Cenotes make great swimming hole sand in some the water is so pure you can see every nook and cranny of the limestone walls clear to the bottom like the cenote Dzitnup. But while Anybody can swim in a cenote, would you dare to dive in one? The cenote Dzitnup is a good opportunity to try.

Maria de la Luz Hotel
Valladolid, Yucatan

Cenotes exist all across the Yucatan peninsula in southern Mexico. They are sink holes in the limestone of the area that contain underground lakes. The Mayans believed these were gateways to the world of the gods. Accordingly they adopted the habit of sacrificing unfortunate individuals by chucking them in through the small openings in the ground that are the only sign of the cenote.

The Mayans did not think of this as a punishment, it was a privilege. This belief was confirmed by the fact the none of them ever returned. The fact that the person sacrificed promptly drowned in the underground lake did not seem to occur them as reason for them not returning.

Dzitnup is located 100 miles from Cancun, highway 180 to Chichen Itza - Merida. Signs Leading to the Dzitnup are on the road just as you leave Valladolid heading toward Chichen Itza and / or Merida. Refreshments. Swimming.

Most cenotes are inaccessible however the Dzitnup cenote near Valladolid in Yucatan has a path leading into it