Visiting the Great Sphinx 2026: How Close, Best Time, Photos

Booking choice: The half-day private pyramids tour, from $40 per person. Check dates Tour details

The Great Sphinx sits at the bottom of the Giza plateau, below Khafre's pyramid, and it is included in the 700 EGP plateau ticket. You see it from a terrace beside the Valley Temple of Khafre, not from between its paws: the enclosure floor is closed to visitors.

Since 2025 most tour cars stop at the new visitor centre on the Fayoum road, so the Sphinx often comes last, by shuttle. Independent visitors can start there instead, through the Sphinx gate in Nazlet el-Semman. Here is how close you get, when to go and where to stand.

The quick answer

You see the Sphinx from a terrace and walkway beside Khafre's Valley Temple, included in the 700 EGP plateau ticket; you can't walk down into the enclosure or between the paws. Come at 07:00 through the Sphinx gate, or ride the free shuttle down from the pyramids. The Sphinx faces east, so the morning sun lights its face. Allow 30 to 45 minutes.

Close view of the Sphinx's weathered face and headdress with the Pyramid of Khafre behind — The face, the nemes headdress and Khafre's pyramid, lined up from the terrace.

How close can you get to the Great Sphinx?

Close enough to see the weathering in the stone, but not touching distance. You stand on a terrace and walkway at the edge of the enclosure; the floor and the paws are off limits.

The route runs through the granite Valley Temple of Khafre and out onto a raised viewing area beside the Sphinx. A walkway follows its flank, so you get the profile as well as the face. The Sphinx Temple in front of the paws, and the enclosure floor, stay closed except with special permission.

If someone offers to take you "down to the paws" for a fee, that isn't a real option. Expect a fence, a lot of people and a very good view.

The Great Sphinx seen from the side, with a paved walkway in front and a pyramid behind — The walkway along the Sphinx's flank gives the side view most photos miss.

Is the Sphinx included in the pyramids ticket?

Yes. There is no separate Sphinx ticket: the 700 EGP plateau ticket (350 EGP for students) covers the Valley Temple and the viewing terrace.

Buy the plateau ticket at either entrance or online on egymonuments.com, by card. If you enter through the Sphinx gate, the Sphinx is your first stop and you can ride the shuttle up to the pyramids afterwards. Through the main visitor centre, it is usually the last stop of the loop.

The Sound and Light show is the exception. It is a separate US$20 ticket, sold by the show company, and it runs on its own unstable schedule (more below).

A private guide and driver for the pyramids, the Panorama and the Sphinx, back at your hotel by mid-afternoon.

Check dates for the half-day private pyramids tour

Where is the Sphinx entrance, and how do you get there?

The Sphinx gate is on the east side of the plateau, in Nazlet el-Semman. From the pyramids, the free shuttle stops at the Sphinx, or you walk down Khafre's causeway.

Giza now has two entrances. The main one is the visitor centre on the Fayoum road, opened as a pilot on 10 April 2025, where cars and coaches park and the electric shuttles start (the details are in our post on the new entrance). The second is the Sphinx gate, still used by many independent visitors. The old gate by the Mena House no longer sells tickets.

Tell an Uber driver "Sphinx entrance" or "Abu el-Hol" and they will know. The street outside is busy with touts offering camels and "guides"; walk straight to the ticket office. More on the drop-off in Giza without a tour.

The head of the Sphinx from behind, above the Valley Temple ruins, with the Great Pyramid in the background — From the causeway side you see the back of the head, with Khufu's pyramid beyond.

How big is the Sphinx, and who built it?

About 73 m long and 20 m high, carved straight out of the plateau's bedrock. It is generally attributed to Khafre, around 2558 to 2532 BC.

The Sphinx was not built so much as left behind: quarrymen cut the stone away around a ridge of rock and shaped what remained into a lion's body with a king's head. It sits beside Khafre's Valley Temple and lines up with his causeway, which is why most Egyptologists give it to his reign. The face wears the striped nemes headdress, and the nose has been missing for centuries.

Close up, the body shows layers of softer and harder rock weathered at different rates, patched with later masonry blocks. A good guide makes a lot of that. On the GEM Explore Egypt half day, one recent guest found their guide was "an archeologist at the Giza Pyramids and so was able to answer any questions".

