This is how you explore Egypt if you love culture, comfort, and a little chaos

For any history buff worth their chronologically obsessed salt, digging up the past seems just as good as preserving it for the future. Another nudge that comes with the fetish—constant fascination with visiting and exploring the relics of the three oldest civilisations in the world—Mesopotamia, Harappa, and Ancient Egypt. Any day, far more refreshing than revisiting the relical haunts of your past relationships.

Grazing past my holiday bucket list, planning my next state of trippin’, the Pyramids of Giza began dominating my explore page on Insta. I must admit that I may have mentioned in passing to a friend how I wanted to go to the land of mummies, which clearly had that invasive Meta pick it up (we are all used to it by now). Soon, I couldn’t unsee the dreamy images of the Nile laced with the thrill of mystery Agatha Christie had so very carefully crafted in Death on the Nile (of course, with no wish to be solving such a mystery if it were to take place during my visit).

What followed next was a carefully curated six-day trip thanks to the good people at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza and Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh. A natural choice of residence on my trip, thanks to pop culture rizz—The White Lotus series filmed at beauteous Four Seasons properties ensured I looked nowhere else.

After an almost seven-hour flight, I landed in Cairo, fully immersed in The Bangles’ banger, 'Walk Like an Egyptian', on loop. What I was not prepared for at first glance (pardon my ignorance) was the fuss-free security check at the airport, followed by the beautiful ride to the hotel, which showed how cosmopolitan the Egyptian capital truly was. Wide roads with gleaming infrastructure, mosques, churches, and synagogues all collided into one wholesome landscape of calm contrasts. A little under an hour later, I was at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, being fully fussed over and taken care of by the wonderful team, who knew exactly what I needed—a 60-minute Ancient Egyptian-inspired spa treatment that hit all the right spots.

A swim and sauna later, followed by an Italian coastal dinner at the beautiful Riviera restaurant, I checked out for the day ahead of my highly anticipated up-close-and-personal view of the Pyramids of Giza. The floor and view from my room had already given me a glimpse of the glistening Nile and the pyramids! The juxtaposition of sitting on the balcony at the hotel (with exquisite modern furnishings) was weird and wonderful—in a few hours, I would be inside a structure that dated back to 2,580 BC.

Walk like an Egyptian

After a sumptuous Egyptian breakfast at Zitouni, the guided tour of the pyramids (led by Ibrahim Hamza, a prolific Egyptologist), the Sphinx, and the ongoing Art D’Égypte exhibition was nothing less than extraordinary. The complex (also known as the Giza Necropolis) is home to the Pyramid of Khafre (popular for being the second tallest and second largest) and the Pyramid of Menkaure, alongside their associated pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

Little can prepare you for how enormous the stones are that have held the pyramids together for centuries. Eight thousand tonnes of ginormous stone blocks were brought from Aswan some 800 years ago. However, going inside the pyramid is an out-of-body experience you may or may not want to skip. The thing is, there’s only one point of entry and exit, and when you do get in, you need to be on all fours (very Crouching Tiger reminiscent) to make it to the very centre of the pyramid that houses the king’s mummy. Prepare to go in as you are and come out drenched in sweat, with little room for movement as you make your way out. Regardless of whether you choose to go in or not, make sure you’re ready to seize the day, going around the complex as you take in all of Cairo.

I personally felt very fortunate and lucky to visit the very cool and contemporary exhibition on display in the Sahara Desert, followed by a delightful lunch at the stunning Khufu restaurant overlooking the pyramids. After all, how often do you get this kind of vantage point to soak in the past and the present seamlessly?

It also gave me a chance to reflect on the scale of preservation the Egyptians have mastered during a tour of one of the world’s largest archaeological museums—The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which is now home to 100,000 artefacts, including the complete Tutankhamun collection. A part of ‘Giza 2030’ (a master plan for the plateau), even though it was only partially open during my visit, the museum will officially open to the public next month. After soaking up so much history and tapping in 18,000 steps, I was more than ready for a long, leisurely bath (sans camel milk, Cleopatra-style) and shut-eye after a Lebanese dinner at Byblos restaurant.

If you have only two to three days to explore Cairo before setting your sights on another ridiculously stunning place in Egypt (think the likes of Aswan and Alexandria, among others), you must add The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation to your radar. Not only does it happen to be the first museum in the Arab world, but it is the place to see mummies. Also, consider going to Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo, which have churches, mosques, madrasas, and the breathtaking Ben Ezra Synagogue.

Since I had a long list of trinket shopping that needed immediate attention, I decided to squeeze in some time exploring the bylanes of the 1,000-year-old market, Khan El Khalili, and briefly got lost in it. Who came to my rescue? A 17-year-old Egyptian girl, Reza, who let me use her phone (my battery had died) and stayed with me until Mr Hamza found me to ferry me along for the sunset felucca by the Nile. The calm of the river was much needed—sailing over the gentle coolness of what looked like molten gold (the sunset was the unpaid actor with all the theatrics)—kind of meditative after my lost-and-found appeal an hour ago.

Walking distance from my hotel, a shower and change later, I was with the fabulous communications team at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza at Pier 88 restaurant. Soaking in the delicious sight of the rich spread before me and other visitors, along with the rhapsody of Egyptian music captivating us all, one thing was crystal clear—the women at the helm here were liberated, cool, independent, and very self-assured, nothing like what the political and social strife earlier would lead you to assume. I could wear whatever I wanted (as did everyone else), so restriction wasn’t a thing in the places I had visited before heading to Sharm El Sheikh the next day. A bunch of online resources ahead of my travel had painted a different canvas—I was just glad I was seeing it for myself and not believing online hogwash.

Snorkelling life in the Red Sea

Out and about early thanks to the 9 am flight I was on to Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh, I had the chance to get a bird’s eye view of the great Sahara Desert, ready to indulge in the panoramic vistas of the Red Sea an hour later. The resort is straight out of a breathtaking picture book—no two ways about it! After settling into my room overlooking the pool and the sea, I was more than ready to devour lunch at Breeze Beach Bar.

My body needed some fuel for my very first quad biking experience through the Sinai Desert—and boy, did it come through. Even though I was an absolute novice, I felt like I was part of the Mad Max franchise as I rode into the sunset, unaffected by all the tasks that would haunt me upon my return to regular programming. After the thrill of the Sinai, I was more than ready for the underworld life of the Red Sea I was to acquaint myself with the following day.

The last thing on my bucket list for this adventure—snorkelling in the Red Sea, known for its beautifully preserved coral reefs. Little did I know I would come away in love and besotted with Egypt, ready to explore more next time around.

Post a delectable Bedouin breakfast, after we grabbed our snorkelling gear and took off into the deep blue Red Sea, the experience of being one with the beautiful aquatic universe—hidden under choppy and calm waves—teleported me to wonderland.

Nothing except the sound of my breathing and the life around me mattered. I had fully surrendered to this world and wasn’t in a hurry to resurface any time soon. The tap on my shoulder by my amazing snorkelling instructor brought me back from nirvana land. It was clear—I would come back with my lover, for him to soak in the same magic I had luxuriated in and be just as lost in my Egyptian love affair, if only for a few days.

Until then, I was going home with pieces of Egypt in papyrus and in my bag, eager to explore more—untethered by timelines. How could you not, with all that was waiting to be explored?

All images: Pratishtha Dobhal

This article originally appeared in Cosmopolitan India's May-June 2025 print issue.

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