The Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids at Giza and the southernmost on the plateau. It stands 65 metres tall today (originally 65.5 metres) on a base 105 metres square. Built around 2510 BCE for Pharaoh Menkaure, the grandson of Khufu, this third pyramid is distinctive for the bottom 16 courses of polished red Aswan granite still cladding its base. It also has the most complete satellite necropolis of any Giza pyramid, with three subsidiary queen’s pyramids lined up immediately south of the main structure. Most visitors see Menkaure as part of a Cairo Pyramids, Saqqara and Memphis day tour covering all three Giza pyramids alongside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Great Sphinx.
Menkaure (called Mycerinus by the Greeks) was the grandson of Khufu and son of Khafre, ruling Egypt for an estimated 18 to 28 years between roughly 2532 and 2503 BCE. He was the fifth pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. His pyramid is the smallest of the three main Giza monuments by a wide margin: its volume is about one-tenth of Khufu’s. Whether this reflects declining royal resources, a deliberate shift in religious priorities, or simply Menkaure’s shorter reign is still debated by Egyptologists.
The construction technique introduced something genuinely new. The lower 16 courses of the pyramid were clad in polished red Aswan granite quarried 900 kilometres south, instead of the white Tura limestone used on Khufu and Khafre. The upper sections used Tura limestone in the standard pattern. The granite base survives largely intact and is the most visible feature today. Ancient records suggest the granite casing was never fully completed, with the upper blocks left rough-dressed when Menkaure died.
The mortuary temple at the pyramid’s east base was hurriedly finished in mud brick by Menkaure’s son Shepseskaf, rather than the polished limestone the original plan called for. The Valley Temple at the eastern end of the causeway was similarly completed in haste and partially buried until 1908 CE, when American archaeologist George Reisner excavated it and recovered the famous Menkaure Triads, four group statues of the pharaoh flanked by the goddess Hathor and personifications of Egyptian nomes. The Triads are now split between the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square.
The pyramid was opened in 1837 CE by British colonels Howard Vyse and John Perring, who tunnelled in through the north face. Inside, they found a basalt sarcophagus with anthropoid coffin fragments. The sarcophagus was placed on a ship to England in 1838 but was lost when the vessel Beatrice sank off the Spanish coast. The coffin fragments survived and are now in the British Museum.
A large gash on the pyramid’s north face dates to a 12th-century attempt by Mamluk Sultan al-Aziz Uthman, son of Saladin, to demolish the pyramid for stone. After eight months of work the sultan abandoned the project, having barely scratched the surface but leaving the prominent vertical scar still visible today.
The granite base casing is the obvious starting point. Walk the south side of the pyramid where the bottom 16 courses of polished red Aswan granite are best preserved. The contrast with the rough exposed core blocks above shows what the original pyramid looked like.
The Vyse-Perring scar on the north face. The 12th-century Mamluk demolition attempt left a visible vertical gash on the north side. Knowing the story changes how you see it: that pile of debris at the base is what eight months of medieval labour produced trying to take the pyramid down.
The three subsidiary queen’s pyramids (G3-a, G3-b, G3-c) lined up immediately south of the main structure. These are the most complete set of queens’ pyramids at Giza. Each is roughly 30 metres on a side. The eastern queen’s pyramid (G3-a) was probably for Menkaure’s principal queen Khamerernebty II; the middle and western pyramids are less certainly attributed.
The interior burial chamber. With the inside-pyramid ticket you descend through a sloping passage to a vestibule, then to the granite-lined burial chamber. The interior is plainer than Khufu’s or Khafre’s, with no Grand Gallery. Note the small basalt sarcophagus emplacement where the lost original once stood.
Menkaure’s Mortuary Temple at the pyramid’s east base. The walls were originally planned in granite but finished in mud brick by Shepseskaf. The lower granite foundation course survives.
The 600-metre causeway running east toward the Valley Temple. Less preserved than the Khafre causeway but the foundation line is visible.
The Valley Temple of Menkaure was excavated by Reisner in 1908. It is set further back than the other Giza valley temples and is generally not open to visitors but partially visible from the plateau approach.
Menkaure’s pyramid is at the southern end of the Giza Plateau, reached through the same single main entrance as the Khufu and Khafre pyramids. The southern panoramic viewpoint where most tour buses stop for the all-three-pyramids photo sits 800 metres south-west of Menkaure. From central Cairo allow 30 to 45 minutes by car; from Cairo International Airport 45 to 60 minutes; from New Cairo or Heliopolis 60 to 90 minutes.
Opening hours: 08:00 to 17:00 daily (October to April); 07:00 to 19:00 (May to September). The Menkaure pyramid interior is open 08:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:30.
Entrance fee (2026, subject to change): the standard plateau ticket of approximately 540 EGP (around $11 USD) for foreign-adult entry covers walking access to all three pyramids’ exteriors and the three Menkaure queen’s pyramids. The interior of the Menkaure pyramid carries a smaller separate ticket than the Khufu interior, typically in the 100 to 200 EGP range. Of the three Giza pyramids’ interiors, Menkaure’s is the most often closed for conservation; confirm interior access at the gate.
