Category: Tulum Guide – Cenotes

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Cenote Nicte-Ha, a verdant underwater garden

Cenote Nicte Ha, a verdant underwater garden

Map cenote Nicte-ha
Map cenote Nicte-ha

1 dive site

Difficulty: Easy 

Dive or snorkel

Maximum depth: 8 meters

Features: cave formations, lily pads

Nicte Ha is a smaller cenote with an ample lily pad garden and plenty of sunlight at its entrance. The cavern features interesting formations, and the entrance to the cenote is ringed with beautiful vegetation. It has the feel of a relaxing playground and is appropriate for both divers and snorkelers. A snorkeling tour has very nice views of the lily garden. The tour can proceed into a small cavern with views of formations and a picaresque view of the garden from the dark.

There is a current and some slightly tighter spaces, so this cenote is only for divers with experience in cavern diving. One bonus is that there are usually no other divers in the cavern on this dive. The dive here lasts for about 40 minutes and reaches a maximum depth of 8 meters. The dive features very nice views of light beams views from various openings in the ceiling and an amazing view of the water lily garden from the dark cavern.

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

We give guided eco tours of both snorkeling and scuba diving for all of the cenotes below. Please feel free to contact us to discuss our personalized scuba diving eco tours into the cenotes of the Mayan Riviera.

Click on the cenotes for details about each:

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Cenote Chikin-Ha, amazing light beams

Cenote Chikin Ha, a dive site with amazing light beams

Map cenote Chikin-ha
Map cenote Chikin-ha

Snorkel site / dive site with a few path options

Difficulty: Easy 

Maximum depth: 16 meters

Features: halocline, tree roots, light beams

Chikin Ha is a beautiful cenote both inside and out. An expansive entrance sets a pretty scene for divers preparing to enter the cenote. Snorkelers and divers both enjoy this open area. Light beams can be seen, as well as a halocline deeper within the cenote. Plant and tree roots are passed in many areas, adding to this cenote’s mystique. Snorkelers can enjoy the clarity of the water and large open space for swimming; however, there are almost no formations in this cavern.

The entire dive circuit is about 160 m long with a maximum depth of 16 m. The dive lasts about 40 minutes. Previous cavern diving experience is required. A few different paths can be taken through the cenote.

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

We give guided eco tours of both snorkeling and scuba diving for all of the cenotes below. Please feel free to contact us to discuss our personalized scuba diving eco tours into the cenotes of the Mayan Riviera.

Click on the cenotes for details about each:

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Cenote Tajma Ha, return to the soul

Cenote Tajma Ha, return to the soul

map cenote Tajma-ha
map cenote Tajma-ha

1 dive site

Difficulty: Moderate  

Dive site only

Maximum depth: 17 meters

Features: cave formations, bat cave, halocline, light beams

Tajma Ha is an impressive and well-rounded dive site featuring both very dark passages and bright chambers that are penetrated by sunlight. It contains almost all of what a cenote could have: formations, halocline, light beams and different cenotes to surface into. Fossils and logs decorate the site, and a halocline is present at some of the greater depths. The cenote features many beautiful views as one comes out of the darkness into the bright, open chambers, which shine in blues and greens.

The dive rises and falls in depth quite often, which makes it slightly more challenging than some of the other cenotes. Previous cavern diving experience is required. The circuit is approximately 130 m in length. The maximum depth is 17 m with a dive time of about 40 minutes.

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

We give guided eco tours of both snorkeling and scuba diving for all of the cenotes below. Please feel free to contact us to discuss our personalized scuba diving eco tours into the cenotes of the Mayan Riviera.

Click on the cenotes for details about each:

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WHAT IS A CENOTE?

Because of its geological composition, the soil of the Yucatan Peninsula is a sponge when it rains, it absorbs all moisture. The water seeping through the soil begins to erode the rock, that gives way to caverns that can be partially or completely flooded, when one of those caverns collapses due to the natural flow of water, cenotes are formed.

The formation of cenotes can last thousands of years. There are open, semi-open, and ancient cavern cenotes, classification depends mainly on their age.

These pools of crystalline water connected by a network of underground rivers and which by their nature can vary in shape and characteristics, are virtually unique to the Yucatan Peninsula.

The basement of the Yucatan peninsula is formed by the accumulation of various marine animals, mostly marine shell and coral, which at his death were piling up and degraded forming densely compacted limestone. Inside the cenotes can see traces of these organisms and some plants such as fossilized coral.

For the Maya, cenotes were considered sources of life, while providing the vital liquid were the input to the other world and center of communion with the gods. The word comes from the Mayan cenote dzonot, meaning cave with water.

We invite you to discover these fabulous photographs and these incredible cenotes !!

