Cenote Chac Mool
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
- Typical depth
- 13 m
- Type
- Cenote
- Level
- Intermediate
Marine life
- Other
- halocline shimmer, light beams from entrance
- Reef fish
- blind cave fish, mosquitofish
- Invertebrates
- freshwater shrimp
Site features
- Cenote
- Cavern
- Overhead Environment
- Halocline
- Light Beams
- Speleothems
- Freshwater
When to dive
- Best
- year-round
Cenote Chac Mool, ~20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen on the Cancún–Tulum corridor, is one of the easier cavern dives in the Yucatán. The system has multiple entrances (Chac Mool, Kukulcán, Little Brother) sharing connected passages. Notable for a prominent halocline at ~8–10 m that shimmers like heat haze where fresh and saltwater meet, and dramatic light beams through the entrance in mid-morning. Year-round, sheltered from weather, with crystal-clear water at 24–25 °C. Stays within recreational depths and inside the cavern (daylight) zone for guided tours. Permanent guidelines in place.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 30–60 m
- Water temp
- 24–25 °C
- Current
- None
- Access
- Permit required
- Min cert
- Open Water + cavern orientation; full cave certification for any penetration beyond the marked cavern circuit
Location
20.5083° N, 87.2750° W
Dive clubs that visit this site
6 operators list this site on their website
- Acuática RibePlaya del Carmen, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
- Cthulhu DiversPlaya del Carmen, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
- Heaven Under Earth DiversTulum / Playa del Carmen, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
- Pro Dive InternationalPlaya del Carmen / Riviera Maya, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
- Seth Dive MexicoPlaya del Carmen, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
- Xico Dive CenterPlaya del Carmen, Mexico · Dive centre[source]
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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