Introduction
Jump to...
Tikal
Tikal or “Yax Mutal” is an ancient city of the Mayan Empire and the ruins lie among the rainforest in northern Guatemala.
It is one of the largest archaeological sites we have today of the Maya civilisation. In 1979 The Tikal National Park was inscribed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
Tikal was the capital of the powerful and ancient Maya civilisation. The capital reached its peak between the third and tenth century CE, dominating the region militarily, politically and economically.
Its culture flourished and they built huge pyramids, monuments, palaces, and temples.
Tikal is a huge archaeological site and one of the most understood of the larger Mayan cities.
There is a long list of the rulers and with further discovery, archaeologist found the tombs belonging to these rulers as well as the temples, palaces and monuments that these dynastic rulers built.
In 1951 Tikal was reclaimed by nature and swallowed by the jungle. It would take several days of travel on a mule or on foot to reach the site.
An airstrip had to be built to make it easier for people to reach the ancient city.
Due to its beautiful and distinctive entanglement with nature, Tikal attracted a lot of attention.
It was featured in the infamous George Lucas film Star Wars. It was used as the location for the fictional moon of Yavin IV. The site was also used in the James Bond film Moonraker.
Tikal today is one of the most important historical landmarks and tourist attractions in the world. It is surrounded by its own national park and has its own on-site museum built in 1964.
Tikal has a long list of beautiful ancient structures that you should see. The famous Temple I also known as the “Temple of the Great Jaguar” is an incredible sight to see, reaching an astonishing 55 meters high.
It is the funeral temple for Jasaw Chan K’awiil I an ancient ruler of Tikal who took the throne in 682 and ruled to his death in 734 AD.
Right across Temple I we have Temple II also known as the “Temple of the Mask ”. Its original height was 42 meters high. This is another beautiful temple built in honour of Lady Kalajuun Une ‘ Mo who was the wife of Jasaw Chan K’ awiil.
The tallest of all the structures, reaching a dizzying height of 70 meters is Temple IV.
The temple-pyramid is the funeral temple of Yik‘in Chan K’ awiil son of Jasaw Chan K’ awiil and Lady Kalajuun Une ‘ Mo the owners of Temple I and Temple II. It is presently the tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas.
These are just a few of the many breath-taking structures in Tikal.
Here’s a list of the some of the structures in Tikal:
• Temple I
• Temple II
• Temple III
• Temple IV
• Temple V
• Temple VI
• Temple 33
You can reach Tikal from the two largest towns near the site Flores and Santa Elena they’re 40 miles away from the site.
You can go with a tour group on their minibuses that pick you up from your hotel. There is also a bus station in Santa Elena with a bus leaving every 30 to 60 minutes.
The historical site is open to the public from 06:00 to 18:00. Check out more travel options here.
Tikal is one of the most famous historical landmarks on this list, and it is a great place to travel to. The jungle gives the site a real ancient mystical atmosphere. If you haven’t gone yet, you definitely should go.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a British cultural icon one of the most well known historical landmarks in the world. It is located in Wiltshire, England.
It comprises of a ring of giant upright stones around 4 meters high and 2.1 meters wide each weighing around 25 tons.
Archaeologists and historians believe that Stonehenge was constructed between 3000 BC and 2000 BC. It was inscribed into UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986.
The people of Stonehenge were literate people but didn’t leave any written records behind. It is believed that their cultural doctrine prevented them from recording their knowledge in written form.
So the purpose and building methods of the site remain a mystery.
However, there are many myths and legends surrounding Stonehenge. Some hypothesise that it was built for observing the sunset of the winter solstice and the opposing sunrise of the summer solstice.
Some also speculate that it was a religious site.
One of the interesting legends surrounding Stonehenge is the 12th-century Arthurian legend.
In the pseudohistorical account of British history “Historia Regum Britanniae” written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, he credits the famous wizard Merlin for building the structure.
Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that the rocks at Stonehenge were healing rocks brought over from Africa to Ireland by Giants.
The 5th-century king Aurelius Ambrosius wanted to erect a monument for the 3000 nobles killed in battle fighting against the Saxons. Merlin advises the king to build the memorial at Stonehenge.