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Cenote bike tours in Tulum, admire the beauty of the mayan riviera with our eco tour in a bike

tulum tour 5 cenotes tankah tour - swim and float Mexico27 Mexico01-2 tulum tour 5 cenotes tankah tour - we visit 5 cenotes in one day tulum tour 5 cenotes tankah tour - ride a canoe

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Cenote Diving Tulum: Once upon a time… in the Xibalba

Here we go with a video taken on a scuba dive in Dos Pisos cave system, what a smooth and beautiful dive!!. The shallowness and incredibly decorated passages of this part of the cave system make a very good place where to go for a very long breath taking scuba dive. Hope that the video can transmit a bit of the peace and sacredness we got to feel on this cave dive.

Once upon a time… in the Xibalba from Agua Clara Project on Vimeo.

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Diving in Tulum Caves and Cenotes: Cave Diving into Jail House

Eco tours into the Tulum Cenotes, Mexico
This Cenote, part of Naranjal cave system offers some incredible cave dives that go from very dark passages to salty water light full ones, megaterio bones and some incredibly nice decorated areas like the one we visited on this dive, the swiss siphon, it is in the salty part of the cave but amazingly keeps a lot of it`s formations in a weird eroded way. Enjoy it!

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Cenote Dos ojos – Beautiful & easy cavern dive site

Diving Cenote Dos Ojos

Cenote Dos ojos – Beautiful & easy cavern dive site

Map cenote Dos ojos
Map cenote Dos ojos

2 dive sites

Difficulty: Easy 

Dive or snorkel

Maximum depth: 10 meters

Features: cave formations, bat cave

Map of Cenote dos ojos, Tulum Mexico
Map of Cenote Dos Ojos, Tulum Mexico

Dos Ojos (Two Eyes) refers to two neighboring cenotes that are connected by a large cavern that also connects to a subterranean river. The original explorations of this water system, one of the largest in the world, started in the Dos Ojos cenotes. The total length of the combined system was measured at 310.95 kilometers (193.22 mi). Dos Ojos was filmed for IMAX in 2002 and for BBC/Discovery in 2006.

The snorkeling in Dos Ojos is primarily around the entrance of the cenote from where one can see divers entering and exiting the cenote. The water is a beautiful blue hue.

Dos Ojos is an excellent place to do the first cenote dive due its wide spaces, crystal clear waters and heavy sediment, which is not as easily disturbed. This cenote dive site consists of two independent circuits: The first dive starts at the Barbie Line, a 415 meters line with wide spaces and large light galleries. We always start the dive with this line because it is very close to the surface and is a great way to become acquainted with the feeling of the fresh water, in which buoyancy changes are faster and more delicate. The duration of this dive is 45 minutes and the maximum depth is 6 meters. The second dive circuit is called the Bat Cave, a very different experience. The Bat Cave is an adjacent cenote, next to Dos Ojos, and represents a much more preserved environment, mainly due the fact that the roof of the cenote hasn’t collapsed yet and all of the formations around it are in very good shape. The dive circuit has a length of about 300 meters with a maximum depth of 10 meters. It is darker and takes about 35 minutes. If you are interested in this dive, please check our diving tours page.

 

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

We give guided eco tours of both snorkeling and scuba diving for all of the cenotes below. Please feel free to contact us to discuss our personalized scuba diving eco tours into the cenotes of the Mayan Riviera.

Click on the cenotes for details about each:

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Casa cenote training dive site

Light Beam Casa Cenote

Casa Cenote, the training dive site

map casa cenote

1 or 2 dives

Difficulty: very easy

Snorkel or dive

Maximum depth: 8 meters

Features: saltwater and freshwater wildlife, mangroves

Casa cenote is an open cenote that is located right next to the sea and is connected to it via a huge cave. The cenote has fresh water coming from an underground river and salty water coming in from an ocean connection. The cenote is also completely surrounded by mangroves. These factors come together to make it a very special place. Casa Cenote is home to many young fish that seek refuge from sea currents inside its calm waters. It is also home to many freshwater fish that belong to the cenote ecosystems. Both ocean and cenote fish share this piece of paradise. Many egrets and cormorants love it here, and we can often see them inside and outside of the water. The protected nature of this cenote as well as its beauty make it ideal for almost anyone. Snorkelers, scuba diving students, scuba divers that need a refresher or even very experienced divers want to explore its magic. It offers beautiful mangrove views, algae gardens, small caverns and a variety of marine inhabitants. The dives taken here go to a maximum depth of 8 m (24 feet) and last for about 45 min.

