Dzibilnocac


Though it only has one significant structure, Dzibilnocac possesses an eerie grandeur that merits a visit. Unlike the many hilltop sites chosen for Chenes structures, Dzibilnocac (‘big painted turtle’ is one translation) is on a flat plain, like a large open park. As Stephens and Catherwood observed in 1842, the many scattered hillocks in the zone, still unexcavated today, attest to the presence of a large city.

The single, clearly discernible structure is A1, a palatial complex upon a 76m platform with a trio of raised temples atop rounded pyramidal bases. The best preserved of the three, on the east end, has fantastically elaborate monster-mask reliefs on each of its four sides and the typically piled-up Chaac masks on three of the four corners.

Dzibilnocac is located beside the village of Iturbide (also called Vicente Guerrero), 20km northeast of Dzibalchén. From Campeche’s 2nd-class bus terminal there are several buses daily to Iturbide via Hopelchén (M$110, three hours). There’s no place to stay here so you’ll need to make it back to Hopelchén by nightfall.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. El Tabasqueño

13.25 MILES

Supposedly named after a local landowner from Tabasco, El Tabasqueño boasts a temple-palace (Estructura 1) with a striking monster-mouth doorway, flanked…

2. Santa Rosa Xtampak

13.89 MILES

Though less excavated than Edzná, Uxmal or Calakmul, Santa Rosa Xtampak is considered to be the largest and most important site in the Chenes region, and…

3. Hochob

16.33 MILES

About 60km south of Hopelchén, Hochob, ‘the place where corn is harvested,’ is among the most beautiful and terrifying of the Chenes-style sites. The…

4. Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua

19.91 MILES

On the central plaza, the 16th-century Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua church features an intricate retablo (altarpiece), with a gallery of saints and…

5. Tohcok

22.37 MILES

Tohcok (spelled Tacob on signs) is 3.5km northwest of Hopelchén. Of the 40-odd structures found at this Maya site, the only one that has been…

6. Koolel Kab

26.51 MILES

A cooperative known as Koolel Kab produces honey with indigenous melipona bees, which take up residence in hollow trees. Using techniques much like those…

7. Grutas de X'tacumbilxuna'an

28.51 MILES

Some of the most significant caves in the peninsula are found 31km north of Hopelchén, shortly before you reach the town of Bolonchén de Rejón. The local…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "mexico/chenes-sites/attractions/dzibilnocac/a/poi-sig/1159604/1317581",
      "position": "superzone"
    }