I still remember the first time I pressed my palm against the cool limestone wall inside the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara. I was twenty-three years old, a graduate student with dust in my hair and a flashlight that kept flickering. And there, carved into the chamber ceiling in columns of blue-green pigment, were the oldest religious texts on Earth. The Pyramid Texts. I read the first line aloud in ancient Egyptian, and the sound echoed through a space that had been sealed for over four thousand years. My hands were shaking. They still shake when I think about it.
That was thirty years ago. Since then, I’ve spent my career studying these inscriptions — translating, cataloguing, debating their meaning with colleagues from Cairo to Cambridge. And I’ll tell you something that frustrates me deeply: most tourists who visit Egypt never even learn these texts exist. The guides rush you through the Great Pyramid, point at the Sphinx, and shuttle you to the gift shop. But the real story — the one carved directly into stone by people who believed they were writing a roadmap to eternity — gets skipped entirely.
Today, I’m going to change that for you.
📋 Quick Facts
| Best Time to Visit | October through March (cooler temperatures for tomb interiors) |
| Time Needed | 2-3 hours at Saqqara; full day if combining with Giza |
| Difficulty | Moderate — narrow passages, crouching required in some tombs |
| Must-Bring | Small flashlight, water, comfortable shoes with grip |
📊 Best Times to Visit
| Time | Crowd Level | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Early Morning (7-9 AM) | 🟢 Low | Gates open at 8 AM — arrive first and head straight to Unas’ pyramid |
| Midday (11 AM-2 PM) | 🔴 High | Tour buses arrive en masse; the interior passages become stuffy |
| Late Afternoon (4-6 PM) | 🟡 Medium | Softer light for photography; many groups have already departed |
What Are the Pyramid Texts — And Why Were They Hidden?
The Pyramid Texts are a collection of spells, hymns, and ritual utterances carved inside the burial chambers of Old Kingdom pyramids at Saqqara, dating to roughly 2350 BCE. They are, without exaggeration, the oldest corpus of religious literature in human history. Older than the Torah. Older than the Vedas. Older than anything written in Mesopotamia that we’ve recovered intact.
These weren’t decorations. Each utterance served a specific purpose: to protect the dead pharaoh, to transform him into a god, to ensure his resurrection among the stars. Utterance 217, for example, describes the king climbing a ladder to heaven while the gods themselves hold the rungs steady. Utterance 273-274 — the infamous “Cannibal Hymn” — describes the pharaoh devouring the gods to absorb their power. When I first translated those lines in full, I sat back in my chair and stared at the wall. This was not gentle religion. This was cosmic warfare.
Ibrahim’s Secret
The Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara is open to visitors, but almost nobody goes inside. Most tours skip it entirely because it’s “just a small pyramid” compared to Giza. But this is where the Pyramid Texts were first discovered in 1881 by Gaston Maspero. If you ask your guide specifically, you can descend into the burial chamber and see the original inscriptions with your own eyes — blue-green hieroglyphs on white alabaster, still vivid after 4,300 years. I’ve taken perhaps a hundred people inside over the decades, and every single one has emerged speechless.
The Cannibal Hymn: What They Don’t Put on the Audio Guide
Let me read you a passage. This is from Utterance 273, my own translation from the original hieroglyphs:
“The king is the one who eats their magic and swallows their spirits. The great ones among them are for his morning meal, the middle-sized for his evening meal, the small ones for his night meal.”
This is the Cannibal Hymn. It appears only in the pyramids of Unas and Teti, and scholars have debated its meaning for over a century. Was it metaphorical? Was it describing an actual ritual? My own view, after three decades of study, is that it represents the ultimate expression of royal power — the pharaoh so mighty that even the gods become his sustenance in the afterlife. It’s theology through the language of consumption.
You won’t find this on the standard tour circuit. Most guides at the Pyramids of Giza don’t mention the Pyramid Texts at all, because the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure were built before the tradition of inscribing texts began. The irony is thick: the most famous pyramids in the world contain no writing whatsoever. The texts that explain everything about Egyptian beliefs about death and resurrection are in the less-visited pyramids twenty minutes south.
Why Saqqara Deserves Your Entire Morning
I’ve written before about places in Egypt that even Egyptians don’t know about, and Saqqara’s inscribed pyramids always top my list. Most visitors spend their Egypt trip at Giza and in the Egyptian Museum, both of which are extraordinary. But Saqqara is where Egypt reveals its intellectual depth.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser alone is worth the journey — it’s the oldest monumental stone structure on Earth. But walk past it, toward the smaller pyramids of Unas and Teti, and you enter a different world. The causeway of Unas is lined with relief carvings showing famine, hunting scenes, and foreign trade. Then you descend into the pyramid itself, and the walls begin to speak.
Pro Tip
When visiting the interior of Unas’ pyramid, bring a small LED flashlight and hold it at an angle against the wall carvings. The blue-green pigment in the hieroglyphs catches the light differently than a phone flash, and you’ll see details — individual brush strokes from the original scribes — that are invisible under the dim overhead bulbs. I’ve used this technique for thirty years and it never fails to reveal something new.
Reading the Afterlife: What the Texts Actually Say
The Pyramid Texts contain 759 known utterances across multiple pyramids. They cover everything from protection against snakes in the underworld to instructions for the pharaoh’s soul to join the circumpolar stars — the stars that never set, which the Egyptians called “the Imperishable Ones.”
One of my favorite passages is Utterance 302, which I’ve translated dozens of times and still find moving: “O King, you have not departed dead; you have departed alive. Sit upon the throne of Osiris, your scepter in your hand, that you may give orders to the living.”
