Cenotes are unique underwater environments here in the Yucatan peninsula with fresh and salt water layers and stunning visibilities.
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A cenote is an interesting geological environment which happen to be quite numerous around the coast of the Riviera Maya, in between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, Mexico. The Yucatan peninsula is mainly formed out of porous limestone. Rainfall during millions of years has created huge systems of caverns and caves. Today, many of the caves got filled with water, creating stunning underwater tunnels filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Many roofs of the caves have been collapsed in the years, forming a sinkhole or natural cavity which nowadays serves as an entrance to the cave. It are these sinkholes or fresh water pools that have been named dzonot (sacred well) in Mayan and translated to Cenotes. The Maya used these underground river systems as their main source of fresh water.
Some of the cenotes worth visiting are Aktun Ha (Carwash), Angelita (Angel), Chak-Mool (Jaguar Cave), Dos Ojos (Two Eyes), Gran Cenote, Ponderosa (El Eden) and Taj Mahal. In the cenote Calavera or Temple of Doom you have to make a three meter high jump to enter the cenote. There are other cenotes throughout Yucatan, not all suitable for diving. The most famous one near Chitzen Itza cannot be dived. Many cenotes are located half in fresh and half in salt water, creating a strange feature called a halocline. This halocline is a murky layer between the two different types of water, often also called thermocline, since you move from the cold fresh water to the warmer salt water. The visibility is always stunning, most of the time over 40 meter, with impressive cave formations and chambers as you have probably seen them before in your life on the surface, but now while scuba diving.
Divers without properly trained cave certification should never try to explore the cenotes in depth. Always keep the natural sunlight in sight. Bring a flashlight since many caverns might be carved. There should always be someone who is a certified cave diver to accompany you.
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Scuba diving at the Riviera Maya means triple fun at three dive destinations. On the one hand you find here the second largest barrier reef in the world ... scuba diving at the Meso-American reef, on the other hand there is the fantastic world of cavern scuba diving in the mystic and holy Mayan waters ... scuba diving in Cenotes and last but not least, one of the 10 most amazing dive sites in the world ... scuba diving in Cozumel island. All this and many more you can experience in and around the Riviera Maya.
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