Cenotes and Caves in Mexico
Mexico's geology consist out of large Karst areas, or lime stone areas. There are two distinct areas that contain waterfilled caves popular for recreational cave diving in Mexico. Both are located on the Yucatan Peninsula in the State of Quintana Roo and the State of Yucatan. Two further areas of Mexico contain deep caves and are located in the State of Oaxaca and the State Tamaulipas around Tampico.
Cave Conservation
Karst windows are cave collapses where a cave diver can enter into the under ground river system or aquifer. In various countries we can encounter various names for such Karst windows. Springs, Siphons and Sinks are descriptions common to Florida and the U.S. while Cenotes are encountered in Mexico coming from the Mayan word Dzonot, meaning sacred well. Caletas are found in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula where caves are discharging fresh water into the ocean. Ojos de Agua are encountered in the Dominican Republic, Casimba’s are found in Cuba. All are various names for the same technical description of a Karst window. Entrances are described as in-line and off-set sinks and are usually connected to a conduit cave system. Isolated bottle or bell shaped holes are called sinkholes or dolines.
Being a safe cave diver not only means that you can personally exit the cave safely, but it means that you can dive a cave without destroying the cave environment, hence the cave is safe from you. Caves have a unique scientific, scenic and recreational value and these values can be endangered by carelessness and vandalism. Once these values, the beauty and the uniqueness are destroyed they are gone forever, never to be returned or recovered. It is the duty of each cave diver to take personal responsibility in protecting the cave environment underwater and on the surface.
When we choose to enter the cave environment we have to do so with the utmost care. We should leave the cave as we have found it, trying to remove trash and not to disturb flora or fauna at the cave entrance. Formations such as stalactites, stalagmites or other speleothems are easy identified as beautiful but roots, rocks, sediments, silt mounts and fauna or bacteria colonies may not identifies easy as beauty of the cave but it is the combined picture out of all that makes the face of the cave. Alter one and the face of the cave is changing forever.
The very water that flows through the caves and creates the wonderlands can destroy it due to human impact on the surface. Caves are drainage areas of large surface areas. If humans pollute the surface water is will show up in the underground rivers and travel for miles and miles while on the way pollute the very ground we live on. Water is the essence of life and while polluting one end of the area can affect us severely on the other end, without even seeing it but through the water that flows underground. The protection of caves starts on the surface and while protecting our caves on the surface we protecting our sources of fresh drinking water. Don’t hesitate to collect trash even if it does not belong to you, prevent ground water contamination.
Make sure that your diving skills match the fragility of the cave and avoid being “an elephant in a china shop”. Leave only bubbles, take only pictures and kill only time is the attitude we should keep in mind when visiting the cave environment.
Quintana Roo Cenotes
The most famous underwater caves are located here in the Riviera Maya stretching from Playa del Carmen through Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and on to the Tulum area.
The Cenotes and cave systems of Chak Mool, Eden / Ponderosa, Taj Mahal, Dos Ojos, Nohoch Nachich, Grand Cenote, Temple of Doom, Carwash, Naharon and Maya Blue are just a few examples of very popular Cenotes and cave systems. Other cave systems less visited are Naval, Abejas, Caracol, Xibablba, Minotauro and 27 steps to name just a few.
Unknown to most cave divers lies the island of Cozumel with some large underwater caves such as Aereolito.
Access to the cave entrances can only be described as easy and most of the time only a short walk is nececary to get into the water. Water temperature is 24 C / 78 F year around with very good visability of around 130 feet / 40 meters plus. Minimal water flow is to be expected with some areas of no water flow at all.
A halocline, the horizontal mixing zone of fresh and salt water is at around 38 feet / 12 meters depth, depending of the cave system. Cave entrances close to the ocean and in the calettas, the discharging area of the cave systems, the halocline is encountered at a much shallower depth.
