Cenote Zapote + Maravilla – 2 Dives – Incredible Nature-Experience!

Cenote Zapote aka. Hells Bells

Maybe you heard of this Cenote before. Cenote Hells Bells also known as Cenote Zapote is located on the Route of the Cenotes off Puerto Morelos in the North of Playa del Carmen.
A very challenging but rewarding dive for anyone, who got addicted to the cenote-feeling.
This Cenotes group-size-limit is 3 divers per certified guide.

We meet in the morning to check gear and fill required forms, and a 50-minute ride later we arrive at Cenote Zapote Ecopark in Puerto Morelos famous “Ruta de los Cenotes”.
Here we sign in each diver, pay the entry-fee and make our way to the parking place next to our first destination – The entry of Cenote Hells Bells.

A stairway leads down to the waterlevel, where we can see the clear freshwater.
Your guide will brief you thoroughly about the place and upcoming dive, explaining you about the unique formations you can find here, referred to as ‘Hells Bells’ who give this Cenote its name.

Entering the water after a required buddy-check we descend through a narrow opening to our maximum depth of 30 meters into a bigger cavern-area.

Following your guide and the permanent line, you’ll dive along these formations and just above a hydrogen-sulfide cloud lingering in the depths of this Cenote.
Towards the end of the dive, we very slowly ascend towards the opening we came through in the beginning of our dive.
At a depth of 5 meters we will complete a safety-stop of at least 3 minutes to comply with all safety-measurements for a deep dive.
Your Guide will help you to exit the water and to setup your equipment for the second dive of the day.

After finishing the dive and changing tanks, we take a lunch-break and make sure to hydrate ourself before the next dive!
Packing everything together, we will have a short drive before arriving at our next divesite.

Cenote Maravilla

If you’re looking for this special only-one-of-a-kind Cenote, Cenote Maravilla could be the place you’ve been waiting to dive.
As relatively unspectacular sinkhole in the jungle, Cenote Maravilla certainly hides all it’s beauty below the surface.
Imagine it as a typical big, round juice-jar with a pretty small opening.

A short ride from Cenote Zapote – around 20 minutes – and we arrive at our second dive-site of the day.
This Cenote is truly marvellous, as especially during the summer months a very light and huge sun-beam is cutting the clear water all the way from surface to 30 meters of depth – where we encounter a relatively dense hydrogen-sulfide cloud wobbling to hide what’s below.

The absolute depth of this Cenote exceeds 70 meters of depth – but our dive here is limited to 30 meters, where the hydrogen-sulfide starts to impact visibility.

Theres few formations in the roof-sections of this cavern-dive, but the view of the sun-rays dancing on this very unique playground will let you forget about about any drip-stone formations.
After diving all the way down to 30 meters and crossing the light-beam various times, we will start ascending throughout our dive, circling the walls of Cenote Maravilla to make sure we explore every corner and not miss any great view of this place.

Before ending the dive, we will do a safety-stop in 5 meters of depth for at least 3 minutes, and then ascend back to the surface where your guide will help you exit the water safely.
After packing everything together we will head out at Cenote Maravilla and make our approximately 40 minute long drive back to Playa del Carmen, where our day ends.

Have in Mind

These Cenotes are considered level 4 Cenotes.
This is why group-sizes are reduced to maximum 3 participants per guide for this tour, and requirements state every diver has to have dived at least 2 other Cenotes prior to these dives.

Diving with Nitrox significantly increases your bottom-time during this dive – we provide this for free if you’re certified.