CENOTES

They’re beautiful, but full of both mystery and magic at the same time; cenotes are the most beautiful jewels of Yucatan peninsula. Shelted by the jungle, swimming in a cenote is an adventure you will not want to miss on your vacations in Cancún, Riviera Maya or Tulum.

And you may ask “What are cenotes and why are they that magic and mysterious?” Let us tell you.

¿WHAT ARE CENOTES?

Cenotes are deep waterholes that feed on rain filtration and river flowing from the hearth of the earth. That’s why you feel so much freshness shile swimming in a cenote, the average temperature of their water doesn’t even surpass 75ºF!

These waterholes owe their names to mayans who named them with the word Dz’onot, wich means “cavern with water”. Later it ended up tuning into their current name: cenotes

TYPES OF CENOTES

Just like people, cenotes have different ages. Wether you are in Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Yucatan, it doesn’t matter, you will never fin two identical ones, even if they’ve got the same age!

According to their age, cenotes are clasificated as:

Cavern cenotes

These are the youngest and most enigmatic ones since their water mirror is located inside of a cavern; this is why mayans used to choose this places as scenario for their rituals.
The color of the water may vary from emerald green to strong blue, but this differences can only be appreciated when the sunlight enters through the slits and holes on the doom-like roof.
This type of cenotes are ideal for adventure activities since some of them are located many miles underground.
Go down in assisted abseiling into the turquoise of the cenote Tierra Lu’um with the Tour Xenotes.

Half-open cenotes

This type of cenotes are middle-aged since even though they are not old enough to get completely exposed, a chunk of them has been already shown outdoor.
This cenotes might be connected one with each other. Some of them are that clear that you can admire their flora and fauna underwater. They’re the ideal place in Cancun and Riviera Maya for you to relax in middle-nature.
Tour Xenotes brings you to the cenote Há, where you will see beautiful underwater gardens and will be able to row on kayak through their high walls.

Open cenotes

These are the oldest cenotes since with the flow of time (this is, millions of years), the celining that used to cover them ended up falling off, letting them shown outdoor.

Open cenotes stand out for their natural beauty. Usually, their walls are upholsted by plants and flowers, wich clothe the rocks with several green, red and orange tones. Great variety of birds and butterflies live in there.

One of the most famous is Chichen Itzá’s Sacred Cenote. Thanks to archaeological diving, prehispanic offerings and pieces were found inside.

Old cenotes

They’ve got millions of years of existence. The celiling that covered them falls over and they end up completely exposed. They’re similar to a lagoon since they have no rock formations in the upper part.

They were an important water source for mayans, they’re true oasis in the middle of the mayan jungle.

They’re ideal for enjoying the nature with fun activities.