The caves are filled with a very fine silt that can be easily stirred up and will stay in suspension for quite a time. Geology is very stable with very few cave collapses.
Carwash or Aktun Ha - is no longer used for washing taxi cars. The local name Aktun Ha means water cave in the Mayan language. Carwash is located 8 km west of Tulum on the road to Coba. Opening hours are 8 am - 5 pm every day of the week. There are bathrooms but no restaurant. The distance from gear up area to the water is about 10 meters. Gear assembly tables are available.
Most of the cave system is fresh water, the salt water begins at 21m / 70 ft. The cave is highly decorated in various rooms and several different passageways upstream and downstream. Maximum depth is 27 m / 90 ft with over 3030 m / 10,000 ft of permanent guideline installed.
Best dives are the room of tears, Adrianas room, the cell block, the white room, chambers of the ancients, Satans silthole, the basement and the drain.
Grand Cenote - the name says it all, a truely grand cenote. This cenote is part of the systema Sac Actun which means white cave in the Mayan language. Grand Cenote is 4 km west of Tulum on the road to Coba. Opening hours are 8 am to 5 pm every day of the week. Bathrooms are avaylable, a restaurant has been built but is not in operation yet. The distance from gear up area is about 50 meters with staircase along the way. Gear assembly tables are available.
The whole cave is fresh water and is considered one of the best caves in the entire area. Highly decorated and white in color every where you go. Downstream is rather small but upstream features large tunnels and rooms. Maximum depth is 12 m / 40 ft or less. Impressive cave. Due to exploratory efforts a number of caves have been connected to the overall permanent installed line in system of 79,617 m / 261,211 ft.
Best dives are the Cuza Nah loop, paso de Lagartos tunnel, Calimba cenote traverse, Bosh Chen traverse and circuit.
Temple of Doom or Calavera - the original name is Cenote Esqueleto but somehow ended up as being known as Calavera. Located 2 km west out of Tulum on the road to Coba. Opening hours 8 am to 5 pm every day of the week. No bathrooms and no restaurant. No gear up tables. Walk from gear up area to entrance about 120 meters.
Halocline is present during most dives with white ambiance with cristal clear blue salt water. Several large rooms and a variety of passageways wih cave formations located in several areas. Upstream and downstream passages with max depth of 19 m / 63 ft. Permanent line installed in the cave system is 6060 m / 20,000 ft.
Best dives are the Madonna passage, the hall of giant rooms, the fang room, the Coliseum room and the tannic domes circuit.
Dos Ojos - for the two entrances or eyes (Ojos in Spanish). Located between Akumal and Tulum, just south of Xel Ha and about 48 km south of Playa del Carmen on the highway 307. From the highway a dirt road leads 4 km west to the actual cave entrance and cenotes. Opening hours 8 am - 6 pm every day of the week. On the way to the main entrance of Dos Ojos several entrances are passed such as high voltage, monolito and dos palmas. Bathrooms are available at the main entrance. plenty of gear up tables are available. Walk to the water about 60 meters with stairs along the way. Small food stall is selling refreshment drinks and chips.
A variety of cave dives upstream or downstream can be completed in this massive cave system passing several cenotes on the way. Depth is 12 m / 40 ft with max depth in the Pit 119 m / 391 ft. Permanent guideline installed in the system 56,803 m / 175,870 ft.
Best dives are the downstream traverse to the river run and upstream to the IMAX line where the movie 'Journey into Amazing Caves' and part of the movie 'The Cave' was shot.
Taj Mahal - for the splendor to be seen below the surface. Located 28 km south of Playa del Carmen, just 5 km south of Puerto Aventuras. Opening hours 10 am - 8 pm every day of the week. Bathrooms are available at the site with a restaurant located at the entrance to the property. Gear up tables available with 50 meters to the water and stairs along the way.
Cave dives downstream and upstream with max depth of 18 m / 60 ft. Total installed permanent guideline in the system 5,361 m / 17,587 ft.