What is the best time to visit the Sphinx?

First thing, at 07:00. The Sphinx faces east, so the low morning sun lights the face, and the terrace is quiet before the tour groups arrive around 09:00.

From about 10:00 the terrace gets crowded and the vendors near the Sphinx side get busy. Midday light is flat and harsh. Late afternoon puts the face in shadow, though the pyramids behind it glow; last entry is 16:00.

Skip Friday and Saturday if you can: it is the Egyptian weekend and local families come in numbers. Winter mornings are often hazy until about 10:00, which softens the photos but hides the pyramids behind. A guest who started at 07:30 advised doing exactly that "to avoid the heat".

Half-Day Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Private Tour

Start early with your own guide and driver: the Sphinx before the crowds, then the pyramids by shuttle. Private, four to five hours.

★ 4.9 · 4 to 5 hours · from $40

Explore the half-day private pyramids tour Tour details

Where are the best photo spots for the Sphinx?

The terrace corner where the Sphinx's face lines up with Khafre's pyramid, the side walkway for the profile, and the open sand further out for the Sphinx with two pyramids behind.

Face and pyramid: from the terrace, step left or right until the head sits against Khafre's pyramid. It is the classic shot, and you will queue for the rail.
The profile: from the walkway along the flank, with the Great Pyramid behind the head.
The wide view: from further back on the sand, the Sphinx sits small between two pyramids. Use a zoom.
Trick shots: "kissing the Sphinx" and holding the pyramid tip are easy to set up yourself. Men who pose you for them will want a tip.

Phone photos are free. Tripods and commercial filming need a permit, and drones can't be brought into Egypt without clearance. Guides on private tours are often good photographers: reviewers mention it constantly.

The Great Sphinx seen from the sand in front, between two pyramids, with visitors on the terrace to the left — The wide view from the sand, with the Sphinx between Khafre and Khufu.

Can you see the Sphinx at night?

Only at the Sound and Light show, and only when it runs. The official ticket is US$20, but the show has run on a reduced, changing schedule since 2025 and was reported suspended in October 2026.

The show is narrated by the Sphinx, with seats facing it and the floodlit pyramids from the Nazlet el-Semman side. The operator is redeveloping it with Orascom, and dates have changed at short notice. Check soundandlight.show for your date before planning an evening around it; on 22 October 2026 the Pyramids show could not be booked there.

If it is running, the Sound and Light tour with hotel pickup includes the ticket and transfers. Its 3.4 rating mostly reflects cancellations during the redevelopment. The current state of things is in our post on the show.

The Sphinx and a pyramid lit up against a dark night sky — The Sphinx under floodlights. The show's schedule changes often, so check first.

Should you see the Sphinx first or last?

Last, if you come through the main visitor centre; first, if you arrive early through the Sphinx gate. The shuttle makes either order easy.

Tours from the visitor centre usually run the loop Panorama, pyramids, then the Sphinx, finishing near the vendors and the exit to the car. Independent visitors at the Sphinx gate at 07:00 get the terrace almost to themselves, then ride the shuttle up for the pyramids while the coaches are still arriving.

Plan 30 to 45 minutes for the Valley Temple and the terrace. Add time if you want the wide shot from the sand, and keep water with you: there is little shade at the bottom of the plateau.

Your own Egyptologist for the Sphinx and the pyramids, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Check dates for the half-day private Giza tour

Frequently asked questions

Can you touch the Sphinx?

No. Visitors stay on the terrace and walkway at the edge of the enclosure; the enclosure floor, the paws and the Sphinx Temple are closed except with special permission.

How long do you need at the Sphinx?

About 30 to 45 minutes for the Valley Temple, the terrace and photos. A full visit with the pyramids takes three to four hours.

Is there a separate ticket for the Sphinx?

No. It is included in the 700 EGP Giza plateau ticket. Only the Sound and Light show, US$20, is separate.

Are there still hawkers at the Sphinx?

Fewer than before the 2025 changes. A small vendor area remains on the Sphinx side, and touts still work the street outside the Sphinx gate. A firm "no, thank you" and walking on works.

Ready to book