Bent Pyramid

What makes it special

Much of the polished limestone casing is still on the lower faces, so you see a pyramid surface close to how it was finished. Its steepness kept it there, because stripping faces this steep was too dangerous for stone robbers.

Partway up, the faces break to a gentler angle. The builders eased the slope when the weight of the blocks at the steeper angle made the structure unstable.

At the top of the wooden stairs, the burial chamber's roof is corbelled, each course of stone set a little further in than the one below. In the upper chamber that stepped roof rises 16.5 metres on all four sides.

A row of the original cedar beams still crosses the chambers.

The last chamber holds no sarcophagus, only a shaft in the floor under its stepped ceiling. Small bats roost there, so stop short of it if they trouble you.

Visiting

One slow lap of the base comes first, close enough to see how smooth the lower faces still are. Then climb the couple of flights of wooden stairs on the north side to the entrance.

The passage runs steeply down and is barely a metre high, so you crouch all the way. It ends in a partly underground antechamber, where a modern wooden staircase climbs to a short corridor and the burial chamber.

From there a connecting tunnel narrows until you crawl on hands and knees to the last chamber. Come back out the way you went in, then walk 55 metres south to the small satellite pyramid.

Guided or on your own

Book a licensed Egyptology guide before you travel if you want the history explained, since nothing on site tells you what you are seeing. For the visit itself one is not essential: inside, there is one way down and one way back.

Going without a guide is easy here. Few touts, if any, work the site, and the route from the base to the north stairs is plain to see.

Tips

Wear closed-toe shoes, because the passage floor is dusty and the stairs are steep. Going down, it is often easier to face the steps and go down backwards, holding the rails, since you cannot stand upright.

The interior is lit, though dimly, so keep your phone light ready for the corners. Carry water and a snack in with you: nothing is sold anywhere on the site, and the climb back up is hot work.