Best dives are into the Jumma river, cenote buena vista, room of cheers, cenote sagrado, city of Agre room, cenote Nachich and the Chinese garden.
Eden or Ponderosa - located 3 km south of Puerto Aventuras. Opening hours 8 am - 5 pm Sunday - Friday. Saturdays closed. Bathrooms are available on site as well as gear up tables. No restaurant on site. Shaded rest areas with chairs and tables. Distance to the water from gear up area 25 meters with stairs along the way.
Cave dives upstream or downstream with max depth of 15 m / 50 ft. Permanent guideline installed in the system 15,019 m / 49,274 ft.
Best dives to a variety of close by cenotes such as little Joe, Agua Azul, Crystalino, Chiken ha and Kantun Chi as well as the river run passages and the Chapel room
Chak Mool or Jaguar Cave - located just south of Puerto Aventuras to the west some 22 kn south of Playa del Carmen with opening hours 10 am - 5 pm every day of the week. One bathroom available at cenote with restaurant Anita available at property entrance. Plenty of gear up tables available with about 30 meters to the water with stairs along the way.
Most dives will be within the halocline at 10 m / 33 ft. with a max depth of 30 m / 100 ft. Overall installed permanent guideline in this cave system 9,193 m / 30,160 ft.
Best dives upstream beyond cavern zone into Chandelier room and ll the way to Pakal cenote. Downstream to the Cauc Na (Monster House), the worlds largest underwater flowstone Xix Ha Tunich.
Yucatan Cenotes
The caves of the central Yucatan are somewhat off the beaten path and track, the road less traveled so to speak. Besides small cave systems the Cenotes contain mostly deep sinkholes. Kankirixche, Chacdzinikche, Dzonot Ila and Sabak Ha are good examples of deep cave systems.
Access to the caves of the Yucatan can be described as mostly difficult as rope, rapel and abseil techniques have to be used to enter, and especially leave the water. The groung to water level drop can be as much as 50 feet / 15 meters. A good surface suport crew is importand to get gear in and out of the water.
Water temperature is around 26 C / 84 F year around with visability in excess of 130 feet / 40 meters. Almost no water flow is present and the halocline can be as deep as 200 feet / 60 meters.
The geology is very stable with almost no cave collapses. The silt found in the central Yucatan caves is larger in grain as in the coastal caves and does fall out of suspension rather fast.
Little guide to Cenotes of the State of Yucatan - Mexico. A trip to Merida, the central Yucatan and the surrounding Cenotes
The ”Asociacion Yucateca de Espeleobuceo” was formed 1996 to explore and conserve the many submerged caves and Cenotes in the state of Yucatan, not to be mistaken for the Peninsula of Yucatan which holds the State of Quintana Roo (Q.Roo) in the east and the State of Yucatan in the west of the Peninsula. The society was holding in November 1998 its third annual international convention in Merida where Cave divers from various countries hold a meeting and work shop for a long week end, usually during the end of each year to exchange information and data about newly explored caves and Cenotes including other research data concerning submerged caves. Merida is about 350 kilometers away from Tulum in the state of Q. Roo and can be reached easy by rental car or bus via the highway that is connecting Cancun and Merida. The department of ecology has a list with the location data of over 680 Cenotes suitable for tourism and more then 1650 Cenotes altogether. Less then 10% of these Cenotes have been visited and explored by divers.
The president of the Yucatan Speleological society was Fernando Rosado who conducted the first exploration dive in a Cenote in the Merida area in 1975. The two gentlemen we were doing most exploration with were Agustin Garcia, the vice president of the Yucatan Speleology society, and Roberto Hashimoto, a member of the same society. Notable is the fact that these two friends are the only two Mexican nationals trained in Cave Diving who live in the vicinity of Merida, State of Yucatan. Later we learned that local untrained ” guides ” take tourists diving into the deep cave systems without any training whatsoever, and this concerned us once we experienced these, mostly deep cave systems.
