The Horizon of Khufu Review: What to Expect
Travel to ancient Egypt without ever leaving the here-and-now! The Horizon of Khufu is an immersive virtual reality experience that lets you travel back in time to the era of Pharoah Khufu. Here’s my review of the Horizon of Khufu experience.
Step into the Great Pyramids of Giza and step back in time to ancient Egypt in this unique immersive experience! During this virtual journey, you get to witness a mummification ceremony, attend the funeral of King Khufu, and explore secret corridors of the Great Pyramid.
A special thanks to Eclipso Atlanta for providing us with tickets to The Horizon of Khufu in Atlanta! As always, all opinions are my own.
What is The Horizon of Khufu?
This free-roam virtual reality (VR) attraction was created by Excurio Immersive Expeditions and presented by Eclipso Immersive Entertainment.
The experience is was created in partnership with Egyptologist Peter Mer Manuelian from the Giza Archives Project at Harvard University. So the entire thing is filled with archaeologically and historically accurate depictions of this ancient civilization.
It has already found success in Europe and Asia before making it’s US debut in Atlanta at the Illuminarium space on the Atlanta Beltline.
Ready to take a step back in time to ancient Egypt? The Horizon of Khufu is currently showing in Atlanta, London, and Montreal.
My Horizon of Khufu Review
The Horizon of Khufu experience begins with a brief overview of some of the things you’ll encounter in the VR. We got to read a few short panels about the Solar Boat, the offerings, Khufu, the pyramids, and more while we waited to be fitted with our VR headsets.
Then it came time to get set up for the headsets. We registered our party’ of two’s avatars with our names so we could recognize our group within the VR experience. They gave us an overview of the rules of the experience (real life people will appear as outlined human shapes in the experience, you’ll recognize your party by their name hovering over their head, walls and other boundaries show up as a curtain of red x’s), and then we were ready to don our headsets.
The VR headsets are goggles and speakers that put your entirely inside the virtual world of Khufu.
Our virtual guide within the world was named Mona, and she took us on a nighttime tour of the Pyramid of Khufu, or the Great Pyramid of Giza. There was a “levitating platform” that took us up to the entrance of the pyramid, and it really felt like we were moving in real life.
Mona took us through the pyramid, explaining the history and the architecture of the structure. There were more moving platforms and even a spot where you could crawl through a tunnel (don’t worry, if you won’t want to crawl, you can just wait a moment and the tunnel will widen for you to walk under so you don’t have to “walk” through a wall).
You can roam around the experience, to an extent. The VR provides a boarder of the scene you’re in, and if you go beyond that, the screen will go black. You can see when there are other people near you, though sometimes it’s a little slow at showing them on your screen. You can’t interact with anything, but you can peer into the tombs and get really close and personal to the virtual people. Sometimes your guide will walk right through you.
We soon found ourselves in a room with Khufu’s tomb. And that’s when things took a turn! The cat that has been following along with us turns out to be an Egyptian goddess named Bastet, and she takes us deep into the pyramid, then to the top of the pyramid, and then back in time to ancient Egypt.
Part of going back in time involves witnessing a mummification ceremony and Khufu’s burial ceremony.
When the experience was over, we took off our goggles and found ourselves in a large room with weird black and white symbols that let the VR headset know what’s happening. It’s a big contrast to what we were seeing on the screen!
What Was Great About the Experience
The graphics were well done. It was like a high-quality video game; you wouldn’t mistake the people for real humans, but the scenery was beautiful and you felt like you were really in Egypt.
It was fully immersive. You felt like you were floating on the moving platforms, and I liked being able to look around and get up close to things like the mummification and the burial ceremonies. You could really get into people’s business.
The experience was very educational. It was really like being on a tour of an Egyptian pyramid, you learned a lot about the culture. Plus, you’re not likely to find a cat goddess to take you back in time in real life!
What Was Not So Great
I felt like I spent more time getting use to the VR experience than I did enjoying the actual experience. I missed some good stuff because it put me inside a wall at one point (I hadn’t moved at all) or the guide walked in the opposite direction without me knowing (we followed the guide into a room on the boat, then suddenly she was back outside on the boat moving on without us).
Your path doubles back on itself, so there is danger of running into others who are at different parts of the story. When you take your headset off, you’ll see you were just in a single room the whole time, so there’s not a lot of space to really work with. But you can tell when you’ve gone back over your path because you suddenly come across the outlines of other parties.
I felt like this took away from the experience because you’re either trying to squeeze through groups of people you can’t really see to follow the guide, or you’re distracted from the story because you’re trying not to bump into someone, or you’re distracted by an outline of someone crawling on the floor through someone being mummified.
I felt very self-conscious about bumping into people and I couldn’t really relax and enjoy the experience. Kevin ran into one of the helpers, who don’t show up on the screen because they’re supposed to be there to help keep you from running into people and to help troubleshoot the technology. Someone else ran into him. And I heard plenty of people saying “careful, watch out” and “sorry” throughout the experience.
If there had been one set path that didn’t intersect with others, I think I would have liked it a lot more.
The Horizon of Khufu Tickets & Info
Location: The Horizon of Khufu is currently on display in Atlanta at the Illuminarium, in Montreal, and in London.
Admission: Tickets range from $23-$33 depending on age and day of the week.
Hours (Atlanta location): Tuesday-Friday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The entire experience takes about 45 minutes.
Ages: Children must be 8+ years old and a minimum height of 4 feet 6 inches tall in order to participate. Children aged 8 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
What to Wear: You should dress comfortably with suitable shoes (you don’t want something you could easily trip in or get hurt in if your toes accidentally get stepped on). Because you’ll be wearing a VR headset, you should leave your hat at home. The headsets can accommodate glasses. There are lockers where you can store your purse or other bulky items.
VR Warning: Virtual reality may be uncomfortable for some. It is not recommended for those with claustrophobia. People prone to motion sickness may also experience discomfort while using the VR headset. If you feel sick or uncomfortable during the experience, you can raise your hand and help will come to you; you can also remove the headset yourself.
The Horizon of Khufu FAQ
Is Horizon of Khufu worth it?
The Horizon of Khufu is worth experiencing for yourself! It’s a unique step back in time to ancient Egypt that is both fun and educational.
What is the Horizon of Khufu?
The Horizon of Khufu is an immersive virtual reality experience that takes you back in time to ancient Egypt where you will explore the intricate tombs of Pharoah Khufu, visit the Giza Necropolis, navigate the tranquil waters of the Nile, witness mummification ceremonies, and attend the funeral of King Khufu.
Who was Khufu?
Khufu was an ancient Egyptian monarch who is known for commissioning the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Beyond that, not much is known about his reign.
Looking for more immersive experiences?
Do you just love visiting immersive experiences? Me too! Check out these immersive experience reviews:
- Dino Safari: A Walk-Thru Adventure — Review
- Jurassic World: The Exhibition — Review
- Art of the Brick Immersive Experience Review
- Stranger Things: The Experience Review
- Step Inside a Van Gogh Painting at This Immersive Experience in Atlanta
- Harry Potter: The Exhibition Review
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Cheers!
Paige
Did you find this review of The Horizon of Khufu helpful? Let me know in the comments!