The king then sent merlin with 15,000 knights and King Arthurs father Uther Pendragon to retrieve the stones from Mount Killaraus in Ireland where the Giants had constructed them.
After defeating the enemy the soldiers tried to move the rocks with ropes and their power but it had no effect.
Merlin then dismantled the stones with ease using skill and “gear” and sent them to Britain. He also states that Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pendragon, and Constantine III were later buried at Stonehenge.
Believe it or not, Stonehenge used to be private property and it was owned by King Henry VIII as part of Amesbury Abbey and its surrounding lands. He then gave it to the Earl of Hertford.
It was sold on a couple more times and eventually ended up with the Cecil Chubb who bought Stonehenge for £6,600 that’s around £532,800 in 2021. Three years later Cecil Chubb gave Stonehenge to the nation.
In the 20th century, there has been a revival of paganism through the Neopagans and the Neo- Druids. And Stonehenge once again became a hot spot for pagan and druidic worship.
In 1905 the Ancient Order of Druids used Stonehenge to initiate 259 members into their organisation.
However, they were ridiculed by the press and described as people dressed up in costumes and fake beards. Till today the Neo-Druids and pagans hold ceremonies at Stonehenge.
Between 1972 and 1984 the Stonehenge Free Festival was held on the site. This caused the Battle of the Beanfield. After the Battle of the Beanfield religious ceremonies and festivalgoers were heavily restricted.
However, due to campaigners like Arthur Uther Pendragon, the restrictions were lifted through the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2000 an open summer solstice event was held at Stonehenge with 7000 attendees and the next year the visitors rose to around 10,000.
You can easily reach Stonehenge by car, train, or bus. You can also use the many tours to get all the interesting details about this amazing historical landmark and its surrounding area. Check out more travel options
Stonehenge is a British Icon and a magical site shrouded in mystery with more questions the answers. It is a great place to visit in Britain and you should definitely pay it a visit when you’re in Britain.
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is India’s most famous historical landmark and one of the most recognisable historical sites in the world. It is located in the ancient city of Agra in India.
Construction started in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to act as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The wonderful site was completed in 1653 costing an incredible 70 billion rupees today which is around £700 million no expense was spared. 20,000 artisans were needed to build this masterpiece headed by the architect to the emperor Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
The Taj Mahal was inscribed into the UNESCO List of World Heritage Site in 1983 and dubbed
“The jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.
A beautiful example of Mughal architecture and it expresses the rich history of India. It was the winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2000-2007.
The Taj Mahal was constructed as the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal the treasured wife of Shah Jahan.
Mumtaz Mahal was born Arjumand Banu Begum to Persian nobility. Shah Jahan gave her the name “Mumtaz Mahal” meaning “Chosen one of the Palace” or “Jewel of the Palace”.
She was betrothed to Shah Jahan when she was 14 and he was 15 and they married five years later. Their marriage date was carefully chosen by court astrologers to ensure a happy marriage.
Shah Jahan had multiple wives but had no interest for the others they were mostly married for political reasons.
Not only was she beautiful she was a compassionate person, a trusted adviser to the Shah, and very intelligent speaking both Arabic and Persian fluently. The Shah would forgive his enemies and commuted death sentences after speaking to Mumtaz
While giving birth to her 14th child Mumtaz Mahal passed away due to birth complications. After her death, the king was heartbroken and struck with immense grief and sadness.
He went into a deep two-year mourning period in which he called architects and artisans from all over the world to build her a monument to declare his undying love. After 22 long years, the Taj Mahal was finished.
The beautiful historical landmark is made out of white marble topped with a large 35 metres dome. The minarets are each over meters tall and are place on the four corners adding to the symmetry of the site.
The minarets are designed to be slighted tilted out to prevent the minarets from crash down on the tombs in the event of an earthquake.
The site was constructed from materials collected from all over the world. It said that a thousand elephants were used to transports all the materials to the site. It took 22,000 labourers to build this architectural masterpiece.
You can reach the Taj Mahal easily from Delhi. You can use the tour bus services or the catch one of the many trains that go to Agra. The main train station is Agra Cantt and high-speed trains leave from Delhi, Varanasi, and cities in Rajasthan. Check out more travel options.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most visited historical landmarks in the world. It is a magnificent monument with a beautiful history and a place everyone has to visit at least once.
