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Ninety seconds on Valley Temple of Khafre
No separate ticket is listed for the temple, and the official exclusions from the plateau area ticket do not name it. Ask at the plateau gate whether the area ticket covers it on the day. Children under six enter free.
Massive limestone blocks, faced with a casing of granite. The temple was the gateway into Khafre's pyramid complex, at the lower end of the causeway that runs up to his pyramid.
No. The mortuary temple stands at the foot of Khafre's pyramid, and the valley temple at the lower end of the causeway, beside the Sphinx. The causeway linked the two, and together they formed the way into his pyramid complex.
The temple beside the Sphinx is one of the best-preserved buildings of the Old Kingdom, so you stand in a royal temple of Khafre's time with its stone hall still in place.
The floors are alabaster, and the wide hall stands on monolithic granite pillars, each cut from a single block of stone. Walk the length of the hall between them before you look at anything else.
A statue of Khafre carved in diorite, a hard stone, was found inside the temple.
This was the way into Khafre's pyramid complex, and a causeway led from it up to the Pyramid of Khafre. Beside it lies the Great Sphinx of Giza, the colossal statue that sets his complex apart, carved after the temple was finished.
Together with its partner, the mortuary temple at the foot of the pyramid, it is larger than the temples of any older pyramid.
Before the temple comes the small hill on the approach, with the classic view of the Sphinx and the pyramids behind it. Then walk on to the doorway into the Sphinx area, where your ticket is checked.
From the doorway, head down into the temple and cross its hall to the far side.
Leave the temple by that far side onto a sandy path. It brings you along to the viewing platform on the right-hand side of the Sphinx, where you can stand and look at the figure close up before heading back.
If you plan to come in by the Sphinx Gate, buy your e-ticket online before you arrive, because that gate has no ticket centre. The ticket comes by email as a PDF with a QR code, so check that it has arrived before you set off.
The paths around the temple and the Sphinx are narrow and fill up at busy times, so take the hall at your own pace and step aside for groups.
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