Dahshur and the pyramids of Sneferu

5 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

Dahshur was the southern part of the cemetery of Memphis, the ancient capital, as the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities puts it. Kings of the Old and Middle Kingdoms built pyramids here, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site "the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur" carries its name. The drive from the Giza Plateau is about 28 km, roughly 40 minutes without traffic, and one tour description puts Dahshur about 8 miles beyond Saqqara.

The two pyramids that bring visitors here belong to King Sneferu, whom the ministry calls the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. His first attempt became the Bent Pyramid. The second, close by, was finished as the Red Pyramid. A third pyramid at Dahshur, the Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III, is in poor condition according to the ministry.

The Bent Pyramid

Building started at a steeper angle. The weight of the blocks made the structure unstable, the ministry explains, so the builders lowered the angle to 43 degrees for the upper part, which gives the pyramid its broken outline. Large patches of the outer casing stone still cling to its sides, as the photo at the top of this page shows.

The Bent Pyramid has two entrances, one on the north side and one higher up on the west side, and each leads to a chamber with a corbelled roof. It reopened to visitors in 2019 after being closed since 1965. At the time, visitors could climb down a tunnel of about 86 yards (roughly 79 m) to explore two chambers. We could not confirm whether the interior is open in 2026, so ask your guide before you set your heart on it.

The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid takes its name from the reddish, rusty colour of its blocks. Its original casing was white limestone from Tura, south of modern Cairo. The ministry calls it the third-largest pyramid in Egypt after those of Khufu and Khafre at Giza, and says it may have been started in the 13th year of Sneferu's reign and took about ten years to build.

You enter on the north side. A passage about a metre high and a metre wide slopes down to a first chamber with a corbelled roof, a second chamber lies in the middle of the pyramid, and a passage to the south leads to a third room believed to be the burial chamber. At that height you walk bent over.

The tour above by Sun Pyramids Tours is private and takes four to six hours from your hotel. It covers the Step Pyramid, then Dahshur with the Red and Bent Pyramids, and Memphis about 6 miles further on. Entrance fees for all three sites and a restaurant lunch are included, as is a shopping stop in Cairo.

Opening hours and tickets

According to the official ticket portal, egymonuments.com, Dahshur opens at 8am and last entry is at 4pm, as of November 2026. The ministry's older monument pages still give 8am to 5pm, but the portal names the last entry, which is the time to plan around. The ticket costs 200 EGP for foreign adults and 100 EGP for students. Ask your tour whether interiors are covered. One tour on this page, for example, includes entry to the basic area only.

Tours that include Dahshur

A private tour run by an independent Egyptologist spends about two hours at the Red and Bent Pyramids after an hour at the Step Pyramid and two hours at the Unas complex in Saqqara. The description promises no time spent in bazaars, and entrance tickets are paid separately. The flexible tour with the most options lets you add Dahshur as the fourth site after Giza, Memphis and Saqqara; one reviewer writes that the Red Pyramid was left out on that day, so confirm it with the guide at the start.

A five-hour trip by Emo Tours Egypt covers Memphis, the Step Pyramid and both of Sneferu's pyramids. Its group departures meet at the Ramses Hilton in Cairo or the company's office in Giza, and the operator warns of delays of 30 to 45 minutes because of traffic; reviewers mention late pick-ups. A seven-hour day trip to the Step Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid and Memphis completes the list. For Saqqara itself, see our page on Saqqara and Memphis.