Easter Islands
Easter Island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is a special territory of Chile. It is the most remote island in the world and it is most known for the 887 huge megalithic stone statues called the Moai built by the Rapa Nui people.
People today still wonder how those statues were put in place. The site was inscribed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1995.
According to the oral tradition of the Rapa Nui people, it’s believed that the islands first inhabitants were Polynesians who came to the island by canoe from Marae Renga.
The leader of this journey was the chief Hotu Matu’a and his captain Tu’u ko Iho. Hotu Matu’a had to flee from the neighbouring chief who he previously lost three battles to and decided that Easter Island was the perfect place to escape to.
When they had arrived on the island the only resident was a man by the name of Nga Tavake ‘a Te Rona. The new inhabitants settle on the Island and Hotu’s son Tu’u ma Heke was born on the island.
It is Tu’u ma Heke who is believed to be responsible for bringing the statues to the island and caused them to walk to their positions.
Earliest estimated dates for settlement on the island according to archaeologists ranges from 300 to 1200 AD. This coincides with the arrival of the first settlers in Hawaii.
The settlers of the island had a strong clan culture and had nine different clans. There was also a high chief who held power over all the nine clans of the island.
The high chief was the eldest descendant through first-born lines of Hotu Matu’a the legendary founder of the Island.
The famous statues of Easter Island best known as the Moai were carved between 1100 and 1680 AD.
There are a total of 887 stone statues on the island however recent archaeological evidence suggests that there could be up to a 1,000 Moai on the island. Some of the heads were excavated and found to have torsos underground.
Most of the Moai were constructed from compressed solidified volcanic ash. The artisans carving these masterpieces only used stone hand chisels, primarily basalt toki.
The stones were carved and moulded by splashing water on the volcanic stone to soften it. Just a single Moai with five or six people working on it will take about a year to finish.
The easiest and most common way to travel to Easter Island is by air. The island is serviced by the most remote airport in the world Mataveri International Airport. Check out more travel options.
Easter Island is one of the most fascinating historical landmarks in the world, filled with mysteries ancient traditions and a great indigenous community. You have to see it for yourself.
Abu Simbel, Egypt
The Abu Simbel temples are some of the most beautiful historical structures of the ancient world.
The temples are cut into the rock on the bank of Lake Nasser in Egypt. They can be found in the village of Abu Simbel 150 miles southwest of Aswan close to the Sudanese border.
The Abu Simbel temples were added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage sites in 1979 as part of the “Nubian Monuments”.
The temples were constructed by the infamous Pharaoh Ramesses II who reigned over Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC.
Nubia was very important to the Egyptians. So in order to exert more power over the region Ramesses decide to try to Egyptianize the Nubians by building these incredible temples.
After the fall of Egypt, the Temples were forgotten and the site was slowly taken back by nature and covered in sand.
Then in 1813 Johann Ludwig Burckhardt came across the top of the main temple and told explorer Giovanni Belzoni who travelled to the site on two occasions.
The first trip Belzoni was unable to enter the main temple but the second trip he was successful and entered the temple after being untouched for thousands of years.
There are two Temples on the site the great Temple and the small temple. The Great temple took twenty years to be constructed. It was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, and the deified Pharaoh Ramesses II himself.
It is considered the most beautiful and ostentatious of all the temples built by Ramesses II. The entrance has four gigantic 20 meters high carvings of Ramesses II sitting on his thrown and by his feet, there are a few smaller statues of the Pharaoh’s family.
On October 22 and February 22 every year the sun rays enter the temple and illuminate the statues on the back wall except the statue of the Egyptian god Ptah who is connected to the Realm of the dead.
Every year people visit the site on those dates to witness this event. Some believe that these dates are the Pharaoh’s coronation day and birthday.
The small temple is also known as the temple of Hathor and Nefertari it is located about 100 m away from the great temple. The temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Ramesses II’s chief wife, Nefertari.
This is only the second time that a temple was dedicated to a queen in ancient Egyptian history, the other one being the temple of Nefertiti.
The entrance of the site is decorated with beautiful statues 10 meters high of the queen Nefertari next to her husband Ramesses II.
