The royal cemeteries of Meroë, on the east bank of the Nile about 50 km north of Shendi, are the largest concentration of pyramids on earth. Three groups — the North Cemetery, the South Cemetery, and the West Cemetery — together hold the tombs of around forty kings, queens, and high officials of the Kushite kingdom that ruled here from roughly 300 BC to AD 350. The pyramids are smaller than the Egyptian ones — most under thirty metres — but steeper, sharper, and far more atmospheric, half-buried in golden Sahara dunes.
Most striking are the offering chapels at the eastern face of each pyramid, their inner walls cut with reliefs of the deceased ruler being received by the gods Amun and Anubis. The site is open and unfenced; you can wander freely, climb among the dunes, and almost always have it to yourself. Camel drivers and a few souvenir sellers wait by the parking area, but the crowds you would see at any comparable site elsewhere are simply absent. Come at sunrise or sunset, when the low light catches the sandstone and the shadows of the pyramids stretch out across the desert.
The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed together with the nearby cities of Meroë and Musawwarat. From Shendi it is a 50 km drive north along the Nile, then a short turn-off east; allow a half day with the visit.