This is not a funeral prayer. It’s an assertion. The dead king is not dead. Language itself becomes the mechanism of resurrection. The ancient Egyptians believed that speaking a spell — or carving it in stone where it could be “read” by the ka (spirit) for eternity — was the same as making it real. The act of writing was an act of creation. After thirty years, this idea still gives me chills.
Local Flavor Alert
After a morning at Saqqara, drive ten minutes to the village of Saqqara itself and find a small restaurant called Andrea (the locals will point you there). Order hamam mahshi — stuffed pigeon roasted over a wood fire, served with rice cooked in the pigeon broth. It sounds simple. It is transcendent. I’ve eaten lunch there after fieldwork for two decades, and it tastes like the reward at the end of a long excavation day.
Why This Matters for Your Egypt Trip
If you’re planning a trip to Egypt, you’re probably focused on the Pyramids of Giza, the Valley of the Kings, and a Nile cruise — and you should be. These are magnificent. But I urge you: carve out a morning for Saqqara. Ask your guide about the Pyramid Texts specifically. Descend into the burial chamber of Unas. Read the words of people who were trying to defeat death itself with language.
As I discussed in my guide on how many days you need in Egypt, the difference between a good trip and a life-changing one often comes down to one or two stops that most tourists overlook. Saqqara is that stop.
Price Alert (2026)
Saqqara general admission: approximately 200 EGP (~$4 USD). Entry to the interior of Unas’ pyramid requires a separate ticket: approximately 100 EGP (~$2 USD). Photography inside the pyramid is technically not permitted, but the experience of seeing the texts in person is worth far more than any photograph. A private guided tour that includes both Giza and Saqqara with a knowledgeable Egyptologist typically costs $80-150 per person through a quality operator.
🗺 Suggested Route
Morning (8:00 AM): Start at Saqqara — visit the Step Pyramid of Djoser, then walk to the Pyramid of Unas (15-minute walk). Descend into the burial chamber to see the Pyramid Texts. Allow 2-3 hours total.
Late Morning (11:00 AM): Drive to Memphis (20 minutes south) to see the colossal statue of Ramesses II and the alabaster sphinx.
Afternoon (1:00 PM): Head to the Pyramids of Giza (30-minute drive north). Explore the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and the panoramic viewpoint. Allow 3 hours.
Evening: Return to Cairo for dinner near Khan El Khalili bazaar.
The Words That Survive
Here is what I’ve learned in thirty years of reading the words of the dead: they were not written for archaeologists. They were not written for tourists. They were written for eternity — by people who believed, with absolute conviction, that language carved in stone could carry a soul to the stars. Whether you believe that or not, standing in front of those inscriptions and reading them aloud, you feel something. Call it history. Call it reverence. Call it the accumulated weight of four millennia of human longing.
I call it the reason I’ve never stopped going back.
About Ibrahim — The Pharaoh’s Chronicler
This article was written by our Egypt expert, Ibrahim. A wise, history-loving Egypt expert and guardian of heritage. He speaks of ancient civilizations with the passion of someone who has spent decades decoding hieroglyphs and walking through temple corridors. From the pyramids’ hidden passages to Luxor’s evening light, he is a guardian of thousands of years of heritage.
✈ Recommended Tour
Our 10-Day Egypt Tour: Cairo, Nile Cruise & Ancient Wonders includes a full day at Saqqara and Giza with a knowledgeable Egyptologist guide — the kind who knows about the Pyramid Texts and will take you inside the burial chambers. It’s the Egypt trip I wish every traveler could experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Pyramid Texts?
The Pyramid Texts are the oldest religious writings in the world, dating to approximately 2350 BCE. They consist of 759 utterances — spells, hymns, and ritual instructions — carved into the walls of Old Kingdom pyramids at Saqqara, Egypt. Their purpose was to ensure the pharaoh’s safe passage to the afterlife and his transformation into a divine being among the stars.
Can tourists see the Pyramid Texts in person?
Yes. The Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara is open to visitors, and you can descend into the burial chamber to see the original inscriptions. A separate ticket is required beyond the general Saqqara admission. The pyramid is less crowded than Giza, and mornings are the best time to visit for a quiet experience.
Why don’t the Pyramids of Giza have hieroglyphs inside?
The Giza pyramids — Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure — were built during the 4th Dynasty, before the tradition of inscribing religious texts inside pyramids began. The Pyramid Texts first appear in the 5th Dynasty pyramid of Unas at Saqqara. This is why Saqqara is essential for understanding Egyptian funerary beliefs.
How do I get from Cairo to Saqqara?
Saqqara is located about 30 kilometers south of central Cairo, roughly a 45-minute drive depending on traffic. Most Egypt tour packages include Saqqara as part of a combined day trip with Giza and Memphis. Private transport or a guided tour is strongly recommended, as public transportation options are limited.
Is Saqqara worth visiting if I’m already going to Giza?
Absolutely. Giza showcases the monumental scale of Egyptian engineering, while Saqqara reveals the intellectual and spiritual foundations of the civilization. The Step Pyramid of Djoser is the oldest stone monument on Earth, and the Pyramid Texts inside Unas’ pyramid provide context that transforms your entire understanding of ancient Egypt.
What is the Cannibal Hymn?
The Cannibal Hymn (Utterances 273-274) is a passage found in the pyramids of Unas and Teti at Saqqara. It describes the pharaoh consuming the gods to absorb their power in the afterlife. Scholars interpret it as a metaphorical expression of absolute royal authority rather than a description of literal ritual. It remains one of the most debated texts in Egyptology.
