There are over 6,000 cenotes in the Yucatán of Mexico. Just off the coast, north of Mérida, is the center of the Chicxulub crater, formed when an asteroid hit the earth 67 million years ago, the same one that killed off the dinosaurs. The impact pushed limestone from the sea floor up along the crater’s rim. When the water receded, it exposed a peninsula of porous limestone. Over time, rainwater seeping through filled what were once dry caves. In certain places, the ground would collapse where the water got too heavy to form a sinkhole. Although they resemble lakes, there’s actually a river of ocean water running underneath.
There are hardly any other bodies of water above ground in the Yucatán, so these sinkholes became sacred sources. This is why it was named by the ancient Maya as a cenote, meaning “sacred well.” Diving into their subterranean depths always feel like entering another world.
Each cenote is unique, from the color of the water and the shafts of lights coming down to the rock formations and air domes you’ll find. Many belong to the same families, descendants of the Maya, who have been their caretakers for generations and who can tell you the myth and history of each one. Even the light and atmosphere change depending on the time of day you’re diving and the seasons of the year, so that no two dives ever look same.
Cenote Dos Ojos
Dive time: 46 min | Max depth: 8m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Intermediate
The discovery of Dos Ojos in 1987 initiated the entire cave diving exploration system in the Yucatán. Dos Ojos connects to the larger Sac Actum system, a series of underwater caves, which at 378km in length, is the second longest in the world, just after the neighboring Ox Bel Ha system, which is 436km in length.
Named for two cenotes that resemble large eyes, Dos Ojos, by itself, is one of the top ten longest underwater cave systems known, and the deepest, at 119m down, in Quintana Roo. It is also one of the most famous, featured in the 2002 documentary, Journey into Amazing Caves, and the 2005 movie, The Cave. It is here that in 2010, freediver Carlos Coste became the Guinness World Record holder for swimming 150m in open water in one breath.
There are 28 entrances to the Dos Ojos system. In between the two eyes is a large cavern. The water is a beautiful blue with streaks of green and yellow light throughout. You’ll pass magnificent stalagmites and stalactites. Follow the Bat Cave line for an air-filled cavern with bats hanging from the top.
El Pit
Dive time: 38 min | Max depth: 30m | Water temp: 25°C | Difficulty: AOW | Dive 2: 40 min | Max depth: 30m
The Pit is the deepest part of the Dos Ojos system. The entrance is steep and narrow, surrounded by white limestone cliffs. You’ll drop straight down to go into the underwater cave. At 12 to 15 meters, you’ll find the halocline layer, where the freshwater from above mixes with the salt water running below. At 30m is a hydrogen sulfide cloud with tree branches jutting out.
Coming up, you’ll explore the cave ceiling, with large stalactites hanging down. The light beams piercing the water are bright and mesmerizing here, earning it the “Dream Dive” title. On sunny days especially, the lights go down as far as the eyes can see, playing out all kinds of illuminations.
Cenote Calavera
Dive time: 49 min | Max depth: 16m | Water temp: 26°C | Difficulty: Beginner
Calavera, meaning “skull” in Spanish, features two small holes that look like eyes and a bigger one for the mouth. You can jump in from all three, a big attraction for swimmers and amateur cliff jumpers. There’s a rope swing and a ladder hanging down the mouth. The water is about three to four meters down.
Right at the entrances, shimmering green light floods the cavern. The imagery from underwater, especially with the stairs, is dreamlike, the perfect pathway to another world. The permanent line for divers to follow leads to geological formations that have been compared to modern art sculptures. You’ll meet a very distinct halocline layer at 12m. Beneath it, the water is more blue. You’ll also come across an altar ledge where Mayan pottery and animal bones were left behind. So many legends are told here that the cenote is nicknamed the “Temple of Doom.”
Cenote Nicte Ha
Dive time: 48 min | Max depth: 8m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Intermediate | Dive 2: 51 min | Max depth: 8m
One of my favorite cenotes to dive, swim, and photograph, Nicte Ha, meaning “flower of the water,” is literally an underwater garden. The bright water lily pads are probably the most dense in the area.