 

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving

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Cenote The Pit / Dive its huge open space

Diving Cenote El Pit

Cenote The Pit – dive its huge open space

 

Difficulty: advanced

Maximum depth: 40 meters

Features: light beams, clear water, huge chamber

The Pit is one of the deepest cenotes in the state of Quintana Roo. It is part of Sac Aktun cave system (the longest flooded cave system in the world) and is a spectacular dive site in a huge chamber. It has exceptional water clarity with a visibility of more than 100 meters. It also features strong light beams that during the summer penetrate the cavern for more than 27 meters. At this depth, there is a thick hydrogen sulfide cloud. Additionally, small and large stalactites are visible.

Scuba diving in The Pit requires previous deep scuba diving and cavern scuba diving experience. Always go with a cave diver guide. When you dive in this cenote, frequently check your air, and remember that deeper dives consume more air: at 40 meters, you breathe 5 times more compressed air than at the surface. One should also be aware of their decompression limits. It is also important to stay near your dive guide and to ascend slowly and do a safety stop. We follow the rule of thirds for air consumption on this dive. The dive we operate in this cavern usually lasts for about half an hour.

The Pit is in a league of its own. if you are interested in diving it, feel free to check our diving tours Learn more about the different cenotes in the area.

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving. If you are planning to visit Mexico to discover this amazing natural places, do not hesitate in contacting us we offer personalized scuba diving eco tours into the cenotes of the Mayan Riviera. Contact Us

Click on the Cenotes to find details about each of them:

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Cenote Carwash – The gate of cave diving

Cenote Carwash – The gate of cave diving

Map Cenote Carwash (Aktun Ha)
Map Cenote Carwash (Aktun Ha)

1 tank

Difficulty: easy

Maximum depth:

Features: black cave formations, lily pad garden

Car Wash (or Aktun Ha, meaning water cave in Mayan) was one of the first cenotes that cave divers explored. The name originated from taxi drivers who used to go to this cenote to wash their cars.

The open water part of this cenote is like a small lagoon. It has a beautiful underwater garden that houses fish, turtles, and even a small crocodile. The cavern dive we operate here starts in the garden area and then proceeds into the cavern. The speleothemes in this cavern are black, stained by the tannic acid that once passed trough this system. The cavern is large, and the most beautiful part of the dive is perhaps the view of the light when moving back out into the garden from the cavern. Fallen trees can be seen silhouetted against the bright entrance. To finish, we do the safety stop while looking around the garden and at its various inhabitants.

This is an easy cavern dive, and the cavern spaces are very large. The way in seems dark, but the sunlight is always visible. There is a thin sediment at the bottom of the cavern, but since the cavern is very large, there is no need to swim near the sediment. Diving in one of the beginner caverns (like Dos Ojos and Gran Cenote) is recommended before visiting Car Wash, but this cenote does not require special skills.

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving

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Cenote Angelita – the dive site of the clouds

Diving Tulum, Cenote Angelita

Cenote Angelita, the dive site of the clouds

Map cenote Angelita
Map cenote Angelita

Difficulty: advanced

Maximum depth: 40 meters

Features: hydrogen sulfide cloud, small cave

Angelita is a magical cenote that is often described as mysterious and a bit spooky. At first, the cenote appears to be unassuming, just a small pond in the middle of a very thick jungle. However, the deepest parts of the cenote go down to 204 ft (66 m). Its most amazing feature is a 4.5 ft (1.5 m) thick hydrogen sulfide cloud that starts at 83 ft (27 m). This cloud is made up of gases that have leaked out of decomposing trees and leaves that fall from the jungle into the cenote. This gas accumulates where the fresh and the salt water meet (the halocline). This creates a false floor at the bottom, which can be traversed to reach a dark, otherworldly chamber that is full of jungle detritus. The base of this mountain of detritus starts below but reaches above the cloud. Rising again from below the cloud, the peak of the mountain of detritus takes on a new face, as if one is ascending a cloud-topped mountain. On the way out of the cenote, there is a small cave loop, and at the surface, one can get an appreciation for all of the trees that provide this cenote with its hydrogen sulfide cloud.

The dive lasts about half an hour. It requires experience in deep diving and cavern diving.

Scuba diving video shot in Cenote Angelita, Tulum by Agua Clara Diving Tulum diveshop located in Tulum. The video shows the amazing “clouds” that form in the cenote depths. Angelita in Spanish means “Little Angel”.

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving

 

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Cenote Dream Gate: the dive site with the most rock formations

Cenote Dreamgate is the cavern with the most rock formations in Tulum

Map cenote Dreamgate
Map cenote Dreamgate

2 tanks

Difficulty: moderate to difficult

Maximum depth: 5 meters

Features: beautiful cave formations

Dream Gate is a cenote and large cavern that it is part of Sac Aktun underwater cave system (like Gran Cenote and Casa Cenote). It is located about 10 km north of Tulum. Dream Gate has some of the nicest speleothemes (cave formations): the cavern is completely full of stalactites, columns, and stalagmites.