In 1968 the whole site had to be relocated to save it from being submerged in water due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
The task was done as a joint effort by engineers, archaeologists, and highly skilled heavy equipment operators working as part of the UNESCO Nubian Salvage Campaign.
One of the Ideas to save the temples was brought forth by William MacQuitty. His plan was to build a clear fresh water dam around the site, with underwater viewing rooms.
It would have been amazing to see the temples submerged into water with underwater viewing rooms, it’s an interesting fusion of the ancient architecture and modern technology.
The idea that was agreed upon on the end was to cut the site into large blocks with an average weight of 20 tons and the largest block weighing at 30 tons.
It was then relocated piece by piece 65 metres above and 200 metres away from the river.
This was one of the greatest archaeological challenge ever conducted in known history.
It cost a staggering US$40 million this was equivalent of $300 million in 2017. I know it’s a lot. The relocation took four years starting in 1964 and ending in 1968.
You can reach Abu Simbel from Aswan through a tour or you can hire a local taxi. Check out more travel option.
Abu Simbel is one of the most beautiful and interesting sites in the world. If you are in Egypt make sure you see these amazing temples.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a magnificent structure built by the Inca civilisation located on a mountain ridge in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru.
It is believed to be the estate of the 15th century Inca ruler Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui.
Machu Picchu is also known as the “Lost City of the Incas” was built around 1450. It displays the classic Inca style with polished dry-stone walls.
It consists of three main structures the “Room of the Three Windows” the “Temple of the Sun”, and the “Intihuatana”.
The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The political and military capital was in the city of Cusco only 50 miles away from Machu Picchu.
One of the most mysterious aspects of Inca civilisation is how they became “one of the greatest imperial states in human history” without the knowledge of iron, steel or writing systems and without the use of wheels and draft animals. It still remains a mystery today.
Archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built starting 1450–1460. It dates back to two great Inca rulers, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui who ruled from 1438 to 1471 and Túpac Inca Yupanqui whose reign was between 1472 and 1493.
Archaeologists believe that the structure was built to be the royal estate of Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui. It was estimated that 750 people lived at the site, they were mostly servants, staff, and religious priests who lived on site.
The site was then left abandoned because of the Spanish Conquests or the residents died from smallpox introduced by the travellers before the conquistadors arrived.
The site splits up into two sections the urban sector and the agricultural sector.
The first area is where you can find the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows all have been dedicated to their greatest deity the sun god and Inti.
The second area is where the lower class people lived.
Machu Picchu is one of the most famous historical landmarks in the world and it’s the most visited tourist attraction in Latin America and the most visited in Peru.
It was inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1983. UNESCO described Machu Picchu as “an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization”.
It was also voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide online poll.
You can reach Machu Picchu by train from Poroy a town near Cusco to Aguas Calientes. You can walk as part of the multi-day Machu Picchu tour. Thousands of hikers reach the site this way every year. Check out more travel options.
Machu Picchu is one of the most famous historical landmarks in the world for a reason. It has a mysterious history and breathtaking, structures, and the views something that must be experienced.
To protect the site tourism is being reduced on the site so make sure you visit Machu Picchu before it’s too late.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is one of the most beautiful historical landmarks in Cambodia if not the world. It is the largest religious monument in the world by land area measuring at an astonishing 402 acres.
The site was originally a Hindu temple but was then slowly converted into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. This is why it is sometimes referred to as the “Hindu-Buddhist” temple.
Angkor Wat was inscribed into the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1992.
The site was built in the 12th century by the Khmer King Suryavarman. It was built to be the state temple based in Yaśodharapura the capital of the Khmer Empire which is present-day Angkor.
The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. According to local myths, the Hindu god Indra ordered the construction of the temple to serve as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.
The famous Chinese traveller Zhou Daguan reported that some believed the site was constructing in one night by a divine architect.
Only 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II the rival kingdom of Cham invaded and sacked Angkor Wat.
The famous French explorer and naturalist Henri Mouhot popularised the site in Europe with his publication of his travel notes. Here is some of what he had to say about Angkor Wat:
“One of these temples, a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo, might take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged.”
