Exploring the Yucatan: Visiting the Temple of the Seven Dolls in Dzibilchaltún

Dzibilchaltún, Temple of Seven Dolls

​Dzibilchaltún is smaller than the neighboring archaeological site, Chichén Itzá, but still worth visiting. Dzibilchaltun is among the oldest sites on the Yucatan Peninsula dating back to as 500 BC.The distance between central Mérida and Dzibilchaltún is about 15 km, via the freeway. 

After a hearty breakfast, we hopped into our rental car and headed to the site. It took us about 20 minutes to get there from Merida with some moderate traffic. Entrance to Dzibilchaltun is about $10 USD (about 200 pesos) for non-Mexican residents. There's a small fee for parking of about $2 USD. Dzibilchaltún is currently open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., although the cenote was closed when we visited in 2022. 

The most famous structure at this site is the Temple of the Seven Dolls (Templo de las Siete Muñecas). The temple was given that name because archeologists discovered seven clay dolls within the temple.  On the spring equinox, the sun can be seen shining through the temple’s main door, creating a light effect. Dzibilchaltún also has its own cenote, but we were not allowed to enter the cenote in 2022. 

Dzibilchaltún cenote (closed in 2022)

​There were fewer visitors at this site (compared to Chichén Itzá, where we saw hundreds of people) but there were still several dozen tourists visiting the temple and the site when we arrived. 

We booked a guide at the entrance to site, an older gentleman who spoke fluent English and Spanish, and he took us through the ruins. The fee was 500 pesos (about 25 USD) for a 2-hour tour. It was worth it, and we do suggest hiring a guide. Unlike Chichén Itzá, we were permitted to scale the smaller pyramids. We went up to the top with our guide and took some great pictures of the site. 

Dzibilchaltun temple from a distance (with visitors)

​Our advice is to hire a tour guide, and arrive early, especially if you go during the summer, it will be very hot.

​We enjoyed our visit, but because of the heat, we didn’t stay much longer after our tour guide finished the tour.

​We went to the Tsukán Santuario cenote next, which ended up being a great idea because we were able to swim, cool off, and enjoy another beautiful site (which we will cover in our next blog post).