6-Hour Cairo Hidden Gems Tour with Cave Church and City of the Dead

The journey

Trip highlights

• 01 Visit the Cave Church of St. Simon, carved into the Moqattam Mountain
• 02 See the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner and its 20,000-seat amphitheatre
• 03 Explore Manshiyat Naser, home to Cairo's 'Garbage People' and their recycling community
• 04 Pass through the historic City of the Dead, an Islamic necropolis below the Mokattam Hills

Embark on a 6-hour tour of Cairo's lesser-known landmarks, beginning at 10:00 am with the Cave Church of St. Simon and the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner, carved into the Moqattam Mountain. Explore Manshiyat Naser, known as Garbage City, where Cairo's 'Garbage People' have built their livelihoods around collecting and recycling the city's waste since the 1930s. Continue with a drive through the City of the Dead, the historic Islamic necropolis below the Mokattam Hills, for a revealing look at another side of Cairo.

Explore Garbage City in Cairo's Manshiyat Naser neighbourhood, a slum settlement known for its 'Garbage People,' who work as Cairo's unofficial sanitation crew.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 6 Hours

Tour type Shared

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Not included

Transport Included

City Cairo

Languages Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish

Day by day

The itinerary

1

Day 01

Cave Church, Garbage City and the City of the Dead

• Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel at 10:00 am to begin your day tour.
• Visit the famous Cave Church of St. Simon in Cairo, where seven cave churches are carved into the Moqattam Mountain.
• See the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner, the largest of them, featuring an amphitheatre with a seating capacity of 20,000.
• Explore Garbage City in Cairo's Manshiyat Naser neighbourhood, a slum settlement known for its 'Garbage People,' who work as Cairo's unofficial sanitation crew.
• Mostly Coptic Christians, the Garbage People arrived in Cairo in the 1930s seeking opportunities, and they sustain themselves by collecting and recycling the city's waste products.
• Passing through Garbage Place is part of the trip for safety reasons, as the area is full of garbage and has a strong smell that can cause disease.
• Continue the tour by passing through the City of the Dead, an Islamic necropolis and cemetery below the Mokattam Hills in southeastern Cairo.

The route

Where you'll travel

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

• Round-trip transfer from and to your destination in a private air-conditioned vehicle
• Egyptologist tour guide in your preferred language
• Bottled water during your trip

What to bring

• Passport

Logistics

Meeting & route

Meeting point

Cairo, Egypt

Tour start

Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

Tour ends at the same location as the start point.