By the 20th century, Angkor Wat was unfortunately taken by the jungle but a team of archaeologists and labourers cut through the jungle that formed around the site and revealed the beautiful site once again.
Restoration had to be stopped during the 1970s and 1980s because Cambodia was going through a civil war. Fortunately, little damage was done to the historical site.
However, Angkor Wat was exposed to art thieves who stole the heads of almost all the structure even the reconstructed one.
In 2015 a research team from the University of Sydney found more towers demolished and buried during the construction of the site. They also found evidence of residential occupation with roads, mounds, and ponds.
This was all made possible with modern technology more specifically LiDAR ground-penetrating radar, which is also used in self-driving cars.
Here are some of the monuments that you have to see when you visit Angkor Wat:
- Independence Monument
- South Gate
- East Gate
To find out the best way to reach Angkor Wat and how to navigate the site click this link.
Angkor Wat is a massive historical site and has been a major tourist destination since the 1990s. In 2018 there were 2.6 million visitors to the site.
There are so many different monuments to appreciate, It’s a must-see travel location for any traveller going to Cambodia.
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Japan
The shrine complex of Itsukushima sits on the sacred island of Miyajima, just off the coast of Hiroshima, Japan. It is one of japans most popular historical landmarks, and it’s most famous for its floating Torii gate.
The site is surrounded by extensive forests and a breath-taking ocean view. The historical site has two main structures The Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other structures and buildings.
Itsukushima Shrine is believed to have been first constructed in 593 AD by Saeki Kuramoto during the Suiko period. The present-day shrine is mostly accredited to a well-known Japanese Daimyo or lord by the name of Taira no Kiyomori.
The historical landmark was then renovated by the lord of Choshu, Mori Motonari in 1517. Mori Motonari waged war against Sue Takafusa on the island in 1555 and due to this battling on the sacred grounds, it is believed by the locals that the Island’s grounds have been tainted.
The Taira heavily traded with the Sung dynasty and had a strong involvement in maritime trade along the inland sea. In order to have prosperous maritime trade Kiyomoro built the Shrine as a show of respect to the god of navigation.
Kiyomori invited and hosted many important guests at the shrine. It is also said that the reason that Kiyomoro rebuilt the shrine was due to a dream he had. A monk came to him in his dreams and told him that if he built a shrine on the island of Miyajima that he will rule over Japan.
The Shrine was dedicated to the three daughters of the Kami or god called Susanoo-no-Mikoto. The daughters are named Ichikishimahime no Mikoto, Tagorihime no Mikoto, and Tagitsuhime no Mikoto.
These three deities are collectively called Sanjoshin which translates to “three female deities”, they are the goddesses of the seas and the storms.
The island itself is also considered a god by the monks and that’s why the shrine is built on the outside of the island.
The site also houses the Heike Nōkyō one of Japans national treasures. The Heike Nōkyō consists of 32 scrolls which have the handwriting of Kiyomori, his sons, and other family members. The scrolls were decorated with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl by Kiyomoro and his family.
The shrine was originally a pure Shinto shrine. This means that there were no deaths or births allowed on the island in order to not pollute the island. The general population were not allowed to set foot on the island for most of its history to maintain its purity.
Today pregnant women close to their due date have to leave the island. The elderly and terminally ill people also have to leave the island to ensure that no one dies on the island. This is how serious the purity of the island is taken by the monks.
You reach Itsukushima Shrine from Hiroshima to Miyajima by ferry and the site is only 10 minutes’ walk away from the site. Click here for more details.
Itsukushima Shrine is one of the most beautiful historical landmarks in the world and a Japanese icon. The site was inscribed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1996.
It is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Japan. Mount Misen is a great place to hike with incredible views. Itsukushima Shrine is a great place to visit and has something for everyone.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is one of the most famous historical landmarks in the world. It consists of a series of walls and fortifications across the historical northern Chinese border.
The wall was built to protect the Chinese states from the northern nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe.
The Great Wall was also built to act as border control and to regulate the duties on goods being transported along the Silk Road. The path of the Great Wall itself served as a road for travellers and merchants.
Contrary to common belief the wall is not one single long wall but many different walls built at different times by different kings or emperors. The Chinese have always built walls around there territories.
