Mexico – Riviera Maya Cenotes

Under the jungle of Quintana Roo lie the longest mapped underwater caves on Earth – Ox Bel Ha and Sac Actun – and their sinkhole entrances, the cenotes, are some of the most famous freshwater dives anywhere. Along Highway 307 between Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Akumal and Tulum, and on the road towards Cobá, dozens of cenotes are open to divers: crystal-clear fresh water over a shimmering halocline, sunbeams falling through the openings, stalactite-decorated caverns and, in the deep shafts, a ghostly hydrogen-sulphide cloud. Open-water divers can visit the daylight (cavern) zone on a guided tour with a cave-qualified guide; everything beyond the light needs full cave training. Each cenote belongs to a landowner or ejido that charges an entrance fee on the day.

Dive sites

• Car Wash (Aktun Ha)
• Casa Cenote
• Cenote Angelita
• Cenote Calavera (Temple of Doom)
• Cenote Cristal (Naharon)
• Cenote Kin Ha
• Cenote Maravilla
• Cenote Siete Bocas
• Cenote Zapote (Hells Bells)
• Chac Mool
• Chan Hol
• Chikin Ha
• Dos Ojos
• Dreamgate
• Gran Cenote
• Kaan Luum
• Kukulkan (Little Brother)
• Mayan Blue (Cenote Escondido)
• Nicte-Ha
• Nohoch Nah Chich
• Ponderosa / Jardín del Edén
• Taj Mahal (Tajma Ha)
• Tak Be Ha
• The Pit (El Pit)