Quick answer
Tutankhamun's tomb, KV62 in the Valley of the Kings, is small and only its burial chamber is painted, but it is the only place you can see the boy king himself: his mummy lies in a glass case inside the tomb. It needs a separate ticket and a visit takes 10 to 15 minutes.
What is inside Tutankhamun's tomb today?
Today KV62 holds the king's mummy, his carved quartzite sarcophagus and the painted walls of the burial chamber; everything else, more than 5,000 objects, was removed by Howard Carter's team between 1922 and 1932. The gold mask, coffins, shrines and chariots are now displayed together at the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened in full in November 2025 (see our GEM guide).
That is the trade-off of this ticket. You are not coming for spectacle, but to stand in the actual rooms where the most famous archaeological discovery in history was made, and to look at the face of Tutankhamun himself.
For which other tombs to choose, how the valley tickets work and when to arrive, see our main Valley of the Kings guide.
How is the tomb laid out?
KV62 is tiny by royal standards: sixteen steps lead down to a short sloping corridor, then four small rooms, the whole tomb fitting in an area not much larger than a suburban house. Most royal tombs in the valley run a hundred metres or more into the hill.
- The antechamber: the first room, where Carter found gilded couches, chariots and boxes piled to the ceiling. The king's mummy now lies here, in a climate-controlled glass case installed in 2007.
- The annexe: a small, undecorated side room off the antechamber, crammed with food, oils and furniture. It is not entered.
- The burial chamber: a step lower and to the right, the only decorated room, which once held four gilded shrines nested around the sarcophagus.
- The treasury: off the burial chamber, guarded by the Anubis shrine and holding the canopic chest; viewed from the doorway at most.
The tomb's modest size is one reason many Egyptologists think it was not built as a king's tomb at all, but adapted when Tutankhamun died young, probably at about 19.
What do the burial chamber paintings show?
The burial chamber walls are painted on a golden-yellow ground with four scenes of the king's funeral and his welcome into the afterlife.
- East wall: courtiers in white drag the king's mummy on a sledge under a canopy, a rare scene of a royal funeral procession.
- North wall: the most important painting in the tomb. Ay, Tutankhamun's elderly successor, dressed in a priest's leopard skin, performs the Opening of the Mouth ritual on the king's mummy. A new king shown burying the old one was a way of claiming the throne. Further along, the king is greeted by the sky goddess Nut and embraced by Osiris.
- West wall: twelve baboons from the first hour of the Amduat, representing the hours of the night the sun must travel through.
- South wall: the king with Hathor, Anubis and Isis.
Look for the small brown spots across the paint. They are dead microbial growth that formed while the tomb was sealed, and conservators decided to leave them, as removing them would damage the paint.
How has the tomb been protected?
Between 2009 and 2019 the Getty Conservation Institute and Egypt's antiquities ministry carried out a major conservation project to protect KV62 from the humidity, dust and carbon dioxide brought in by visitors. They installed an air-filtration and ventilation system, new lighting, and a viewing platform and barrier that keep visitors back from the walls.
The outermost gilded wooden coffin, which had stayed in the sarcophagus for almost a century, was moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2019 for restoration. You still see the quartzite sarcophagus itself, with protective goddesses carved at its corners.
In 2015 a theory that hidden chambers lay behind the painted walls, possibly the burial of Nefertiti, made headlines. Later radar surveys gave conflicting results, and at the time of writing no hidden chamber has been confirmed.
Is the Tutankhamun ticket worth it?
It is worth it if seeing Tutankhamun himself and the site of the 1922 discovery matters to you; if you want the most beautiful tomb, put the money towards Seti I (KV17) or Ramesses VI (KV9) instead. It is one of the shortest visits in the valley, and at busy times you may queue longer than you spend inside.
A good compromise for those on a budget is the full-size facsimile of the burial chamber at Howard Carter's House, about five minutes' drive away, which lets you study the paintings at leisure. Ticket prices change, so check egymonuments.gov.eg. Inside, guides cannot lecture, so ask yours for the story before you go down the steps.
Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62): FAQs
Is Tutankhamun's mummy still in his tomb?
Yes. The mummy lies in a climate-controlled glass case in the antechamber of KV62, where it has been displayed since 2007. It is the only royal mummy on show in the Valley of the Kings.
Is the gold mask in the tomb?
No. The gold mask and nearly all of the treasure are at the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza.
How long does it take to see Tutankhamun's tomb?
About 10–15 minutes inside, plus any queue. The tomb is small, with one decorated room.
Why is Tutankhamun's tomb so small?
He died young and unexpectedly, and many Egyptologists believe he was buried in a smaller tomb adapted for him, possibly one intended for a high official, while a larger royal tomb was unfinished.
Who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb?
The British archaeologist Howard Carter, funded by Lord Carnarvon, found the first step on 4 November 1922. Read the full story in our discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb guide.
