OVERHEAD DIVING MEXICO
CENOTES OF THE RIVIERA MAYA
Cenotes can be found in very few places in the world, and the ones on the Riviera Maya are some of the most amazing and special ones. Their crystal clear water allows us to visit and explore them, leaving us in awe of the fantastic geological formations that have taken shape through our planet’s eras. Click on to find out more!
Characteristics: Covered Cenote
Maximum Depth: 45ft/ 14m.
Current: Almost none
Level: Experienced diver
Chikin Ha is a mystical cenote, where one can find the Chit Palm, a species in danger of becoming extinct. Diving Chikin Ha and emerging in Rainbow Cenote when there is a Mayan Ceremony taking place in the entrails of Mother Earth fills you with great energy as you keep passing the amazing haloclines, stalagtites, stalagmites and magical rays of light which grace the cenote’s crystal clear water.
Characteristics: Covered Cenote
Maximum Depth: 45ft/ 14m
Current: Almost None
Level: Intermediate divers
The light show you will enjoy when you dive Tajma Ha is a spectacle you will remember for the rest of your life: Amazing points of light cut like lasers into the water and will remain forever etched in your memory!
Characteristics: Covered Cenote
Maximum Depth: 21 ft/ 7m
Current: Almost none
Level: Experienced divers
Dreamgate is without a doubt my favorite cavern and one of the most decorated in the Riviera Maya, and being a cenote with very few points of light entry, one gets the feeling of being in a cave and the tight turns and huge amount of
stalactites and stalagmites will test your buoyancy skills. This cenote is, without a doubt, for experienced divers only.
Characteristics: Bottleneck Cenote
Maximum Depth: 130ft/ 40+m
Current: Almost none
Level: Advanced divers
El Pit might be the area’s most famous cenote, as it is the first cenote divers started exploring and doing cavern dives. Passing through a cloud of sulphuric acid is dreamlike, and floating by ancient tree branches and trunks coming out from the cloud creates a feeling of flying. A 15,000 year Shasta sloth fossil was found in this cenote. An amazing dive indeed!
Characteristics: Covered cenote
Maximum Depth: 25ft/ 8m
Current: Almost none
Level: Experienced divers
Dos Ojos is a very decorated cenote with 2 lines: The Barbie line and the Bat Cave line. Its caverns are chockfull of stalactites and stalagmites never cease to bring wonder to
those who dive it. Its shallow depths challenge your buoyancy skills, which make it even more fun to dive.
Characteristics: Cenote/ Mangrove
Maximum Depth: 21ft/ 7 m.
Current: Moderate but depends on ocean conditions
Level: All divers
Casa Cenote (aka Cenote Manati) is a spectacular site due to the fact that it connects with the ocean, thus the water here
is salty, a difference from other cenotes which are fresh water sites. Because of this, we also see many species of fish- tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) being the largest; but lots of juvenile fish species also make their home here under the mangrove roots as they grow and prepare to go out into the ocean.
Characteristics: Bottleneck cenote
Maximum Depth: 120ft/ 40m
Current: Almost none
Level: Experienced divers
Once you dive Cenote Angelita you will most certainly always want to return. To see and to pass a thick sulphuric acid cloud at 30m (98ft) and emerge among ancient treetops is just a magical and whimsical feeling like you have never experienced. Passing through that white cloud and seeing the bottom clearly, and later ascending through it and seeing the sunshine and jungle at 98ft is a truly wonderful and unequaled experience!
Characteristics: Open cenote
Maximum Depth: 50ft/ 15m
Current: Almost none
Level: All divers
Aktun Ha, (also known as Cenote Carwash, it earned this name because cab drivers used to wash their cars here), offers divers and non divers a unique experience because it is an open cenote. Ideal for snorkeling, full of brightly colored fish and lillypads is also great for divers with its wonderful caverns and cave. Plus, in this particular cenote, your guide has to lay the line everytime he takes a group of divers and this makes the experience feel closer to what it might be like exploring a virgin cenote!
Characteristics: Bottleneck cenote
Maximum Depth: 100ft/30+m
Current: Almost none
Level: Advanced divers with deep dive training
Cenote Zapote (aka Hells Bells) gets its name because of the peculiar shapes of its formations, which very much resemble bells, has been catalogued as “one of the world’s strangest dive sites” presents a challenge when one dives it, due to the fact that the formations start at 30m (98ft). The geological formations at Cenote Zapote are the most beautiful of their kind in this area of the Riviera Maya; and the jungle that surrounds it is home of hundreds of bird species that make this amazing place their home. You can also test your bravery by jumping into the cenote from a 17m (55ft) platform. This is one place you do not want to miss if you love nature and adventure!
Characteristics: Covered cenote
Maximum Depth: 100 ft/30+m
Current: Almost none
Level: Intermediate divers
Kin Ha (Sun Water in Mayan) is a cylindrical shaped covered cenote where we also find bell shaped, pointy stalactites, which form in its crystal clear water. The colors of its walls make for a very calm dive and there are many catfish making this beautiful cenote their home.