Top 5 Coolest Cenotes to visit in Tulum, Mexico

You're probably wondering what in the world is a cenote. I had no idea what they were either. I've heard so many other travelers talking about it. And I am so grateful for being so curious as to what they were and finding out where they were. They're these really cool underwater sinkholes that are created from collapsed blankets of limestone that has these underground rivers and streams. It is so freaking cool how these cenotes maintain its cleanliness and natural beauty. The limestones serve as filtration for the water which keeps it clean and refreshing. The beauty of these cenotes are out of this world. The kind where you can feel this bliss radiating throughout your entire soul. Each cenote I swam in, I envisioned myself being healed in natures beauty; healing, filling and nourishing my spirit.

Cristal Cenote

We spontaneously went on a bike tour with a group of other travelers that stayed at our hostel (Hostel Che). Shannon, our tour guide had set up a cenote & beach day to show us a glimpse of beauty that Tulum had to offer. We literally woke up and found out about the tour and was like f*ck yea let's go! It took about 15-20 minutes bike riding to this cenote from our hostel. We paid 60 pesos to see both the Cristal and Escodido cenote. We got a special discount because of Shannon. It normally costs 120 pesos to see both cenotes. You have to walk through a pathway of jungle to get to this earth made gem. I loved how quiet it was and the blankets of greenery that we were surrounded in. It's not all that popular like the Ik Kil Cenote. However, you'll love the sense of silence and the beauty of Tulum's very own nature jungle on full blast. The water has a clear, greenish blue color. It felt so crisp and fresh. There was a storm a week before so there was some pieces of algae floating here and there; no big deal. It was still so beautiful. There's also a little wooden upstairs staircase that led into a wooden platform made to go dive in or jump off from, which was about 8-10 feet.

Escondido Cenote

After hanging out at the Cristal Cenote, we literally crossed the street to Escondido Cenote. This is where we ran into a tarantula in its most natural habitat, lol. We rode our bikes through another pathway amongst the jungle and parked our bikes steps away from the cenote. Another breathtaking view of God's gift of nature and another quiet cenote with hardly any people. This cenote was cool because it had two ropes tied onto two different trees to swing off into the aqua teal cenote. There were more fishes in there than the Cristal cenote. There's also a little wooden downstairs staircase to walk into the cenote if you're afraid to swing off the ropes. You should totally swing off the ropes, you'll feel like a liberated monkey soul, just swinging away! The height is probably about 8 feet high or so. Shannon told us that there's a mini cave that divers go through to get into some kind of hidden beauty. I personally was too terrified to try it though. Escondido was my favorite cenote out of the two cenotes of our bike tour.

Ik Kil Cenote

This is one of the most popular cenotes to visit in Mexico. It's located more inland of Mexico (2 hours ish ). We took a bus tour to visit Chichen Itza and just about 10-15 minutes was Ik Kil Cenote. You go through a mini marketplace which then leads you to the cenote and then there's a shower and locker facility right behind the cenote. Lockers are very inexpensive. You must shower your body before dipping into this sacred cenote, which is very understandable and respectable as the Mayan's used the cenote for ritual purposes and protecting nature from any chemicals from lotions and such. Now this was yet another incredible cenote. Beautiful vines dangling in the middle of the cenote and mini waterfalls surrounding the sinkhole just adding just so much eye candy. When you are inside the cenote, you look up and there's a sky view. It's an underground cenote so you have to walk down a carved staircase. They say that a dip into this cenote brings tons of healing and makes you look younger, lol. The thing about this cenote was that it was saturated with tourists. FILLED UP to the brim up lol. Like I said, it's a tourist attraction, but well worth the visit. I didn't look inside the water, but they said there's catfishes that swim inside the cenote.

Grand Cenote

MUST VISIT* It costs 150 pesos to get in. It's a little pricey but well worth it. I would say it's about 10 minutes by moped to get there from the pueblo of Tulum. I recommend visiting this cenote super early in the morning. This is another popular cenote that usually gets swarmed up with loads of people. We came here right when it opened. You have to walk down a stair case to get to the cenote. It's one of my favorite cenotes I've experienced so far! There's tons of pretty lily pads that contrast beautifully with the blueish-teal-aqua colored water. We saw a turtle swimming away! There's also tons of pretty fishes inside too. They have snorkel gear that you can rent for about 80 pesos. There are caves in there that you can go dive in and explore. Once again, I did not attempt to dive at all. Plus, we were on crunch mode with time this day. Our bus to back to the airport was like 1 hour away lol. A+dventures that last a lifetime.

I still haven't seen all the cenotes I wanted to, so when I come back, I will be visiting Dos Ojos & Za-cil Ha cenote.

Dos Ojos

Zacil-Ha

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With love and light,

Khristyne

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