to the Red and Bent pyramids.
If going inside the Red Pyramid matters most to you, swap the order. The descent is easier on legs that have not spent three hours at Saqqara. Memphis is on the same road and makes a half-hour stop if you have time.
Keep Giza for another day if you can. Three pyramid sites in one day is a lot of walking in the sun. With two days around Cairo, one common split puts Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum on one day. Saqqara and Dahshur fill the other.
The ministry lists the Red Pyramid and the Dahshur site as open from 08:00 to 17:00 every day (egymonuments.gov.eg, checked October 2026). During Ramadan some sites shorten their hours, so check before you go.
There is no cafe, shop or shade at Dahshur. Bring water, a hat and closed shoes for the loose sand. Carry cash in small notes.
October to April is the comfortable season. In summer the open desert is very hot, and the passage inside holds the heat. Climbing the pyramids is not allowed in Egypt.
Yes, if you want to go inside a pyramid without a crowd. Dahshur is quieter than Saqqara, which is already far quieter than Giza. There are few sellers, and the car park often holds only a handful of vehicles.
Going inside the Great Pyramid at Giza needs its own ticket on top of the Giza area ticket (ministry, checked October 2026). The Red Pyramid gives a similar descent, usually with far fewer people.
Dahshur also tells the part of the story that Giza leaves out. Here you see the corrected pyramid and the finished one side by side.
Leave it out if you have only one day in Cairo. Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum come first. If tight spaces bother you, stay outside: the two pyramids together are the main sight.
Two of the trips we sell with our partner, Memphis Tours, include Dahshur. Both give it a full day near the end, back in Cairo. Prices below are from-prices in US dollars, per person, land only.
The Grand Tour of Egypt, 16 days, from US$3,910. Day 14 is Saqqara and Dahshur. The trip also covers Giza, a three-night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, Dendera and Abydos, and three nights at Hurghada.
Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise, 15 days, from US$3,985. Day 14 is Saqqara and Dahshur. It adds a day in Alexandria and four nights sailing from Luxor to Aswan. Dendera and Abydos are on both trips. The 15-day trip has no Red Sea days.
On both, the day starts at the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Then come the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. The rest of the day is spent in the rural area around Dahshur, with lunch at a local family's home. Cairo sightseeing on both trips is private, with your own English-speaking guide and vehicle.
Both trips leave out extra entry tickets. Going inside a pyramid, including the Red Pyramid, is paid separately at the gate.
Our shorter trips, including the Cairo Short Break, do not visit Dahshur. If you want it on one of those, ask us to add a Cairo day.
Because of the reddish, rusty colour of its stone blocks, says the ministry. It was white when finished. Like other pyramids, it had an outer casing of white limestone from Tura, south of modern Cairo. That casing was taken away for reuse in medieval times.
No. The ministry ranks it the third-largest Egyptian pyramid, after Khufu's Great Pyramid and Khafre's pyramid at Giza. Sneferu was Khufu's father, so the Red Pyramid is a generation older than the Great Pyramid.
The ministry says work may have started in the 13th year of Sneferu's reign and taken about 10 years. Treat both figures as estimates.
It is usually described as the first finished pyramid with smooth, straight sides. It followed the Bent Pyramid, whose angle had to be changed partway up. Sneferu's pyramid at Meidum makes the exact order harder to pin down.
Possibly. The ministry says the third chamber is believed to have been the burial chamber. The word believed matters. A guide who states it as settled fact is going beyond the evidence.
About an hour and a half to see both pyramids from outside. Allow two to three hours if you go inside and drive between the two. On a Saqqara day, Dahshur usually takes the late morning or early afternoon.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
Plan this trip
A real itinerary with real prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
16 days · Classic Egypt
Sixteen days and very little left out: Cairo, a flight to Aswan, three nights sailing down to Luxor, two more days of Luxor on land, three nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,910 / per person
15 days · Classic Egypt
Fifteen days of the ancient sites without a beach stop: Cairo, two days of Luxor on land, four nights sailing to Aswan, a Nubian village, then back to Cairo for Alexandria, Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,985 / per person
