The Mayan cenotes are the blue eyes of the many-eyed Yucatan. Check out our selection and visit it yourself!
Mayan cenotes: what is it
If you zoom in on the map of Yucatan, you will see many blue circles - these are all cenotes, sinkholes filled with incredibly clear and clear water! And what color this water has ...
Cenotes are open, like a pool, and closed - in the form of a cave, where light enters from the hole from above. It is always quiet in such caves, only bats squeak, and fish silently swim in the cool water. Cenotes can be very deep, sometimes a network of underground caves. In some you can go diving if you have a certificate.
Now cenotes are entertainment for locals and tourists, and earlier the Mayans took fresh water from there and sometimes made bloody sacrifices. I will say this: it is a little uncomfortable to swim in the funnel, knowing that its depth is tens of meters. You never know what Cthulhu lives there! However, I advise everyone to plunge. Water makes the skin softer and perfectly refreshes in the heat.
If you are not able or afraid to swim, hold on to the rope - it is stretched in all cenotes. You can also rent a life jacket almost everywhere.
Cenote Zaci
It is the best in my cenote rating because it was my first cenote. It is beautiful, quiet and cool. I don't want to leave. However, I was amazed not so much by the natural education as by how the Mexicans correctly preserved and arranged everything. Envy!
Zaci is located right in the center of Valladolid. That's how easy it is! Can you imagine this in Russia? In the middle of the city there is a karst hole filled with amazingly clear and cold water, where fish swim and local residents relax with their families. A paradise shady oasis in the middle of a hot city for only 30 pesos.
There are a lot of people, but no one interferes or makes noise. There are changing rooms, steps and benches. Those who love extreme sports can jump from special platforms into the water.
I also liked the Zasi cenote because it is half-open: there is a lot of fresh air, unlike cave cenotes, it is light and does not smell of bat droppings.
Cenote Kankirixche
Kankirishche is a charming closed type cenote. Perhaps the most beautiful cenote in Yucatan! I have not seen such water and such overflows of colors anywhere else. And if someone jumped into a cenote, then a wide rainbow flew in the spray ...
You will visit a large cave with a diameter of 90 meters and a depth of up to 50. The entrance costs 60 pesos per person. There is parking, vest rental, toilets. To get to the cenote, you need to leave the asphalt road and drive about 2 km on a rolled dirt road. Any car can handle the road. Coordinates: 20.6371791, -89.6326118.
This cenote took only second place in my rating, but the editor-in-chief of our site decisively puts it at the top of his personal list. Let's see why he considers this cenote to be the best in the Yucatan. I give him the floor.
author: “Cenote Kankirishche won my heart, took it immediately and without a fight. Among all the cenotes of Mexico, I most wanted to visit it from the very minute I found a unique report of Russian tourists who had visited there somewhere in the very depths of the Internet. it was disappointing that over the past few years the cenote has turned from completely wild into quite famous, albeit in very narrow circles of local and European tourists. I hoped to swim there alone, but other tourists and the civilization of the cenote did not spoil the experience at all. The cenote is unrealistically beautiful! business is amazed by the glare of midday light, making its way through the through hole at the top, reflecting from the water and playing magical overflows on the walls and roof of the cave.The water is crystal clear, especially in the rays of the incident light - it can be seen tens of meters deep. at once dived under the water as deeply as he had enough strength to get enough of the indescribable beauty of underwater paze in this short moment as much as a fabulous cenote. But it is simply impossible to be satiated, and even more so to satiety! This beauty is inexhaustible. Be sure to visit Kankirishche - such places and moments will be remembered for a lifetime. "
Cenote of Samula
Samula is a very chamber closed cenote with amazing acoustics. Here you can hold concerts of classical music! We went down the stairs, and a stunning view opened up to us: a huge cave with azure water, tree roots hanging on a tiny island and a dim ray of light cutting through the twilight. And an extraordinary silence - we were almost alone. So they froze, groaning in amazement.
Can they be called Samulu the best cenote in the Yucatan? This is subjective, but yes, one of the - for sure. In general, I liked all the Mayan cenotes, which were closed and semi-closed.
It is comfortable to swim in a cenote - it is spacious, there are ropes. It is forbidden to swim in and out of the island only.
Also, at the entrance or exit from Samul, pay attention to the path. It is paved with stone and beautiful images of the moon, sun, Indians, jaguars, etc.
The lucky ones in the video below also swam in the Samul cenote alone. See how the cave looks from the inside:
Cenote Shkeken (X-Keken)
This is probably the darkest cenote in Yucatan! Okay, the darkest we've ever been. Only a narrow ray of light breaks through the middle of the cave. The cenote is quite chambered and there is not much space for swimming. Stuffy, humid, dark and somehow uncomfortable. It smells strongly of bats, it's hard to breathe, because of this we didn't stay for a long time.
But in the cave there are beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and all kinds of growths in general. The entrance is guarded by a giant stalagnate resembling a citron - the hand of the Buddha. It forms a romantic, closed cove, where couples usually hang out. Probably, small children will be comfortable there too.
Ticket office Cenotes Shkeken and Samula alone - next to a huge parking lot. Parking is free, but Mexicans persistently ask for tips - and not only at the entrance, they are so arrogant! We gave 10 pesos to get behind. It is more profitable to buy a ticket for two cenotes at once for 125 pesos, because one by one - 80 pesos. After the ticket office, the roads diverge. The path to the cenotes lies through endless shopping arcades. There will be changing rooms and toilets along the way. We have not seen the boxes where you can leave things.
Come to the opening or closing time to enjoy your swim alone.
Cenote Ik Kil
This cenote is very picturesque: a huge open funnel with blue-blue water, where the roots of plants descend with long curly threads. Music plays quietly, creating a mystical atmosphere. It could be called the most beautiful cenote of Yucatan if it were not for the crowds of tourists brought here by buses. It spoils everything.
We arrived in Ik-Kil for the opening - at 9:00. There was no one yet, but after 10-15 minutes the first bus arrived. So if you want to swim alone, come to the discovery.
The territory is ennobled: a huge parking lot, toilets and changing rooms, showers, cafes, shops, benches. A wide staircase leads to the cenote, along the road there is an observation deck.
It is imperative to wash in the shower before swimming - otherwise they will not be allowed. Do not swim with cosmetics, deodorant and sunscreen applied.