Best time to visit: mid-morning between 10:00 and 11:30 when tour groups have moved north toward Khufu and Khafre. Menkaure routinely has the smallest crowds of the three main pyramids. The granite base photographs best in late-afternoon golden hour from the south, with the polished red stone catching the warm light.
How long to allow: 30 to 45 minutes for the pyramid exterior including a slow walk along the granite base and the queen’s pyramids row. Add 15 to 20 minutes for the interior if it is open. The Menkaure visit usually wraps up the Giza Plateau morning before transitioning to the Sphinx.
Photography: permitted throughout the exterior. The granite base from the south face is the signature Menkaure shot. Cameras are restricted inside the pyramid.
Accessibility: the south approach to Menkaure has flatter ground than the area around Khufu and is partially wheelchair-accessible with assistance. The pyramid interior involves a steep sloping passage and is not wheelchair-accessible.
End your Giza Plateau morning at Menkaure, not Khufu. Most tour buses do the reverse: arrive at Khufu first, work south, finish at the Sphinx. The crowds congregate at Khufu mid-morning and clear out by the time you reach Menkaure. Reversing the order or simply lingering at Menkaure gives you the quietest pyramid experience of the three.
Touch the granite base. Health-permitting it is OK to walk up and put your hand on the polished granite blocks. They were quarried at Aswan 4,500 years ago, floated 900 km down the Nile, fitted precisely without mortar, and are still here. There are not many objects on earth you can touch with that history.
Compare the queens’ pyramids. The three subsidiary pyramids are at different stages of completion and casing. G3-a (the eastern one) was finished in limestone; G3-b and G3-c were left as step-pyramid cores. Read the difference between them as evidence of a project running out of time and resources at Menkaure’s death.
The interior is the least impressive of the three. If you only have one inside-pyramid ticket budget, spend it on Khufu (for the King’s Chamber and Grand Gallery) or Khafre (for the cheaper price and shorter queue). Menkaure’s interior is plain and often closed.
Walk a wide arc around the south side. The full three-pyramid composition (Menkaure with Khafre and Khufu behind) is best framed from 100 metres south-west, where the queens’ pyramids form a foreground row.
Menkaure is part of every standard Giza visit. The three best options for first-time visitors:
Every Egypt Day Tours visit to Menkaure includes private air-conditioned transport, plateau entry tickets, a licensed Egyptologist guide, bottled water, and pre-purchased Menkaure interior tickets if available and you ask for them at booking.
Touching 4,500-year-old polished Aswan granite that was floated 900 km down the Nile is something I will never forget. Our Egyptologist made sure we understood what we were touching.
Menkaure had basically nobody around it when we arrived at 11:30. Khufu had a queue stretching half a kilometre. Our guide chose Menkaure first and it was the right call.
The three queens’ pyramids next to Menkaure are usually skipped completely by tour groups. Walking the row and seeing the different stages of construction was one of the highlights of our Giza morning.
Menkaure’s pyramid is about one-tenth the volume of Khufu’s. The exact reason is debated. Possible explanations include Menkaure’s shorter reign (estimated 18 to 28 years versus Khufu’s 23 to 26 and Khafre’s roughly 25), a deliberate shift in religious priorities toward more elaborate mortuary temples instead of pure pyramid scale, and a possible decline in available labour or material resources. The pyramid was probably planned at its current scale rather than being abandoned at smaller size.
Yes, when it is open. The Menkaure interior carries a small separate ticket (typically 100 to 200 EGP in 2026, subject to change), the cheapest of the three Giza pyramid interiors. The visit involves descending a sloping passage to a vestibule and the granite-lined burial chamber. The interior is plainer than Khufu’s or Khafre’s. Menkaure is the Giza pyramid most often closed for conservation, so confirm access at the plateau gate before paying the supplement.
The bottom 16 courses of the Menkaure pyramid are clad in polished red Aswan granite, quarried 900 kilometres south and floated down the Nile. The upper sections were originally cased in white Tura limestone. The granite base was an architectural innovation introduced by Menkaure that did not become standard practice in later pyramids. Ancient records suggest the granite casing was never fully completed at the upper levels, with some blocks left rough-dressed when Menkaure died.
The vertical gash on the north face dates to a 12th-century demolition attempt by Mamluk Sultan al-Aziz Uthman, son of Saladin, who tried to dismantle the pyramid for stone. After eight months of work his crews had barely made progress against the granite-clad lower courses, and the project was abandoned. The visible scar is what eight months of medieval labour produced.
Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the pyramid exterior, the granite base inspection, and a walk through the three subsidiary queen’s pyramids row. Add 15 to 20 minutes for the interior if it is open. As part of a full Giza Plateau morning that includes Khufu, Khafre, and the Sphinx, Menkaure is typically the last pyramid stop and runs 30 to 45 minutes before transitioning to the Sphinx enclosure.
Yes. Every full-day Cairo or Giza Plateau tour includes Menkaure as part of the standard three-pyramid plus Sphinx morning. Some shorter half-day Giza visits skip the Menkaure interior to save time, but the exterior is always part of the route because the panoramic viewpoint sits immediately south-west of Menkaure.