The warring states of Wei, Qin, Han, Qi, Zhao, Yan, and Zhongshan all built walls and fortifications to protect their borders and people. In the Warring States period, King Zheng of Qin defeated all his adversaries and unified China in 221 BC and became the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty.
The King Immediately order all the walls that separated the empire to be deconstructed. He only kept the northern walls that separated them from Xiongnu people of the north. The King then ordered the gaps between the remaining walls to be filled by building new walls and fortifications along the northern border.
Through the centuries most of the ancient walls eroded away, there are only a few sections remaining today. According to some authors, hundreds of thousands if not millions died building the Qin wall.
The Han, the Northern Dynasties and the Sui dynasty expanded the walls at an extraordinary expense in there time to protect themselves from northern invaders
In the 14th century, the Ming dynasty was constantly under the threat of attack from the Mongolian Oirat people. This urged the Ming emperor to build and fortify the Great Wall from the 15th century to the 16th century in an attempt to keep the nomadic tribes out.
The Ming construction of the wall was sturdier and more extravagant than the previous fortifications. There are up to 25,000 watchtowers built on the wall. The Ming continuously repaired and reconstructed the wall after the Mongol attacks.
The great wall first became the main attraction for tourist in the 19th century after the Opium Wars. China opened its borders to visitors and merchants, and the Great Wall became a very popular Historical landmark for tourists. It still is today and you should definitely go see it.
You can reach the Great Wall of China from Beijing Bus, train or taxi. You can also go with a tour group to get the most out of your visit. Check out more travel options.
The Pyramids at Giza
The Pyramids at Giza are a well-known and iconic historical landmark located in Al Haram, Giza Governorate, Egypt. The site can be found in the city of Giza eight miles away from Cairo.
The complex consists of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure with their related pyramid complexes. Included in the Giza Pyramid complex is also the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The Great Pyramid of Giza also known as the Khufu is the largest and most prominent of the three pyramids at Giza.
The Pyramid was built between 2580 and 2560 BC. It was built to be the Tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and took 20 years to construct.
The limestone casing meant that the pyramids were beautiful white structures. What we see today is the core structure of the pyramids.
The structure was built from huge stones extracted from a quarry they were lifted and placed in their positions. There are many theories on how the pyramid was constructed but it still remains a mystery.
The Great Pyramid has a set of associated building these include two mortuary temples in honour of Khufu. Three smaller pyramids built for Khufu’s wives and another smaller pyramid.
There are also three boat pits and two of these pits had intact boats one of which is displayed at the Giza Solar boat museum.
The Pyramid of Khafre is the second-largest pyramid on the complex. It consists of a mortuary temple, the Sphinx temple, a causeway and Khafre’s pyramid.
It was commissioned in 2570 BC by the 4th dynasty pharaoh Khafre son of the pharaoh Khufu the builder of the larger Great Pyramid of Giza.
The third pyramid is the smallest of the pyramids it consists of a mortuary temple, a causeway, and the king’s pyramid.
This Pyramid belonged to the fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, Menkaure. He was the son of Khafre and the grandson of Khufu.
The Sphinx can be dated to back to the reign of Khafre between 2558 BC and 2532 BC and is believed to represent the pharaoh, Khafre. It is one of the world’s largest and oldest statues. A magnificent monument you have to witness.
The pyramids are believed to have been built to house the remains of deceased pharaohs. It was also seen as a transitional point and a place to store items the pharaoh will need in the next life.
Scholars and historians believe that “The people of Ancient Egypt believed that death on Earth was the start of a journey to the next world.”
The Great Pyramids of Giza is one of the seven ancient wonders of the world and one of the most visited historical landmark in the world. Thousands of years of history and rich mysterious culture is encapsulated on this site. If you haven’t travelled to the Pyramids yet you should.
You can reach The Great Pyramids from Cairo by taxi, Uber, or by joining a tour. Check out more travel options
10 of the Most Famous Historical Landmarks in the World
Here are 10 of the most famous historical landmarks in the world.
Best Tech Backpacks 2021
Every day we hear about new tech innovation but the humble backpack has hardly changed.
Best Expandable Backpacks 2021
Check out the best expandable backpacks this year. Click to read more.
