Hochob - East Central Campeche, Mexico

Hochob (the place where ears of maize are stored) is located south of Hopelchen and close to Dzibalchen. The small but well-preserved Chenes-style site is now easily accessible by a new road. In the past, the 8 mile journey took me over 2 hours to maneuver. A large parking lot and entrance huts have also been constructed.

After a small uphill hike from the parking area, you will find the main plaza. It is surrounded by several structures, the most notable being Structure 2 on the north side of the plaza that features an incredible monster-mouth entrance. Similar entrance designs can be found at Chicanna and Hormiguero. It has a partial roof comb and traces of red paint are still visible on the remaining stucco.

On the east side of the plaza is Structure 1, which also has some remains of a monster-mouth facade. To the south side, there are a series of collapsed rooms with one remaining tower (Structure 5) to the left. The guide, a wonderful man named Hortensio Camal Ku, can show you the sculpted images on the roof comb from the outer side of the plaza of Hochob, as well as several waterholes in the immediate vicinity. His legs are giving out, so don’t drag him about too much!

Discovered by Teobert Mahler in the late 1880’s, Hochob is a pleasant little sleeper. I visited this site in October 1999 and sadly, a leak had developed in the roof of the main structure and was in desperate need of attention. A nearby site, El Tabasqueno, has been damaged by rains in the last few years and some structures have collapsed beyond repair.

Perhaps more effort should be devoted to preserving these magnificent structures themselves as part of our world heritage than is given to building parking lots!