Comparable to a shore dive, getting in and out is pretty easy. But the passageway is shallow and narrow, so perfect buoyancy is a must to avoid kicking up the sediments or bumping your tank against the stalactites on the ceiling. The water is crystal clear, and the cavern has direct exposure to sunlight. The light bouncing off the formations constantly changes in forms and colors.
For swimmers, there’s a platform on the limestone shelf where you can jump or dive into the open water garden. The dark blue hue of the water is a perfect contrast to the bright green and yellow foliage. There are tiny fish all over, with sightings of eels and turtles.
Cenote Agelita
Dive time: 33 min | Max depth: 40m | Water temp: 21°C | Difficulty: AOW | Free Dive: 46 seconds | Max depth: 8.7m
Meaning “little angel” in Spanish, Cenote Angelita is named after the Angel Stalactite found just underneath. Unlike many cenotes in the Yucatán that are interconnected, the Angelita cave is enclosed.
The single circular entrance is surrounded by thick forest vegetation. Leaves and other organic matter constantly fall, decay, and mix with the sulfite-containing rocks in the water. At about 28m, right at the halocline, is a 4-meter thick cloud of hydrogen sulfide gas, the cenote’s most unique feature that attracts divers. Visibility goes down to half a meter. You’ll see the stones from when the ground collapsed, along with bare tree branches that make it feel like a surreal landscape.
No natural light passes the cloud, so below it is zero visibility. You’ll need a flashlight while swimming alongside the wall for guidance. Dead trees cover the bottom, which go as far down as 56m. Even though Angelita has been nicknamed “The Nightmare,” it’s more magical. Going back up the cloud into the sunlight, you’ll see stalactites hanging down, and the jungle of trees that surround the entrance look mythic through the prism of water.
Cenote Tajma Ha
Dive time: 46 min | Max depth: 15m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Beginner
The first explorers of this cenote named it for its beauty after the palace in India. It has been slightly renamed to pay homage to the Mayan word for water – “ha.” More than just a breathtaking dive site, Tajma Ha, meaning “hidden water,” is a fairytale setting rich in urban myths.
Legend has it that it’s guarded by a group of Aluxes, who watch over the landscape and keep it from being damaged by invaders. Known to inhabit caves and forests and usually invisible, they can take the shape of humans, no more than three feet tall and clothed in traditional Maya. Divers have witnessed shapes appearing when passing through the halocline. In some instances, they have felt mysterious brushes against their tanks or tugs on their fins while diving.
Tajma Ha has underwater passageways to different cenotes and numerous air domes. Some are through narrow rock openings. The halocline layer is dense throughout, making for a really surreal experience. The light shows are spectacular and change throughout the day. Stalactites and stalagmites vary in size, with one resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Cenote Tak Be Ha
Dive time: 54 min | Max depth: 7m | Water temp: 25°C | Difficulty: Intermediate
The steep stairway entrance to Tak Be Ha, meaning “hidden route of water,” leads to a cavern with tree roots and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The dome is illuminated with artificial light that makes the white limestone look like it’s glowing. The water at the entrance is perfect for swimming. It’s crystal-clear blue, and the geological formations are a sight to behold.
Because the stalactites and stalagmites here are close together and fragile, divers have to be very careful. There’s a line for divers to follow with a crucial warning that this is for experienced cave divers only. The first 15 minutes are open, but after that, you enter narrow passages.
Cenote Zapote
Dive time: 31 min | Max depth: 34m | Water temp: 22°C | Difficulty: AOW
Originally named after the endemic trees found in the area, Cenote Zapote has since been nicknamed “Hell’s Bells” for the unique formations hanging from the cave ceiling. These hallow bells began to form over 5,000 years ago and are constantly growing, made from the biological remains of underwater microorganisms. They can measure up to 2m in length and 4m in diameter. Similar carbonate deposits have been identified in about 30 other caves worldwide, but these formations do not exist anywhere else.
