Mayan Cenotes
Do you know what a cenote is? We'll tell you!
Cenotes are giant pools of water underground. This water, filtered from rivers and streams, is fresh and full of life.
Diving in a cenote is a unique experience, especially if you go with experts who guide you through the best underwater spots.
Life underwater in a cenote is completely different from that of our beautiful Caribbean Sea, but don't be fooled! It is full of colors, plays of light, animals and plants to discover... Are you going to miss it?
Which Yucatán cenote will you start with?
Do you want to know more about cenotes?
We'll tell you everything!
Cenotes were very important in Mayan culture, as they represented the doors or the path to the underworld, where gods, ancestors and powerful beings lived.
In the cenotes, rituals were held to contact and speak with the gods, with offerings in exchange for feats that only they could accomplish, such as the ritual of Chaac, the god of rain.
The word cenote comes from the Mayan word “tz'onot” and literally means water cavern.
Today there are three main types of cenote: open, closed and a mix of the two.
Closed cenotes
Closed cenotes are the youngest of the three types, as they still have their roof and are considered to be inside a cave.
There is no visibility in these cenotes, but in order to open them to the world and teach people to take care of them, spotlights and lights are installed with great care, inviting people to visit them and be part of this magnificent experience.
Open cenotes
Open cenotes are usually easy to recognize, as they are formed when their "roof" collapses, leaving a pit, usually with round walls, filled with water and reflections of the sun that are very characteristic of this type of cenote.
There is another type of open cenote, a little harder to recognize, since they could pass for lagoons or small lakes, but their nature is the same as that of all cenotes. This second type of cenote is usually surrounded by nature, as in the case of Cenote Manatí, giving us all a spectacle of nature in all its splendor
Semi-open cenotes
This last type of cenote could be described as a mix of the previous two. The cave where the cenote lay has had a partial roof collapse, letting light in without uncovering it completely.