Currently the Speleological society is stepping up efforts to train the members as cavern and intro to cave divers. The Governor of Yucatan provided funds to buy the necessary cave diving equipment in an effort to help to train safe cave divers and to promote the Cenotes for interested cave divers visiting Mexico.
We (Daniel Dens, Sam Meacham, Andreas W. Matthes) really did not know what to expect when we went the first time to Merida but we had heard that everything was going to be deep. Our goal was to go and explore the opportunities while establishing contact with the speleological society and to plan future trips into the region to help on the exploration and mapping of the underwater cave systems. The discussion about the comparisons of caves and cave diving, commercial interests and safety issues around Merida, and the Riviera Maya (Tulum / Playa) corridor took a great deal of time during our first visits. It was such a contrast to compare the cave systems in Quintana Roo with many familiar names that are so close together, with the virtually hundreds of unexplored Cenotes of the state of Yucatan who are waiting to be discovered.
Heneken and the Haciendas
In wide areas around Merida, where hundreds of acres of land are full of the Algarve plants which are grown to produce the material for the ropes who where once used around the world for sail ships and transport, and were made out of this natural fiber. The ruins of old haciendas, huge estates, are to be seen in almost every village across the country side. These remains, around 100-150 years old and out of colonial times look very beautiful, picturesque and romantic, but yet remind you on to the hardship of the local population who harvested and cultivated the vast plantations and haciendas. Ones rich beyond believe, these ruins today are only a fragment what the natural fiber Heneken and it’s industry once have been before ropes were made out of synthetic fibers.
The trip out to the Cenote Chacsinicche, who involves a ride on one of these old horse powered mini railroad trains, through plantations that stretch for hours, this ride provided the time for me to reflect on my thoughts about the people who live here in the center of the Yucatan peninsula. Only a few Heneken factories are still producing, since the price for Heneken is very low but the production is very labor intensive and under the same conditions then at the time of the industrial revolution. A trip to the Cenotes around Merida is a travel back in time when steam machines where powering noisy machinery.
The Cave System’s
Cenote Chacsinicche
The Cenote called Chacsinicche, in english ”the tree of the red ants” is located about 10 kilometers away from the little town of Homun, 65 kilometers to the south east of Merida. The first exploration dive was done in may 1980 when the well was found, a year later Fernando Rosado and Michael Dutton returned with the club de Espeleobuceo Yucatan to explore the circuit. These dives were done without any training or experienced in cave diving and with the most basic equipment. Single tanks, no BCD’s, and surface supplied sealed beam lights.
The Cenote itself is nothing more than a small crack in the ground on the surface but it opens up below ground level to a dome like chamber. The chamber is about 180 feet in diameter and 60 feet in height from the water level to the ceiling. The water is crystal clear and cobalt blue with a light beam piercing into the water through the hole in the ceiling, what a spectacular sight. Support personnel is lowering equipment down into the water and a aluminum ladder we brought along was used to make our entry into the water easier.
Descending into the large pool of clear water, the oldest known passage is called the well, due south and leading down on a steep slope where the line ends at a depth of 200 feet in clear freshwater. At about 130 feet of water in the well there is a larger room with a collapsed ceiling, Chupa Cabras point, after the breakdown the passage opens up and is leading into a low wide and still unexplored side mount passage at about 90 feet of water (Daniel Dens and Andreas W. Matthes in July 1997). Out of the breakdown room are leading two passages down into the lower cave level, the Japo's dream passages and the nightmare chamber (Roberto Hashimoto, Agustin Garcia July / august 1997) where the maximum depth reached was 240 feet, the halocline was found at a depth of 235 feet (Andreas W. Matthes October 1997). The big bore hole like tunnel at a average depth of around 180 feet is around 70-80 feet wide and 20-25 feet high, the whole lower cave level has old dark brown clay banks on the floor.
