Camel Riding at the Giza Pyramids: What Is Changing Now

Camel riding at the Giza Pyramids appears in almost every photo essay about Egypt. If you search for it today, you should know that things are in flux.

Two developments are happening simultaneously. First, the reorganization of visitor management has displaced animals from the central paths: electric vehicles now operate on the site, and riding businesses have been relocated to designated zones on the periphery. Second, large international intermediaries have removed rides from their offerings after animal welfare organizations published material documenting the condition of working animals over several years.

Taken together, these factors create a situation that cannot be summarized in one sentence. There is no published ban with a specific effective date, yet the activity is receding. Anyone seeking clear information will find that travel forums are filled with outdated reports from the era when riding animals were considered an integral part of the visit and visitors were approached at the gate before even holding their tickets.

This page does not sell you a ride. It describes what is documented, what is currently changing, and what options remain if you still want the experience.

First and foremost, to correct expectations immediately: A ride between the great structures, as described in older travel reports, is no longer the norm. What is offered takes place predominantly on the periphery and outside the fenced area.

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What the animal welfare reports show

The basis for all this is uncomfortable, and it belongs on this page because no one else mentions it.

The animal rights organization PETA has filmed undercover at Egyptian heritage sites multiple times since 2019 and published the results. The footage documents blows struck against exhausted animals, work in intense heat without adequate shade, insufficient water and food supplies, and untreated illnesses. Follow-up recordings from 2023 and 2024 show, according to the organization, the same conditions.

To put this in perspective, PETA is an interest group, and its footage was released with a clear agenda. This does not invalidate the footage, but it requires precise attribution: these are the representations of this organization, not an official regulatory finding.

Noteworthy, therefore, is how the Egyptian side has responded. On October 27, 2024, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and the Minister of Agriculture jointly launched a national program to protect horses, camels, and pets at archaeological sites. A state that launches such a program essentially confirms that there is a problem.

A second piece of evidence for the pressure to act is the market's reaction. When intermediaries as large as international booking platforms and a globally active hotel group remove an established, in-demand product from their lineup, they do not do so out of sentimentality, but because the risk to their brand outweighed the profits. That is also a datum that speaks for itself.

Whether the program is effective remains open. PETA contends that conditions have not changed significantly since then. An independent verification of this counterclaim is not available.

The renovation displaces animals more than animal welfare concerns

What actually displaces the animals is less animal welfare than the restructuring of visitor management.

Since the reorganization, private vehicles and tour buses are no longer permitted within the designated archaeological zone, and transport between stops is handled by electric vehicles included in the admission fee. This eliminates the practical reason why many visitors previously rented an animal: it was difficult to get around the vast site otherwise.

For the riding businesses, this is existential, and they have resisted. Egyptian media reported on protests where operators blocked access for the new electric vehicles. The point of contention was newly assigned parking spots, which, from the operators' perspective, are too far from the entrances to attract customers.

In parallel, several major intermediaries have reacted. International booking platforms and a hotel group have removed tours involving camel or horse rides on the plateau from their offerings. This is the most noticeable change for travelers: where you could book with two clicks just a few years ago, you now find nothing with major providers.

What remains is direct sales on-site, which brings the familiar accompanying phenomena: approaches at the fence, negotiated prices that are rarely the final ones, and no authority to turn to in case of dispute.

Can you still do it, and should you?

The question that likely brought you here remains: Can you still do it, and should you?

Can you: Yes. Offers still exist, predominantly on the edge of the site and in the open desert behind it. No ban with a specific effective date has been published, but the direction of state policy is declared, and individual areas are already closed to animals.

Should you: That is your decision, and this page does not make it for you. What we can provide is the foundation. There is documented material regarding the condition of the animals, a state program that acknowledges the need for action, and several major intermediaries that have decided no longer to carry the offer. These three points stand side by side, and anyone who knows them can decide informedly.

If you decide to go ahead, it changes something regarding diligence. An animal that is emaciated, has open sores under the saddle, limps, or appears apathetic is not an animal you should mount, and refusing costs you nothing but an unpleasant minute. Water and shade within reach are the second criterion; the time of day is the third: At noon with 35 degrees Celsius, no animal works voluntarily.

There is also a point often overlooked: your own safety. A camel stands up to be mounted, and this movement regularly throws inexperienced riders forward and backward. Falls almost always occur when standing up and when the animal lies down, not while walking. Those who ride hold onto the pommel and lean into the movement, and those who are unsure should have it shown to them beforehand rather than guessing.

And a warning about money, because it applies regardless of animal welfare. The stated price is regularly not the requested one. It is common that at the end, an additional amount is charged for dismounting, for returning the animal, or for the photographer. Whoever pays in cash with exact change and has the total price repeated before mounting avoids the worst surprise.

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Admission ticket for the plateau as a QR code

The electric shuttle between stops is included in the admission. This covers the route across the site without needing an animal.

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The picture works without an animal too

Those who come for the image now have better options than before, and indeed without an animal.

The classic motif is rarely the riding itself, but the silhouette against the pyramid. A camel ride at sunset delivers exactly that, but the same shot can also be taken from the viewpoint in the southwest, where all three structures are staggered and the evening light comes from the right side. The animals waiting on the periphery appear in the photo without you having to mount.

A second location for the same motif lies to the west, where the desert begins. From the sand ridges behind the site, the structures stand freely, without fences and without the city outskirts in the frame, and the animals from the businesses wait in this area anyway. For a photo, that is sufficient without needing to book a ride.

For aerial views, there are flights over the site; for the desert stretch, there are quad tours outside the fence. Neither replaces the ride one-to-one, but each covers part of what travelers book it for.

And there is the simplest option: on foot. The path from the Sphinx to the largest pyramid is easy to walk, the terrain is flat, and the shuttle handles the long sections. What was once a practical argument for an animal is no longer valid since the renovation.

The honest conclusion is therefore: The camel belongs to the image we all have in our heads, but it no longer belongs to the visit. This development is declared policy, it is underway, and it will continue in the coming years.