First discovered in 2011, scientists are still studying what makes them grow here specifically. It’s a harsh environment with no sunlight and a thick layer of hydrogen sulfide. Remains of prehistoric animals have also been found in the cenote. Zapote is an hourglass-shaped, 63-meter sinkhole. The descent is a straight 30m down with zero visibility, so it feels like diving into nothing but darkness. When the cave opens, you’ll glide between the stalactites and the halocline cloud.
Cenote Aktun Ha
Dive time: 46 min | Max depth: 16m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Beginner
Just 9km west of Tulum, Aktun Ha, simply meaning “water cave,” was one of the first cenotes divers explored. But back in the 1980s, because of its convenient roadside location, taxi drivers used to come here to wash their cars. So the name Cenote Carwash has stuck. Today, it’s more often used for cave training sessions where divers practice laying out their own guidelines.
The entrance to the cenote is a small lagoon with a water garden, lilypads, bright fish, and even a small crocodile, making it ideal for underwater photography. In the summer, algae form a cloud at the surface of the water and create a unique prism of light. In the cavern, you’ll find chestnut-colored columns of stalactites and stalagmites, along with fossil remains and Maya pottery. There’s also a mesmerizing show of light illuminating the tree branches in the water.
Dream Gate
Dive time: 43 min | Max depth: 7m | Water temp: 23°C | Difficulty: AOW
Ideal for experienced cave divers, Dream Gate offers the most dense rock formations, but in dark, confined spaces. The cave roof is heavily decorated with stalactites, many perfectly meeting wide patterned stalagmites on the bottom. It remains one of the Yucatán’s most beautiful cenotes, so spectacular it was featured on BBC’s Planet Earth.
A steep staircase leads to the water. You’ll see the dark narrow entrance in the back where you’ll swim through to the main part of the cave. The aquamarine-colored water, a labyrinth of passageways, and ornate geological formations are simply stunning. And to think that they each took shape drop by drop over millions of years…
Cenote Chac Mool
Dive time: 49 min | Max depth: 12m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Beginner | Dive 2: 47 minutes | Max depth: 13m
Chac Mool is named after a deity whose statues were found all over nearby Chichén Itzá . Although it translates to “great jaguar head,” the ancient statues are of reclining figures attributed to the god of rain. The land is private, owned and operated by a local family who set up the facilities and tables for divers themselves, and who you can even hire for professional underwater videos and photography.
There are three different connected cenotes, Chac Mool, Kukulkan and Little Brother. Kukulkan, named for the serpent creator god, is excellent for beginner cave divers. It’s a large cenote with breathtaking streaks of lights. A stairway and a small entrance lead to Little Brother. A short zig-zag swim brings you to “The Dome,” an air-filled cavern with tree roots hanging from the ceiling. Between 9 and 10 meters, you’ll experience the halocline, thermocline, and the hydrogen sulfide cloud.
Jardin del Eden
Dive time: 44 min | Max depth: 14m | Water temp: 24°C | Difficulty: Intermediate
Just one look at the lush surroundings, and you’ll understand why this is called the Garden of Eden. The natural pool is so crystal clear that you can see the sailfin fish, rock formations, and fossilized shells below. Even for non-divers, this is a great place to swim and snorkel.
The main dive line takes you from Cenote Eden to Cenote Coral, where you’ll find streaks of light from a wide slit opening. There are trees hanging down, and the bottom is covered with illuminated branches. You’ll also notice a very distinct temperature drop at the halocline layer.
The Mayan Underworld
The cenotes have always been a symbol of duality, representing both life and death. They were revered by the ancient Maya, who believed them to be divine entrances to the underworld, Xibalba, and therefore to immortality. As precious sources of water, Mayan cities were built around them. The ruins of Mayapán, near Mérida, has no less than 40 cenotes within its city walls.
Cenotes also served as sacrificial sites where rituals and offerings were often performed to appease their gods. Archeological sites full of gold, silver and countless other precious objects have been discovered. Weapons, textiles, and animal bones are also often found. So are human skulls and skeletons.
