Cenote San Ignacio

Cenote San Ignacio is in the town of Chocholá, a municipal seat of about 4,800 people some 26 km southwest of Mérida along the federal highway to Campeche. The town's Maya name refers to brackish water, and its colonial church is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The cenote sits on Calle 23 in the center of town, about 35 km from downtown Mérida and around 20 minutes from the city's ring road, which makes it one of the easiest cenotes to reach from the capital.

It is a closed cavern cenote: a chamber about 30 meters long and 20 wide under a limestone vault, with stalactites hanging from a ceiling up to 8 meters high. The water is lit from below with LED lights that turn it bright turquoise, and fish swim around you. Depth runs from about 40 centimeters to 6 meters, so it is one of the gentlest cenotes in the state for families and nervous swimmers, and life jackets are included. Like other cenotes, it formed when the limestone roof over an underground river collapsed; for the Maya such openings were doorways to Xibalbá, the underworld, and sources of life.

Around the cenote the owners have built an eco-park in the style of a hacienda. The day pass includes guided visits to the cenote, the Río Esmeralda, a clear channel through the trees where you float with a life jacket, and the Corazón de Agua, a heart-shaped pool, plus an outdoor pool with loungers, hammocks and showers. An adventure pass adds a zipline, a hanging bridge and an inflatable ring ride. There are two restaurants, Xtabentún for Yucatecan food and Nikté, a spa in a natural cave, and hacienda-style rooms for overnight guests, who get private early-morning access to the cenote. In the evening, a night pass opens the cenote and the channel for snorkeling. It gets busy, so weekday mornings right at opening are the calmest.