Great Pyramid of Giza → the Sphinx

The two most recognisable objects on the Giza plateau are about 650 metres apart, and the walk between them is downhill on sand and broken limestone. It takes eight minutes and feels longer, because the surface is loose and there is no shade at any point.

The route

From the eastern base of the Great Pyramid, head south-east across the plateau, following the line of the pyramid's causeway toward the valley temple complex. The Sphinx sits at the lower end, in a quarried hollow below the level of the pyramids, next to the Valley Temple of Khafre.

About 650 metres, or 0.4 miles. The straight line is nearly the same — this is open ground with almost no obstruction, one of the few walks anywhere where the direct route is actually available to you.

What the number is made of

Zero point four miles is about 860 steps on paper. In practice, expect more. Loose sand shortens stride significantly — typically eight to twelve per cent for an unloaded walker — which pushes a realistic count closer to 930 to 960. The route also drops about 20 metres from the pyramid plateau down to the Sphinx enclosure, which is a descent on uneven footing rather than a graded path.

Why the Sphinx sits in a hole

The Great Pyramid was built for Khufu around 2560 BC and stood as the tallest structure made by humans for roughly 3,800 years, an unbroken record no other building has come close to. It was originally faced in polished white Tura limestone, which made it a smooth reflective mass rather than the stepped form visible today. Most of that casing was removed in the medieval period and reused in Cairo's buildings after an earthquake loosened it.

The Sphinx is generally attributed to Khafre, Khufu's successor, and it is not a built structure at all. It was carved directly from a single outcrop of limestone left standing in a quarry — the quarry that supplied stone for the pyramid complexes. That is why it sits below the plateau surface in an excavated enclosure: the ground around it was cut away, not built up.

The causeway your route roughly follows was a covered processional corridor connecting Khafre's pyramid to his valley temple near the river. In its original form it was a walled and roofed passage, so the walk you are doing outdoors in the sun was, for the people it was built for, done in shade.

The missing nose has attracted more explanations than any other detail. Sketches from the eighteenth century show it already gone, which rules out the persistent story about Napoleon's artillery. A fifteenth-century Arabic account attributes the damage to a Sufi who objected to local people making offerings to the figure.

Walking it well

Go at opening, which is normally eight in the morning. By eleven the plateau is fully exposed, surface temperatures on the sand are far above air temperature, and there is no shade between the two monuments other than the north face of the pyramid itself.

Carry more water than you think you need, and wear closed shoes rather than sandals — the ground is limestone rubble as much as sand. The site is large: the full circuit of all three pyramids plus the Sphinx is around 2.5 miles and 5,370 steps, and most visitors substantially underestimate it.

Your step count, by height

Step length varies with height by more than 25 per cent across the adult range, so the single figure at the top of this page will not be right for everyone. Here is the same distance for a range of heights, using the standard estimate of 0.414 × height.

Your height	Est. step length	Steps for this route
1.55 m	0.64 m	1,003
1.65 m	0.68 m	943
1.75 m	0.72 m	888
1.85 m	0.77 m	840
1.95 m	0.81 m	798

These are estimates. If you want a figure that matches your own gait, our guide to measuring your stride length takes about five minutes.

Common questions

Can you walk freely between the pyramids and the Sphinx?

Yes, on foot within the archaeological site during opening hours. Camel and horse operators work the plateau persistently; walking is entirely practical and you are not obliged to ride.

How long does it take?

About eight to ten minutes of walking, more on loose sand. Allow considerably longer in heat.

Does sand really change the step count?

Yes. Walking on loose sand shortens stride and raises energy cost substantially — studies of sand walking have found energy expenditure well above that of firm ground at the same speed.

Try your own route

Enter any two places into the step calculator to get a figure for a walk of your own, or browse all twenty routes and eight articles.