Chacsinicche is a multi layered cave system with distinct levels at 90 feet, 130 feet, and the deepest to about 220-240 feet. In the northern part of the cave system the main tunnel, the invisible passage (Roberto Hashimoto, Agustin Garcia June 1997) consists of a white huge archway passage about 60-70 feet wide and about 50-60 feet high with dark brown clay banks on the floor. The floor depth here is between 145 and 130 feet. We did not find any speleotherms in either passage and there seems to be no flow in the entire cave system but the water still remained extremely clear. This cave system represents the biggest cave system in the Merida area with around 2000 feet of explored passage.
Cenote Papakal
A little outside the village of Eknakan, in Maya ”a place on stars ” and about 45 kilometer to the south east of Merida lays the Cenote Papakal. This cave system was first explored by a French team 1989. Reached over a dirt road while passing a old hacienda the visiting diver is walking into a big dry underground chamber, around 500 feet long, 200 feet wide and a floor to ceiling height of around 80 feet. While stepping down toward the clear water pool in the dark end of that huge room big and white stalactites and stalagmites can be seen.
While descending into the crystal clear water and following the sloping calcite mount the dive leads into a big passage, about 30 feet wide and 12 feet floor to ceiling height with a maximum depth of around 120 feet. At a penetration distance of around 400 feet the passage is splitting up, to the south into a dead end chamber and to the north into a small side passage (Pitkin October 1997). A second but smaller main passage has been discovered which is leading out of the entrance cavern to the north (Roberto Hashimoto, Agustin Garcia November 1997). The explored part of the cave consists of around 800 feet of surveyed submerged cave passage.
Cenote Santa Barbara
This Cenote is located outside the village of Homun, around 65 kilometers to the south east of Merida and named after the ranch where this Cenote is located on. The water level to ground level drop is around 60 feet with no access other then lowering the gear down and the rappel into the water. About 120 meters away from Santa Barbara is a second Cenote with the same dimensions and remains still unexplored.
Santa Barbara appears to be a sinkhole with a maximum depth of around 120 feet, to the west a fork like passage is leading of from around 70 feet into shallower water, up to around 20 feet were the limestone is changing color from a dark brown to white. In the ending chambers, around 15 feet in diameter are quite a few blind cave fish. To the east a horizontal cave passage is leading of at a depth around 90-115 feet, with possible leads still unexplored (Andrew Pitkin, Agustin Garcia, Andreas W. Matthes march 1998).
This Cenote represents a good example of the logistical problems encountered in the state of Yucatan. Remote Cenotes, bad roads and the need to lower the gear down by ropes and to rappel down into the water.
Cenote X’anil-Ha
Around 50 kilometers to the south of Merida and close to the Kankirixche Cenote lays Cenote X’anil-ha. The water level can be reached easy while walking through a little dry cave and into a circular water pool around 100 feet in diameter. This little cave system is consisting out of two distinct levels, the shallower at around 35-40 feet leading into a low and wide passage barely passable with side mount gear and a massive clay floor, making visibility challenging. The full extend of this side mount passage is not explored yet. The deeper cave level is reached through two little passages into a huge dome with a maximum depth of around 130 feet, crystal clear water, no detectable flow and a length of about 250 feet, a width of around 100 feet and a floor to ceiling height of around 70 feet (Sam Meacham, Andreas W. Matthes October 1997).
Cenote Santa Maria
This Cenote is located around 12 kilometers away from the ocean, 65 kilometers to the north of Merida and close to the fisherman village Celestun at the gulf of Mexico. A huge sinkhole with the water level even with ground level which makes entry into the water very easy. Recently the municipality of Celestun built here a water pump station to supply the village of Celestun .
First explored by a team from Poland 1985 to a depth of 60-70 feet, (Agustin Garcia and Enrique Soberanis 1986 to a depth of 180 feet), (Agustin Garcia, Steve Gerard, Pablo Diaz 1996 to a depth of 200 feet). On the surface divers will find usually a strong algae bloom due to the fact of no tree and shade cover over the water. Crocodiles have been seen frequently in here along with big freshwater turtles.