There are two independent dive circuits in this cavern: The upstream line and the downstream line. The upstream line is the most elaborately decorated, and at the furthest point of the dive there is an air pocket with a fully decorated ceiling where we come to the surface. When heading back to the entrance, the light streaming into the cenote silhouettes the stalactites for a breathtaking view. This dive takes about 35 minutes and the maximum depth is 5 m (15 ft). The downstream line is quite different; it is also fully decorated and connects with another cenote. Many tree roots from the jungle penetrate the cave to absorb water. At the furthest point of the circuit, light from the other cenote can be seen. The dive time and depth are similar to those of the upstream dive: 35 min and 5 m (15 ft).

Diving in this cavern is recommended for people who were comfortable in the beginner caverns because it is small, fragile, and dark in some places.

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving

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Cenote Calavera | Guide to the Cenotes of Tulum

Eco tours into the Cenotes around Tulum, Mexico

cenote calavera

image

Cenote Calavera (skull in spanish) is called like that because it has 3 collapses in the ceiling that resemble to that, the two small ones would be the eyes and the big one the mouth. Now it is part of Sac Aktun cave system (same as, Gran Cenote, Casa Cenoteand cenote Sac Aktun), and in my opinion it is the nicest cavern in the area where to go if you want to appreciate a cool hallocline (where the fresh and the salty water meet).

This dive start is pretty adventurous, you have to get in to the skull trough its mouth by doing a 3 m high giant stride entry, but the real adventure doesn`t start until you deflate your bcd, the line in this cavern goes around a mountain that has formed under the big collapse (mouth). It`s maximum depth is 16 m (52 ft) and the dive usually lasts for about 40 min. While diving you can many times appreciate the light skull on your top formed by the light getting trough the holes in the celling, you can also get to see a lot of fossils and a very cool landscape that seems like been scuba diving on the moon or a swiss cheese. Any way the coolest thing about scuba diving in this cavern is the incredible hallocline that forms here. This is where the fresh and the salty water meet, since there is hardly any current in this cavern the two layers stay absolutely separed and since they each have different densities as the light passes from one to the other it gets refracted and create some very cool and unique visual effects.

This dive is recommendable for people that dived on one of the beginner caverns before because it can get to be a bit dark and small at points, also as the two waters mix they create a blurriness effect that can be scary to someone with out cavern diving experience.

Cenote pirañas tankah

Difficulty:Hard.

Dives: 1.

Localizado a 8 Km del pueblo de Tulum, el cenote Calavera gana su nombre debido a 3 colapso que vistos desde abajo al bucear parecen un craneo iluminado. La especialidad de este cenote son los avivamientos de haloclina, el punto de encuentro entre dos agua de diferentes densidades y temperaturas. En este caso se ve el agua salada debajo de la dulce y parece que nos encontramos en el punto de encuentro de dos dimensiones distintas tras separadas como el agua y el aceite. Al mover las agua y mezclarse también la vision se vuelve borrosa, como si requirieras de lentes. Es por eso que es importante ir preparado para no molestarse. Este fenómeno es muy visible en areas abiertas y obscuras, características reunidas por este cenote de la hollines son las bizarras formaciones rocosas que han sido erosionadas por el agua salada, la cuales son muy distintas a las de agua dulce. También se puede apreciar una gran luminosidad en la parte salda ya que el sedimento es claro y dispara la luz a todas direcciones.
Dificultad: Media
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List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving

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Gran Cenote dive & the nearest snorkel Tulum

Gran Cenote dive & the nearest snorkel Tulum

Since 2017 it has closed its doors to diving. Only snorkel is allowed

1 dive

Difficulty: easy

Dive or snorkel

Maximum depth: 10 meters

Features: cave formations, light

Gran cenote is a huge cenote located only 3.5 km from Tulum. Its size, clarity, and beautiful views make it an ideal site for snorkelers and scuba divers. It is part of the largest cave system in the area, Saac Aktun (which includes Casa Cenote and Calavera, and Dos Ojos), and it is one of the most frequently used cave diving entrances.

The cavern area for the dive is a huge space full of ornate cave formations. The beautiful light from the cenote opening can also be seen from this area. These conditions make it an ideal place for scuba divers who are diving caverns (cenotes) for the first time.

The scuba dive we operate here lasts for about 40 min and goes to a maximum depth of 10 m (33 ft). The main viewpoints for this cavern dive are the views of light streaming into the cavern and its beautiful cave formations.

 

 

List of the Cenotes near Tulum

All of these cenotes are part of our guided eco tours both for snorkeling and scuba diving