Cenotes of Yucatán: Sacred Portals to the Maya Paradise
Written by Lydia Jones
Swimming in the wild lifts your spirits and connects you with nature. Swimming in a cenote gives you even more. It stirs your soul and connects you with the ancient Maya.
The cenotes of Yucatán are entries to the Maya underworld. Dare to enter and get lost in another time and dimension, particularly if you dive.
Cenotes are a Yucatán specialty, and there are thousands of them. So how to choose one of them? Well, it depends what you want to experience. Is it rappelling? Cavern diving? Snorkelling? Jumping from a tall tower or a cliff? Zip-lining? Slack-lining? Just swimming? Some cenotes even offer kayaking.
What are cenotes?
A cenote [say-no-tay] is a cave or natural sinkhole Rainwater flows underground through a network of caves, eventually reaching the sea. It has eroded the flat limestone of Yucatán and carved out the caves. What also 'helped' their creation was the meteorite that fell in the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago. It not only ended the era of the dinosaurs, but created an enormous crater and cracked the bedrock, allowing rainwater to seep into the caves through the cracks.
The ancient magic
The ancient Maya believed that the cenotes were entrances to the Underworld. When their king died, he 'travelled' to the waters of the cenote. Here he defeated the wicked lords of the Underworld and then travelled up to the Upperworld (heaven). So cenotes tell a story of reincarnation and the journey to paradise. Here the Maya held fire ceremonies and cave rituals to evoke their gods. Offerings such as copal, pine sap, myrrh, frankincense, anise, sesame seeds (which crackle in a fire), flower petals, corn meal, sugar, cacao beans, and ritual alcohol (pox) were made to Chaac, the rain god, who dwelt in cenotes. You can sense that sacred power even today. Maybe it is the mineral-rich water that refreshes you, so you feel younger and 'reborn'. Maybe it is the jungle that creates the feeling of magic. Maybe it is the light that penetrates through the holes in the ceilings, making the cenotes look like underground cathedrals.
For mixed activities
If you are a mixed company and some of you want to swim and others dive, go to the open cenote El Jardín del Eden (get directions). Each of you can have a different experience: swimming, snorkelling, jumping from a cliff and diving. It is commonly called Ponderosa, which is in fact the name of the cave system, where divers swim along a very long curtain of light watching fossils, stalactites and mangroves. For rappelling, zip-lining and slack-lining try the large cave cenote Maya.
For a Maya ritual
If you want to experience swimming or diving but want to combine it with a Maya ceremony and a temazcal cleansing ritual, go to Dos Palmas (get directions). Temazcal is a sweat bath and as we all know, sweating has long been used as a therapy. The ancient Maya used it for healing and relaxing. The cleansing takes place in a circular dome filled with burning hot rocks. And the shaman's ritual prepares you to harmonise your inner energy with cosmic influences. This is a very powerful physical and mental experience.
For a cathedral experience
Definitely Hubiku (get directions). Hubiku means 'Great Lord' and also 'Iguana's nest'. Both names are fitting. The jungle gardens with traditional Maya houses are full of iguanas. And the place is as majestic as it gets, a real cathedral of a 'great lord'. The Maya houses are not just for display; this is the real home of a Maya community. Furthermore, it is one the most elegant jungle parks around. Other advantages include a House of Tequila (for tasting) and a very good buffet lunch in the restaurant. The cenote itself is in a cave but it is semi-open. A ray of light from the hole in the ceiling penetrates the crystal-clear water from above and it is very photogenic because of the hanging tree roots.
For halocline
This option is for advanced divers who want to experience the special effect called halocline. For this you can try the cenote Angelita (get directions). A halocline is the layer where fresh water and salt water meet. The different salt concentrations change the density of the water. In Angelita this phenomenon happens at a depth of 30m. In this mixing zone light is massively distorted and the effect is like a mirage in the desert. A stunning visual experience!
For a swim under the ancient pyramid
There are not many cenotes inside the ruin sites that are open to the public for swimming. This unique opportunity can be experienced at cenote Xlacah (get directions) among the ruins of Dzibilchaltún. The cenote is filled with water lilies, which makes it visually very romantic. A cavern with offerings to gods was found here but it is not accessible. This is also the site of intriguing ancient graffiti at the Temple of the Seven Dolls. The building is decorated with serpent bodies surrounded by beads, which represent water, seashells and fish, symbols of the underworld.