At a depth of 90-100 feet divers will find a weak hydrogen sulfide layer, out of the H2s layer are sticking trees that have been falling into the Cenote in the past and are laying on top of the large Tallus cone. Toward the east is a huge cavern that has not been explored to the full extend. Maximum depth at this part of the sinkhole is 220 feet, the ceiling of that cavern is around 150 feet. The size of that cavern is so enormous that even the strongest lights cannot reach the far walls. Due to the depth exploration time is followed by a heavy decompression penalty.
Toward the west we have found a small cave passage leading off into uncharted territory, unexplored yet at a depth of 230-240 feet (Andrew Pitkin, Andreas W. Matthes March 1998). Dr. Thomas Illiffe from the University of Galveston, Texas and his student Brad were collecting specimen of cave Crustaceans when Brad reported after the dive a deep cave passage to the east at 220 feet, yet unexplored. Visibility below the H2s layer is good with 150-180 feet, there seems to be no water exchange in that Sinkhole since the percolation particles from the last day of diving could still be seen suspended the next day.
Cenote Kankirixche
Located about 60 kilometers away from Merida toward the south, this Cenote has a ground level to water level drop of 50 feet on a sloping break down were no rappelling gear is needed. The first dives in here were conducted by Marco Sarco 1988 who dove in the open water area. First exploration dives were conducted by the Yucatan speleological society under the lead from Agustin Garcia in February 1998.
The cavern area of this cave system is one of the biggest I have ever seen. The depth ranges from 15 feet to 160 feet and it is almost circular with a diameter of approximately 350-400 feet. A huge light shaft is falling through the big entrance into this giant submerged underground room filled with crystal clear water. What a sight. On the flat ceiling of that cavern are lots of stalactites, the outline of that cavern makes it ideal for cavern divers.
In the south west corner of the cavern we discovered a cave passage at 165- 175 feet of water (Agustin Garcia, Andreas w. Matthes march 1998). Passing through a little bedding plane the passage is leading into a bigger bore hole like passage almost blocked by a breakdown. Passing through a restriction the diver will find him or herself in a big room, about 300 feet long and 150 feet wide with a floor to ceiling height of around 60 feet. Out of this room are leading various unexplored passages. There seems to be no flow in the whole cave system but water remains extremely clear. The floor is covered with light brown heavy silt.
In this cave system we have seen for the first time a blind, white and eye less eel who was about 3 inches long. This creature we have not seen before in any other Cenote in the whole area. Due to the depth involved the exploration is followed by extended decompression.
Cenote Bolonchohol
Located 40-45 kilometers to the south east of Merida and around 5 kilometers away from Chacsiniksche lays Cenote Bolonchohol. This cave system was first explored by Fernando Rosado and the club de Espeleobuceo Yucatan in 1988 and is featured in the Italian documentary film ” Aguas Sagradas ”.
This Cenote is being used commercially the most together with Chacsiniksche for the local ” guides ” to take visiting divers into the cave passages. With a huge dry underground chamber, into which a diver has to climb down on a ladder made out of old truck rail road rails one is reaching the water level where the ceiling it is about 40 feet high. The diameter of that chamber is about 50 feet in diameter. In this beautiful under ground chamber lays a big crystal clear lake filled with cobalt blue water. When the sun light is shining through the hole in the ceiling it creates a spectacular and colorful sight.
Descending along the slope of the brake down that forms a little island in the middle of the underground lake the diver reaches into a passage with about 86 feet depth and after passing through a restriction into a wide but not to extensive cave passage that is about 70 feet long and 25 feet wide with a height of 8-12 feet and a maximum depth of 120 feet . This little cave system is believed to be fully explored.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to e-mail me