Expedition to The Pyramids of Giza – Virtual Reality Immersive Experience

Jan 28, 2025 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

Step back in time and explore one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza without ever leaving New York City. The Horizon of Khufu, presented by Excurio Immersive Expeditions transforms 10,000 square feet [555 West 57th St – between 10th and 11th Avenue] into a destination exploration with historical authenticity developed in collaboration with renowned Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian.

This virtual reality immersive experience brings history to life.

Wear comfortable walking shoes, and be prepared to enter the forbidden corridors inside one of the great Pyramids. Expect the unexpected, an excursion through time. Traveling down the Nile to witness the mummification ceremony and the funeral of King Khufu.

Fun, and fantasy, blended with facts, make this a memorable adventure, which lasts 45 minutes but feels far longer.

Experience of Virtual Reality

The Horizon of Khufu uses specialized VR headsets, providing visuals and sound, to create a virtual environment with stunning clarity and depth – visually transporting us to places we could only dream of. For VR novices (like us) the experience can be mind-bending. The environment appears three-dimensional and real, but they are only images. You cannot interact with them. And yet they evoked actual sensations. We felt motion as the platform we were standing on rose into the sky, which triggered a fear of falling. Although logically, we knew we were in a room with our feet on the ground the entire time, the feelings felt genuine.

VR convinces your brain that the virtual world is the physical world. Imagery becomes perceived reality. We were walking in a large white room with black symbols painted on the walls. These symbols provided stimuli triggering the VR headset. We encountered perceived obstacles, low ceilings, rocks to jump on, objects to step over, and reacted as though they were real.

Sharing Our Journey

Upon entering The Horizon of Khufu we were divided into parties of four and provided VR headsets. Each person in our group appeared as a 3D figure identified by a name tag.

The attendant explained the rules, which sounded simpler than they were. Stay within the blue or yellow lines. If you get lost, look for the white beacon of light. If you see the red grid, stop or you will walk into a wall or another traveler. And don’t try to sit on the chairs, you will fall to the floor.

Once the VR headset was on, everything initially went dark. Then the outlines came into view, including a 3D representation of our hands (but no feet). I grabbed my companion’s hand and did not let go.

At first, navigating our virtual surroundings was unsettling. The VR headset revealed a panoramic landscape that felt real. Everything was fine when we stayed on the path (following footsteps shown on the ground), and we could follow our virtual guide, Mona. When we strayed off the path there was only darkness, walking toward the lighted obelisks returned us to our virtual tour group.

The Adventure

Mona had arranged our tour outside the regular hours. As we walked, she explained the history of the Pyramid, led us up a flight of stairs, and ducked through tunnels, to a room with a sarcophagus, (a stone box that held the mummified body of a king). When the power went out, she panicked and left us to find help, leaving a flashlight illuminating the wall. A cat knocked the light to the ground, plunging us into darkness. The cat grew in size and majesty and transformed into Bastet, an ancient Egyptian goddess the protector of the afterlife. It became our guide, taking us on a journey to Ancient Egypt just after the death of King Khufu.

Our Reaction

Throughout the experience, we needed to continually remind ourselves it was not real (following a talking cat helped). We perspired worrying about falling off a cliff or missing a step on the raised rock path. We were fully engaged throughout the experience, walking the winding paths, lifted into the air on virtual platforms that materialized giving us a bird’s eye view of Ancient Egypt. The sights and surroundings looked genuine and solid, yet our hands passed right through objects, a reminder that it was only an illusion.

We would have liked to communicate with the other members of our party, but we were advised not to talk because it would distract other visitors. We experienced brief moments of fear when we felt momentarily lost and heard other visitors softly calling out to one another.

After leaving the exhibit, we watched through a viewing window as other groups made their way two-by-two and appreciated our VR experience. During our journey, we traversed a very small distance, walking back and forth across the large room. We watched as the other visitors ducked, moving at a snail’s pace along the same path we took, turning their heads to take in the sights. It was fascinating!

Fully Interactive and Fun

The Horizon of Khufu combines history, mystery, and adventure into unforgettable entertainment for adults and children over age 8. Using Bastet, the cat, added a dimension of relatability to the Ancient Egyptians, and our boat trip down the Nile to watch the mummification ceremony and funeral of King Khufu.

History came to life, creating memories. With the aid of technology virtual travel is possible. This might be the closest we will get to visiting ancient Egypt, and the only opportunity to journey back in time 4,500 years to the Giza Plateau.